As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 26, 2020
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Legend Biotech Corporation
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Cayman Islands | Not Applicable | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Legend Biotech Corporation
2101 Cottontail Lane
Somerset, NJ 08873
(732) 317-5050
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrants principal executive offices)
Share Option Scheme
2020 Restricted Shares Plan
(Full title of the plans)
Yuan Xu, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Legend Biotech Corporation
2101 Cottontail Lane
Somerset, NJ 08873
(732) 317-5050
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer, smaller reporting company and emerging growth company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||
Emerging growth company | ☒ |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
Copies to:
Divakar Gupta, Esq.
Robert W. Phillips, Esq.
Mark Ballantyne, Esq.
Cooley LLP
55 Hudson Yards
New York, NY 10001
(212) 479-6000
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
| ||||||||
Title of securities to be registered(1) |
Amount to be registered(2) |
Proposed maximum per share(4) |
Proposed maximum |
Amount of registration fee | ||||
Ordinary Shares, par value US$0.0001 per share |
31,000,000(3) | $0.98-$19.8125 | $578,462,247.50 | $75,084.42 | ||||
| ||||||||
|
(1) | These shares may be represented by the Registrants American Depositary Shares, or ADSs, each of which represents two ordinary shares. The Registrants ADSs issuable upon deposit of the ordinary shares registered hereby have been registered under a separate registration statement on Form F-6 (File No. 333-238581). |
(2) | Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), this Registration Statement shall also cover any additional ordinary shares of the Registrant that become issuable under the Registrants Share Option Scheme (the Option Plan) and the Registrants 2020 Restricted Shares Plan (the RSU Plan) by reason of any share dividend, share split, recapitalization or other similar transaction. |
(3) | Consists of (i) 1,897,000 ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under the Option Plan, (ii) 18,103,000 ordinary shares underlying share options granted under the Option Plan and (iii) 11,000,000 ordinary shares to be issued upon vesting of restricted share units (RSUs) granted under the RSU Plan or reserved for issuance under the RSU Plan. |
(4) | Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h) of the Securities Act solely for purposes of calculating the registration fee, and is based upon (a) a weighted average exercise price of $0.98 per share for the outstanding share options granted under the Option Plan and (b) $19.8125 which was one-half of the average of the high and low prices of the Registrants ADSs as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market for June 24, 2020. The chart below details the calculations of the registration fee. |
| ||||||
Securities | Number of Shares |
Offering Price Per Share(2) |
Aggregate Offering Price | |||
To be issued upon the exercise of outstanding options granted under the Option Plan |
1,897,000 | $0.98(4)(a) | $ 1,859,060.00 | |||
To be issued upon the exercise of options to be issued under the Option Plan |
18,103,000 | $19.8125(4)(b) | $ 358,665,687.50 | |||
To be issued upon vesting of RSUs granted under the RSU Plan |
52,173 | $19.8125(4)(b) | $ 1,033,677.56 | |||
Ordinary shares reserved for future grant under the RSU Plan |
10,947,827 | $19.8125(4)(b) | $ 216,903,822.44 | |||
Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price |
$578,462,247.50 | |||||
Registration Fee |
$75,084.42 | |||||
| ||||||
|
PART I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS
Item 1. | Plan Information* |
Item 2. | Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information* |
* | Information required by Part I to be contained in the Section 10(a) prospectus is omitted from this registration statement in accordance with Rule 428 under the Securities Act and the Note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing information specified in this Part I will be separately provided to the participants covered by the Option Plan and the RSU Plan, as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act. |
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. | Incorporation of Documents by Reference |
The following documents previously filed by Legend Biotech Corporation (the Registrant) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) are incorporated by reference herein:
(a) | The Registrants prospectus dated June 5, 2020 filed with the Commission on June 8, 2020 pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) under the Securities Act; and |
(b) | The description of the Registrants ordinary shares incorporated by reference in the Registrants registration statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-39307) filed with the Commission on June 2, 2020, including any amendment and report subsequently filed for the purpose of updating that description. |
All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), after the date of this registration statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents. Any statement in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this registration statement will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this registration statement or in any other later filed document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to be a part of this registration statement.
Item 4. | Description of Securities |
Not applicable.
Item 5. | Interests of Named Experts and Counsel |
Not applicable.
Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers |
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a companys articles of association may provide for indemnification of directors and officers, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. The Registrants currently effective amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, adopted by its shareholders on May 28, 2020, provides that the Registrant shall indemnify its directors and officers against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such persons in their capacity as such, except through any dishonesty, willful default or fraud.
2
Pursuant to the indemnification agreements, the form of which was filed as Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrants registration statement on Form F-1, as amended (File No. 333-238232), the Registrant has agreed to indemnify its directors and officers against certain liabilities and expenses incurred by such persons in connection with claims made by reason of their being such a director or officer.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, the Registrant has been informed that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Item 7. | Exemption From Registration Claimed |
Not applicable.
Item 8. | Exhibits |
* | Filed herewith. |
3
Item 9. | Undertakings |
(a) | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes: |
(1) | To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement: |
(i) | to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act; |
(ii) | to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of this 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 this registration statement; and |
(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 that information in the registration statement; |
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) above 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 Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this registration statement;
(2) | That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment 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. |
(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. |
(b) | The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrants annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plans annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this 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. |
(c) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act 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 Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act 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 and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
4
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Somerset, New Jersey, on June 26, 2020.
Legend Biotech Corporation | ||
By: | /s/ Yuan Xu | |
Name: | Yuan Xu, Ph.D. | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer & Director |
5
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints, severally and not jointly, each of Yuan Xu, Ph.D. and Ying Huang, Ph.D., with full power to act alone, as his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact, with the power of substitution, for and in such persons name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed on June 26, 2020 by the following persons in the capacities indicated.
Signature |
Title | |
/s/ Yuan Xu |
Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) | |
Yuan Xu, Ph.D. | ||
/s/ Ying Huang |
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |
Ying Huang, Ph.D. | ||
/s/ Fangliang Zhang |
Chairman of the Board of Directors | |
Fangliang Zhang, Ph.D. | ||
/s/ Ye Wang |
Director | |
Ye Wang, M.S. | ||
/s/ Darren Xiaohui Ji |
Director | |
Darren Xiaohui Ji, M.D., Ph.D. | ||
/s/ Corazon Dating Sanders |
Director | |
Corazon Dating Sanders, Ph.D. | ||
/s/ Yau Wai Man Philip |
Director | |
Yau Wai Man Philip, CPA |
6
SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE IN THE UNITED STATES
Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of Legend Biotech Corporation, has signed this registration statement or amendment thereto in Somerset, New Jersey on June 26, 2020.
Authorized U.S. Representative | ||
By: | /s/ Yuan Xu | |
Name: | Yuan Xu, Ph.D. | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer & Director |
7
Exhibit 4.1
THE COMPANIES LAW (2020 REVISION)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED
MEMORANDUM OF ASSOCIATION
OF
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
(adopted by a Special Resolution passed on May 26, 2020 and effective immediately prior to the completion of the initial public offering of the ADSs representing the Companys Ordinary Shares)
1. | The name of the Company is Legend Biotech Corporation. |
2. | The Registered Office of the Company shall be at Harneys Fiduciary (Cayman) Limited, 4th Floor, Harbour Place, 103 South Church Street, P.O. Box 10240, Grand Cayman KY1-1002, Cayman Islands, or at such other location as the Directors may from time to time determine. |
3. | The objects for which the Company is established are unrestricted and the Company shall have full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the Companies Law or any other law of the Cayman Islands. |
4. | The Company shall have and be capable of exercising all the functions of a natural person of full capacity irrespective of any question of corporate benefit as provided by the Companies Law. |
5. | The Company will not trade in the Cayman Islands with any person, firm or corporation except in furtherance of the business of the Company carried on outside the Cayman Islands; provided that nothing in this section shall be construed as to prevent the Company effecting and concluding contracts in the Cayman Islands, and exercising in the Cayman Islands all of its powers necessary for the carrying on of its business outside the Cayman Islands. |
6. | The liability of each Shareholder is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the Shares held by such Shareholder. |
7. | The authorised share capital of the Company is US$200,000 divided into 1,999,000,000 Ordinary Shares, par value US$0.0001 each and 1,000,000 shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each of such class or classes (however designated) as the Board of Directors may determine in accordance with Article 9 of the Articles. Subject to the Companies Law, the Articles and, where applicable, the Designated Exchange Rules, the Company shall have power to redeem or purchase any of its Shares and to increase or reduce its authorised share capital and to sub-divide or consolidate the said Shares or any of them and to issue all or any part of its capital whether original, redeemed, increased or reduced with or without any preference, priority, special privilege or other rights or subject to any postponement of rights or to any conditions or restrictions whatsoever and so that unless the conditions of issue shall otherwise expressly provide every issue of shares whether stated to be ordinary, preference or otherwise shall be subject to the powers on the part of the Company hereinbefore provided. |
8. | The Company has the power contained in the Companies Law to deregister in the Cayman Islands and be registered by way of continuation in some other jurisdiction. |
9. | Capitalized terms that are not defined in this Memorandum of Association bear the same meanings as those given in the Articles of Association of the Company. |
THE COMPANIES LAW (2020 REVISION)
OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES
THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
(adopted by a Special Resolution passed on May 26, 2020 and effective immediately prior to the completion of the initial public offering of ADSs representing the Companys Ordinary Shares)
TABLE A
The regulations contained or incorporated in Table A in the First Schedule of the Companies Law shall not apply to the Company and the following Articles shall comprise the Articles of Association of the Company.
INTERPRETATION
1. | In these Articles the following defined terms will have the meanings ascribed to them, if not inconsistent with the subject or context: |
ADS | means an American Depositary Share representing the Companys Ordinary Shares. | |
Affiliate | means in respect of a Person, any other Person that, directly or indirectly, through (1) one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such Person, and (i) in the case of a natural person, shall include, without limitation, such persons spouse, parents, children, siblings, mother-in-law and father-in-law and brothers and sisters-in-law, a trust for the benefit of any of the foregoing, a company, partnership or any natural person or entity wholly or jointly owned by any of the foregoing, and (ii) in the case of an entity, shall include a partnership, a corporation or any natural person or entity which directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, such entity. The term control shall mean the ownership, directly or indirectly, of shares possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the voting power of the corporation, or the partnership or other entity (other than, in the case of corporation, shares having such power only by reason of the happening of a contingency), or having the power to control the management or elect a majority of members to the board of directors or equivalent decision-making body of such corporation, partnership or other entity; | |
Articles | means these articles of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time; | |
Board and Board of Directors and Directors | means the directors of the Company for the time being, or as the case may be, the directors assembled as a board or as a committee thereof; | |
Chairman | means the chairman of the Board of Directors; |
Class or Classes | means any class or classes of Shares as may from time to time be issued by the Company; | |
Commission | means the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States or any other federal agency for the time being administering the Securities Act; | |
Company | means Legend Biotech Corporation, a Cayman Islands exempted company; | |
Companies Law | means the Companies Law (2020 revision) of the Cayman Islands and any statutory amendment or re-enactment thereof; | |
Companys Website | means the website of the Company, the address or domain name of which has been notified to Shareholders; | |
Designated Stock Exchange | means the stock exchange in the United States that the Shares or ADSs are listed for trading; | |
Designated Stock Exchange Rules | means the relevant code, rules and regulations, as amended, from time to time, applicable as a result of the original and continued listing of any Shares or ADSs on the Designated Stock Exchange; | |
electronic | means the meaning given to it in the Electronic Transactions Law and any amendment thereto or re-enactments thereof for the time being in force and includes every other law incorporated therewith or substituted therefor; | |
electronic communication | means electronic posting to the Companys Website, transmission to any number, address or internet website or other electronic delivery methods as otherwise decided and approved by not less than two-thirds of the vote of the Board; | |
Electronic Transactions Law | means the Electronic Transactions Law (2003 Revision) of the Cayman Islands and any statutory amendment or re-enactment thereof; | |
Independent Director | means a Director who is an independent director as defined in the Designated Stock Exchange Rules; | |
Interested Director | means a Director who has a direct or indirect interest in any contract, business or arrangement in which the Company or its Affiliates is a party or becomes a party to; | |
Law | means the Companies Law and every other law and regulation of the Cayman Islands for the time being in force concerning companies and affecting the Company; | |
Memorandum of Association | means the memorandum of association of the Company, as amended or substituted from time to time; | |
month | means calendar month; | |
Ordinary Resolution | means a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes of such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy or, in the case of corporations, by their duly authorised representatives, at a general meeting of the Company held in accordance with these Articles; | |
Ordinary Share | means an ordinary share in the capital of the Company of US$0.0001 nominal or par value designated as an Ordinary Share and having the rights provided for under these Articles; | |
paid up | means paid up as to the par value in respect of the issue of any Shares and includes credited as paid up; | |
Person | means any natural person, firm, company, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association or other entity (whether or not having a separate legal personality) or any of them as the context so requires; |
Register | means the register of Shareholders of the Company maintained in accordance with the Companies Law; | |
Registered Office | means the registered office of the Company as required by the Companies Law; | |
Seal | means the common seal of the Company (if adopted) including any facsimile thereof; | |
Secretary | means any Person appointed by the Directors to perform any of the duties of the secretary of the Company; | |
Securities Act | means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States, as amended, or any similar federal statute and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder, all as the same shall be in effect at the time; | |
Share | means a share in the capital of the Company. All references to Shares herein shall be deemed to be Shares of any or all Classes as the context may require. For the avoidance of doubt in these Articles the expression Share shall include a fraction of a Share; | |
Shareholder | means a Person who is registered as the holder of Shares in the Register; | |
Share Premium Account | means the share premium account established in accordance with these Articles and the Companies Law; | |
signed | means bearing a signature or representation of a signature affixed by mechanical means or an electronic symbol or process attached to or logically associated with an electronic communication and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the electronic communication; | |
Special Resolution | means a special resolution of the Company passed in accordance with the Law, being a resolution passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the votes of such Shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy or, in the case of corporations, by their duly authorised representatives, at a general meeting of the Company of which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been duly given; | |
Treasury Share | means a Share held in the name of the Company as a treasury share in accordance with the Companies Law; | |
United States | means the United States of America, its territories, its possessions and all areas subject to its jurisdiction; and | |
year | means calendar year. |
2. | In these Articles, save where the context requires otherwise: |
(a) | words importing the singular number shall include the plural number and vice versa; |
(b) | words importing the masculine gender only shall include the feminine gender and any Person as the context may require; |
(c) | the word may shall be construed as permissive and the word shall shall be construed as imperative; |
(d) | reference to a dollar or dollars (or US$) and to a cent or cents is reference to dollars and cents of the United States; |
(e) | reference to a statutory enactment shall include reference to any amendment or re-enactment thereof for the time being in force; |
(f) | reference to any determination by the Directors shall be construed as a determination by the Directors in their sole and absolute discretion and shall be applicable either generally or in any particular case; |
(g) | reference to in writing shall be construed as written or represented by any means reproducible in writing, including any form of print, lithograph, email, facsimile, photograph or telex or represented by any other substitute or format for storage or transmission for writing or partly one and partly another; and |
(h) | Section 8 of the Electronic Transactions Law shall not apply. |
3. | Subject to the last two preceding Articles, any words defined in the Companies Law shall, if not inconsistent with the subject or context, bear the same meaning in these Articles. |
PRELIMINARY
4. | The business of the Company may be conducted as the Directors see fit. |
5. | The Registered Office shall be at such address in the Cayman Islands as the Directors may from time to time determine. The Company may in addition establish and maintain such other offices and places of business and agencies in such places as the Directors may from time to time determine. |
6. | The expenses incurred in the formation of the Company and in connection with the offer for subscription and issue of Shares shall be paid by the Company. Such expenses may be amortised over such period as the Directors may determine and the amount so paid shall be charged against income and/or capital in the accounts of the Company as the Directors shall determine. |
7. | The Directors shall keep, or cause to be kept, the Register at such place as the Directors may from time to time determine and, in the absence of any such determination, the Register shall be kept at the Registered Office. |
SHARES
8. | Subject to these Articles and, where applicable, the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, all Shares for the time being unissued shall be under the control of the Directors who may, in their absolute discretion and without the approval of the Shareholders, cause the Company to: |
(a) | allot, issue and dispose of Shares (including, without limitation, preferred shares) (whether in certificated form or non-certificated form) to such Persons, in such manner, on such terms and having such rights and being subject to such restrictions as they may from time to time determine; |
(b) | grant rights over existing Shares or issue other securities in one or more classes or series as they deem necessary or appropriate and determine the designations, powers, preferences, privileges and other rights attaching to such Shares or securities, including dividend rights, voting rights, conversion rights, terms of redemption and liquidation preferences, any or all of which may be greater than the powers, preferences, privileges and rights associated with the then issued and outstanding Shares, at such times and on such other terms as they think proper; and |
(c) | grant options with respect to Shares and issue warrants or similar instruments with respect thereto. |
9. | The Directors may authorise the division of Shares into any number of Classes and the different Classes shall be authorised, established and designated (or re-designated as the case may be) and the variations in the relative rights (including, without limitation, voting, dividend and redemption rights), restrictions, preferences, privileges and payment obligations as between the different Classes (if any) may be fixed and determined by the Directors or by a Special Resolution. The Directors may issue Shares with such preferred or other rights, all or any of which may be greater than the rights of Ordinary Shares, at such time and on such terms as they may think appropriate. The Directors may issue from time to time, out of the authorised share capital of the Company (other than the authorised but unissued Ordinary Shares), series of preferred shares which may carry rights more preferential than the rights of Ordinary Shares, at such time and on such terms as they may think appropriate in their absolute discretion and without approval of the Shareholders; provided, however, before any preferred shares of any such series are issued, the Directors shall by resolution of Directors determine, with respect to any series of preferred shares, the terms and rights of that series, including: |
(a) | the designation of such series, the number of preferred shares to constitute such series and the subscription price thereof if different from the par value thereof; |
(b) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall have voting rights, in addition to any voting rights provided by law, and, if so, the terms of such voting rights, which may be general or limited; |
(c) | the dividends, if any, payable on such series, whether any such dividends shall be cumulative, and, if so, from what dates, the conditions and dates upon which such dividends shall be payable, and the preference or relation which such dividends shall bear to the dividends payable on any shares of any other class or any other series of shares; |
(d) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall be subject to redemption by the Company, and, if so, the times, prices and other conditions of such redemption; |
(e) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall have any rights to receive any part of the assets available for distribution amongst the Shareholders upon the liquidation of the Company, and, if so, the terms of such liquidation preference, and the relation which such liquidation preference shall bear to the entitlements of the holders of shares of any other class or any other series of shares; |
(f) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall be subject to the operation of a retirement or sinking fund and, if so, the extent to and manner in which any such retirement or sinking fund shall be applied to the purchase or redemption of the preferred shares of such series for retirement or other corporate purposes and the terms and provisions relative to the operation thereof; |
(g) | whether the preferred shares of such series shall be convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or any other series of preferred shares or any other securities and, if so, the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion or exchange and the method, if any, of adjusting the same, and any other terms and conditions of conversion or exchange; |
(h) | the limitations and restrictions, if any, to be effective while any preferred shares of such series are outstanding upon the payment of dividends or the making of other distributions on, and upon the purchase, redemption or other acquisition by the Company of, the existing shares or shares of any other class of shares or any other series of preferred shares; |
(i) | the conditions or restrictions, if any, upon the creation of indebtedness of the Company or upon the issue of any additional shares, including additional shares of such series or of any other class of shares or any other series of preferred shares; and |
(j) | any other powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof; |
and, for such purposes, the Directors may reserve an appropriate number of Shares for the time being unissued.
10. | The Company shall not issue Shares to bearer. |
11. | The Company may insofar as may be permitted by Law, pay a commission to any Person in consideration of his subscribing or agreeing to subscribe whether absolutely or conditionally for any Shares. Such commissions may be satisfied by the payment of cash or the lodgement of fully or partly paid-up Shares or partly in one way and partly in the other. The Company may also pay such brokerage as may be lawful on any issue of Shares. |
12. | The Directors may refuse to accept any application for Shares, and may accept any application in whole or in part, for any reason or for no reason. |
MODIFICATION OF RIGHTS
13. | Whenever the capital of the Company is divided into different Classes the rights attached to any such Class may, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to any Class, only be materially adversely varied with the consent in writing of the holders of three-fourths of the issued Shares of that Class or with the sanction of a Special Resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the Shares of that Class. To every such separate meeting all the provisions of these Articles relating to general meetings of the Company or to the proceedings thereat shall, mutatis mutandis, apply, except that the necessary quorum shall be one or more Persons at least holding or representing by proxy one-third in nominal or par value amount of the issued Shares of the relevant Class (but so that if at any adjourned meeting of such holders a quorum as above defined is not present, those Shareholders who are present shall form a quorum) and that, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, every Shareholder of the Class shall on a poll have one (1) vote for each Share of the Class held by him. For the purposes of this Article the Directors may treat all the Classes or any two or more Classes as forming one Class if they consider that all such Classes would be affected in the same way by the proposals under consideration, but in any other case shall treat them as separate Classes. |
14. | The rights conferred upon the holders of the Shares of any Class issued with preferred or other rights shall not, subject to any rights or restrictions for the time being attached to the Shares of that Class, be deemed to be materially adversely varied by, inter alia, the creation, allotment or issue of further Shares ranking pari passu with or subsequent to them or the redemption or purchase of any Shares of any Class by the Company. The rights of the holders of Shares shall not be deemed to be materially adversely varied by the creation or issue of Shares with preferred or other rights including, without limitation, the creation of Shares with enhanced or weighted voting rights. |
CERTIFICATES
15. | Unless and until the Directors resolve to issue share certificates, no share certificate shall be issued, and the records of the shareholdings of each Shareholder shall be in uncertified book entry form. If the Directors do resolve to issue share certificates in respect of any one or more classes of Shares, then every Shareholder holding such Shares shall be entitled, upon written request only, to a certificate signed by a Director or Secretary, or any other person authorised by a resolution of the Directors, or under the Seal specifying the number of Shares held by him and the signature of the Director, Secretary or authorised person and the Seal may be facsimiles or affixed by electronic means pursuant to the Electronic Transactions Law. Any Member receiving a certificate shall indemnify and hold the Company and its Directors and Officers harmless from any loss or liability which it or they may incur by reason of any wrongful or fraudulent use or representation made by any person by virtue of the possession thereof. |
16. | Every share certificate of the Company shall bear legends required under the applicable laws, including the Securities Act. |
17. | Any two or more certificates representing Shares of any one Class held by any Shareholder may at the Shareholders request be cancelled and a single new certificate for such Shares issued in lieu on payment (if the Directors shall so require) of US$1.00 or such smaller sum as the Directors shall determine. |
18. | If a share certificate shall be damaged or defaced or alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, a new certificate representing the same Shares may be issued to the relevant Shareholder upon request subject to delivery up of the old certificate or (if alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed) compliance with such conditions as to evidence and indemnity and the payment of out-of-pocket expenses of the Company in connection with the request as the Directors may think fit. |
19. | In the event that Shares are held jointly by several Persons, any request may be made by any one of the joint holders and if so made shall be binding on all of the joint holders. |
FRACTIONAL SHARES
20. | The Directors may issue fractions of a Share and, if so issued, a fraction of a Share shall be subject to and carry the corresponding fraction of liabilities (whether with respect to nominal or par value, premium, contributions, calls or otherwise), limitations, preferences, privileges, qualifications, restrictions, rights (including, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, voting and participation rights) and other attributes of a whole Share. If more than one fraction of a Share of the same Class is issued to or acquired by the same Shareholder such fractions shall be accumulated. |
LIEN
21. | The Company has a first and paramount lien on every Share (whether or not fully paid) for all amounts (whether presently payable or not) payable at a fixed time or called in respect of that Share. The Company also has a first and paramount lien on every Share registered in the name of a Person indebted or under liability to the Company (whether he is the sole registered holder of a Share or one of two or more joint holders) for all amounts owing by him or his estate to the Company (whether or not presently payable). The Directors may at any time declare a Share to be wholly or in part exempt from the provisions of this Article. The Companys lien on a Share extends to any amount payable in respect of it, including but not limited to dividends. |
22. | The Company may sell, in such manner as the Directors in their absolute discretion think fit, any Share on which the Company has a lien, but no sale shall be made unless an amount in respect of which the lien exists is presently payable nor until the expiration of fourteen (14) calendar days after a notice in writing, demanding payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, has been given to the registered holder for the time being of the Share, or the Persons entitled thereto by reason of his death or bankruptcy. |
23. | For giving effect to any such sale the Directors may authorise a Person to transfer the Shares sold to the purchaser thereof. The purchaser shall be registered as the holder of the Shares comprised in any such transfer and he shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the sale. |
24. | The proceeds of the sale after deduction of expenses, fees and commission incurred by the Company shall be received by the Company and applied in payment of such part of the amount in respect of which the lien exists as is presently payable, and the residue shall (subject to a like lien for sums not presently payable as existed upon the Shares prior to the sale) be paid to the Person entitled to the Shares immediately prior to the sale. |
CALLS ON SHARES
25. | Subject to the terms of the allotment, the Directors may from time to time make calls upon the Shareholders in respect of any moneys unpaid on their Shares, and each Shareholder shall (subject to receiving at least fourteen (14) calendar days notice specifying the time or times of payment) pay to the Company at the time or times so specified the amount called on such Shares. A call shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the resolution of the Directors authorising such call was passed. |
26. | The joint holders of a Share shall be jointly and severally liable to pay calls in respect thereof. |
27. | If a sum called in respect of a Share is not paid before or on the day appointed for payment thereof, the Person from whom the sum is due shall pay interest upon the sum at the rate of eight percent (8%) per annum from the day appointed for the payment thereof to the time of the actual payment, but the Directors shall be at liberty to waive payment of that interest wholly or in part. |
28. | The provisions of these Articles as to the liability of joint holders and as to payment of interest shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which, by the terms of issue of a Share, becomes payable at a fixed time, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had become payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
29. | The Directors may make arrangements with respect to the issue of partly paid Shares for a difference between the Shareholders, or the particular Shares, in the amount of calls to be paid and in the times of payment. |
30. | The Directors may, if they think fit, receive from any Shareholder willing to advance the same all or any part of the moneys uncalled and unpaid upon any partly paid Shares held by him, and upon all or any of the moneys so advanced may (until the same would, but for such advance, become presently payable) pay interest at such rate (not exceeding without the sanction of an Ordinary Resolution, eight percent per annum) as may be agreed upon between the Shareholder paying the sum in advance and the Directors. No such sum paid in advance of calls shall entitle the Shareholder paying such sum to any portion of a dividend declared in respect of any period prior to the date upon which such sum would, but for such payment, become presently payable. |
FORFEITURE OF SHARES
31. | If a Shareholder fails to pay any call or instalment of a call in respect of partly paid Shares on the day appointed for payment, the Directors may, at any time thereafter during such time as any part of such call or instalment remains unpaid, serve a notice on him requiring payment of so much of the call or instalment as is unpaid, together with any interest which may have accrued. |
32. | The notice shall name a further day (not earlier than the expiration of fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of the notice) on or before which the payment required by the notice is to be made, and shall state that in the event of non-payment at or before the time appointed the Shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited. |
33. | If the requirements of any such notice as aforesaid are not complied with, any Share in respect of which the notice has been given may at any time thereafter, before the payment required by notice has been made, be forfeited by a resolution of the Directors to that effect. |
34. | A forfeited Share may be sold or otherwise disposed of on such terms and in such manner as the Directors think fit, and at any time before a sale or disposition the forfeiture may be cancelled on such terms as the Directors think fit. |
35. | A Person whose Shares have been forfeited shall cease to be a Shareholder in respect of the forfeited Shares, but shall, notwithstanding, remain liable to pay to the Company all moneys which at the date of forfeiture were payable by him to the Company in respect of the Shares forfeited, but his liability shall cease if and when the Company receives payment in full of the amount unpaid on the Shares forfeited. |
36. | A certificate in writing under the hand of a Director of the Company that a Share has been duly forfeited on a date stated in the certificate, shall be conclusive evidence of the facts in the declaration as against all Persons claiming to be entitled to the Share. |
37. | The Company may receive the consideration, if any, given for a Share on any sale or disposition thereof pursuant to the provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture and may execute a transfer of the Share in favour of the Person to whom the Share is sold or disposed of and that Person shall be registered as the holder of the Share, and shall not be bound to see to the application of the purchase money, if any, nor shall his title to the Shares be affected by any irregularity or invalidity in the proceedings in reference to the disposition or sale. |
38. | The provisions of these Articles as to forfeiture shall apply in the case of non-payment of any sum which by the terms of issue of a Share becomes due and payable, whether on account of the amount of the Share, or by way of premium, as if the same had been payable by virtue of a call duly made and notified. |
TRANSFER OF SHARES
39. | The instrument of transfer of any Share shall be in writing and in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, approve and be executed by or on behalf of the transferor and if in respect of a nil or partly paid up Share, or if so required by the Directors, shall also be executed on behalf of the transferee and shall be accompanied by the certificate (if any) of the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer. The transferor shall be deemed to remain a Shareholder until the name of the transferee is entered in the Register in respect of the relevant Shares. |
40. | (a) The Directors may in their absolute discretion decline to register any transfer of Shares which is not fully paid up or on which the Company has a lien. |
(b) | The Directors may also decline to register any transfer of any Share unless: |
(i) | the instrument of transfer is lodged with the Company, accompanied by the certificate for the Shares to which it relates and such other evidence as the Board may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; |
(ii) | the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one Class of Shares; |
(iii) | the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required; |
(iv) | in the case of a transfer to joint holders, the number of joint holders to whom the Share is to be transferred does not exceed four; |
(v) | the Shares transferred are free of any lien in favour of the Company; and |
(vi) | a fee of such maximum sum as the Designated Stock Exchange may determine to be payable, or such lesser sum as the Board of Directors may from time to time require, is paid to the Company in respect thereof. |
41. | The registration of transfers may, on fourteen (14) calendar days notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers, by electronic means or by any other means in accordance with the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, be suspended and the Register closed at such times and for such periods as the Directors may, in their absolute discretion, from time to time determine, provided always that such registration of transfer shall not be suspended nor the Register closed for more than thirty (30) calendar days in any year. |
42. | All instruments of transfer that are registered shall be retained by the Company. If the Directors refuse to register a transfer of any Shares, they shall within three (3) months after the date on which the transfer was lodged with the Company send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of the refusal. |
TRANSMISSION OF SHARES
43. | The legal personal representative of a deceased sole holder of a Share shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. In the case of a Share registered in the name of two or more holders, the survivors or survivor, or the legal personal representatives of the deceased survivor, shall be the only Person recognised by the Company as having any title to the Share. |
44. | Any Person becoming entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall upon such evidence being produced as may from time to time be required by the Directors, have the right either to be registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share or, instead of being registered himself, to make such transfer of the Share as the deceased or bankrupt Person could have made; but the Directors shall, in either case, have the same right to decline or suspend registration as they would have had in the case of a transfer of the Share by the deceased or bankrupt Person before the death or bankruptcy. |
45. | A Person becoming entitled to a Share by reason of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder shall be entitled to the same dividends and other advantages to which he would be entitled if he were the registered Shareholder, except that he shall not, before being registered as a Shareholder in respect of the Share, be entitled in respect of it to exercise any right conferred by membership in relation to meetings of the Company, provided however, that the Directors may at any time give notice requiring any such person to elect either to be registered himself or to transfer the Share, and if the notice is not complied with within ninety (90) calendar days, the Directors may thereafter withhold payment of all dividends, bonuses or other monies payable in respect of the Share until the requirements of the notice have been complied with. |
REGISTRATION OF EMPOWERING INSTRUMENTS
46. | The Company shall be entitled to charge a fee not exceeding one dollar (US$1.00) on the registration of every probate, letters of administration, certificate of death or marriage, power of attorney, notice in lieu of distringas, or other instrument. |
ALTERATION OF SHARE CAPITAL
47. | The Company may from time to time by Ordinary Resolution increase the share capital by such sum, to be divided into Shares of such Classes and amount, as the resolution shall prescribe. |
48. | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution: |
(a) | consolidate and divide all or any of its share capital into Shares of a larger amount than its existing Shares; |
(b) | convert all or any of its paid up Shares into stock and reconvert that stock into paid up Shares of any denomination; |
(c) | subdivide its existing Shares, or any of them into Shares of a smaller amount provided that in the subdivision the proportion between the amount paid and the amount, if any, unpaid on each reduced Share shall be the same as it was in case of the Share from which the reduced Share is derived; and |
(d) | cancel any Shares that, at the date of the passing of the resolution, have not been taken or agreed to be taken by any Person and diminish the amount of its share capital by the amount of the Shares so cancelled. |
49. | The Company may by Special Resolution reduce its share capital and any capital redemption reserve in any manner authorised by Law. |
REDEMPTION, PURCHASE AND SURRENDER OF SHARES
50. | Subject to the provisions of the Companies Law and these Articles, the Company may: |
(a) | issue Shares that are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of the Shareholder or the Company. The redemption of Shares shall be effected in such manner and upon such terms as may be determined, before the issue of such Shares, by either the Board or by the Shareholders by Special Resolution; |
(b) | purchase its own Shares (including any redeemable Shares) on such terms and in such manner and terms as have been approved by the Board or by the Shareholders by Ordinary Resolution, or are otherwise authorized by these Articles; and |
(c) | make a payment in respect of the redemption or purchase of its own Shares in any manner permitted by the Companies Law, including out of capital. |
51. | The purchase of any Share shall not oblige the Company to purchase any other Share other than as may be required pursuant to applicable law and any other contractual obligations of the Company. |
52. | The holder of the Shares being purchased shall be bound to deliver up to the Company the certificate(s) (if any) thereof for cancellation and thereupon the Company shall pay to him the purchase or redemption monies or consideration in respect thereof. |
53. | The Directors may accept the surrender for no consideration of any fully paid Share. |
TREASURY SHARES
54. | The Directors may, prior to the purchase, redemption or surrender of any Share, determine that such Share shall be held as a Treasury Share. |
55. | The Directors may determine to cancel a Treasury Share or transfer a Treasury Share on such terms as they think proper (including, without limitation, for nil consideration). |
56. | No dividend may be declared or paid, and no other distribution (whether in cash or otherwise) of the Companys assets (including any distribution of assets to Shareholders on a winding up) may be declared or paid in respect of a Treasury Share. |
57. | The Company shall be entered in the Register as the holder of the Treasury Shares provided that: |
(a) | the Company shall not be treated as a Shareholder for any purpose and shall not exercise any right in respect of the Treasury Shares, and any purported exercise of such a right shall be void; |
(b) | a Treasury Share shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting of the Company and shall not be counted in determining the total number of issued shares at any given time, whether for the purposes of these Articles or the Law, save that an allotment of Shares as fully paid bonus shares in respect of a Treasury Share is permitted and Shares allotted as fully paid bonus shares in respect of a treasury share shall be treated as Treasury Shares. |
58. | Treasury Shares may be disposed of by the Company on such terms and conditions as determined by the Directors. |
GENERAL MEETINGS
59. | All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called extraordinary general meetings. |
60. | (a) | The Company may in each year hold a general meeting as its annual general meeting and shall specify the meeting as such in the notices calling it. The annual general meeting shall be held at such time and place as may be determined by the Directors. |
(b) | At these meetings a report of the Directors (if any) may be presented. |
61. | (a) | The Chairman or a majority of the Directors may call general meetings, and they shall on a Shareholders Requisition forthwith proceed to convene an extraordinary general meeting of the Company. |
(b) | A Shareholders Requisition is a request of Shareholders holding at the date of deposit of the request in aggregate not less than one-third (1/3) of the aggregate number of votes attaching to all issued and outstanding Shares of the Company as at the date of the deposit carries the right of voting at general meetings of the Company. |
(c) | Subject to Article 62, the Requisition must state the objects of the meeting and must be signed by the Shareholders that made the request (the Requisitionists) and deposited at the Registered Office, and may consist of several documents in like form each signed by one or more Requisitionists. |
(d) | If the Directors do not within twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of the deposit of the requisition duly proceed to convene a general meeting to be held within a further twenty-one (21) calendar days, the Requisitionists, or any of them representing more than one-half of the total voting rights of all of them, may themselves convene a general meeting, but any meeting so convened shall not be held after the expiration of three (3) months after the expiration of the said twenty-one (21) calendar days. |
(e) | A general meeting convened as aforesaid by Requisitionists shall be convened in the same manner as nearly as possible as that in which general meetings are to be convened by Directors. |
62. | Shareholders seeking to bring business before the annual general meeting or to nominate candidates for election as Directors at the annual general meeting must deliver notice to the Registered Office not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the scheduled date of the annual general meeting. |
NOTICE OF GENERAL MEETINGS
63. | At least ten (10) calendar days notice shall be given for any general meeting. Every notice shall be exclusive of the day on which it is given or deemed to be given and of the day for which it is given and shall specify the place, the day and the hour of the meeting and the general nature of the business and shall be given in the manner hereinafter mentioned or in such other manner if any as may be prescribed by the Company, provided that a general meeting of the Company shall, whether or not the notice specified in this Article has been given and whether or not the provisions of these Articles regarding general meetings have been complied with, be deemed to have been duly convened if it is so agreed: |
(a) | in the case of an annual general meeting by all the Shareholders (or their proxies) entitled to attend and vote thereat; and |
(b) | in the case of an extraordinary general meeting by a majority in number of the Shareholders (or their proxies) having a right to attend and vote at the meeting, being a majority together holding not less than ninety five percent (95%) in par value of the Shares giving that right. |
64. | The accidental omission to give notice of a meeting to or the non-receipt of a notice of a meeting by any Shareholder shall not invalidate the proceedings at any meeting. |
PROCEEDINGS AT GENERAL MEETINGS
65. | No business except for the appointment of a chairman for the meeting shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum of Shareholders is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. |
At least two holders of Shares being not less than an aggregate of fifty percent (50%) of all votes attaching to all Shares in issue and entitled to vote present in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorised representative, shall be a quorum for all purposes. |
66. | If within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting shall be dissolved. |
67. | If the Directors wish to make this facility available for a specific general meeting or all general meetings of the Company, participation in any general meeting of the Company may be by means of a telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting. |
68. | The Chairman (if any) shall preside as chairman at every general meeting of the Company. |
69. | If there is no Chairman, or if at any general meeting he is not present within fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting or is unwilling to act as Chairman, any Director or Person nominated by the Directors shall preside as chairman of that meeting, failing which the Shareholders present in person or by proxy shall choose any Person present to be chairman of that meeting. |
70. | The chairman may with the consent of any general meeting at which a quorum is present (and shall if so directed by the meeting) adjourn a meeting from time to time and from place to place, but no business shall be transacted at any adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting from which the adjournment took place. When a meeting, or adjourned meeting, is adjourned for fourteen (14) calendar days or more, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original meeting. Save as aforesaid it shall not be necessary to give any notice of an adjournment or of the business to be transacted at an adjourned meeting. |
71. | The Directors may cancel or postpone any duly convened general meeting at any time prior to such meeting, except for general meetings Requisitioned by Requisitionists in accordance with these Articles, for any reason or for no reason, upon notice in writing to Shareholders. A postponement may be for a stated period of any length or indefinitely as the Directors may determine. |
72. | At any general meeting a resolution put to the vote of the meeting shall be decided on a show of hands, unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands) demanded by the chairman or any Shareholder present in person or by proxy, and unless a poll is so demanded, a declaration by the chairman that a resolution has, on a show of hands, been carried, or carried unanimously, or by a particular majority, or lost, and an entry to that effect in the book of the proceedings of the Company, shall be conclusive evidence of the fact, without proof of the number or proportion of the votes recorded in favour of, or against, that resolution. |
73. | If a poll is duly demanded it shall be taken in such manner as the chairman directs, and the result of the poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the meeting at which the poll was demanded. |
74. | All questions submitted to a meeting shall be decided by a simple majority of votes except where a greater majority is required by these Articles or by the Law. In the case of an equality of votes, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, the chairman of the meeting at which the show of hands takes place or at which the poll is demanded, shall be entitled to a second or casting vote. |
75. | A poll demanded on the election of a chairman of the meeting or on a question of adjournment shall be taken forthwith. A poll demanded on any other question shall be taken at such time as the chairman of the meeting directs. |
VOTES OF SHAREHOLDERS
76. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Share, on a show of hands every Shareholder present in person and every Person representing a Shareholder by proxy shall, at a general meeting of the Company, each have one vote and on a poll every Shareholder and every Person representing a Shareholder by proxy shall have one (1) vote for each Ordinary Share of which he or the Person represented by proxy is the holder. |
77. | In the case of joint holders the vote of the senior who tenders a vote whether in person or by proxy shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the Register. |
78. | A Shareholder of unsound mind, or in respect of whom an order has been made by any court having jurisdiction in lunacy, may vote in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him, whether on a show of hands or on a poll, by his committee, or other Person in the nature of a committee appointed by that court, and any such committee or other Person, may vote in respect of such Shares by proxy. |
79. | No Shareholder shall be entitled to vote at any general meeting of the Company unless all calls, if any, or other sums presently payable by him in respect of Shares carrying the right to vote held by him have been paid. |
80. | On a poll votes may be given either personally or by proxy. |
81. | Each Shareholder, other than a recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)), may only appoint one proxy on a show of hand. The instrument appointing a proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointor or of his attorney duly authorised in writing or, if the appointor is a corporation, either under Seal or under the hand of an officer or attorney duly authorised. A proxy need not be a Shareholder. |
82. | An instrument appointing a proxy may be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve. |
83. | The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deposited at the Registered Office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting, or in any instrument of proxy sent out by the Company: |
(a) | not less than 48 hours before the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting at which the Person named in the instrument proposes to vote; or |
(b) | in the case of a poll taken more than 48 hours after it is demanded, be deposited as aforesaid after the poll has been demanded and not less than 24 hours before the time appointed for the taking of the poll; or |
(c) | where the poll is not taken forthwith but is taken not more than 48 hours after it was demanded be delivered at the meeting at which the poll was demanded to the Chairman or to the secretary or to any Director; |
provided that the Directors may in the notice convening the meeting, or in an instrument of proxy sent out by the Company, direct that the instrument appointing a proxy may be deposited (no later than the time for holding the meeting or adjourned meeting) at the Registered Office or at such other place as is specified for that purpose in the notice convening the meeting, or in any instrument of proxy sent out by the Company. The Chairman may in any event at his discretion direct that an instrument of proxy shall be deemed to have been duly deposited. An instrument of proxy that is not deposited in the manner permitted shall be invalid.
84. | The instrument appointing a proxy shall be deemed to confer authority to demand or join in demanding a poll. |
85. | No action shall be taken by the Shareholders except at an annual or extraordinary general meeting called in accordance with these Articles and no action shall be taken by the Shareholders by written consent or electronic transmission. |
CORPORATIONS ACTING BY REPRESENTATIVES AT MEETINGS
86. | Any corporation which is a Shareholder or a Director may by resolution of its directors or other governing body authorise such Person as it thinks fit to act as its representative at any meeting of the Company or of any meeting of holders of a Class or of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, and the Person so authorised shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the corporation which he represents as that corporation could exercise if it were an individual Shareholder or Director. |
DEPOSITARY AND CLEARING HOUSES
87. | If a recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)) is a Shareholder of the Company it may, by resolution of its directors or other governing body or by power of attorney, authorise such Person(s) as it thinks fit to act as its representative(s) at any general meeting of the Company or of any Class of Shareholders provided that, if more than one (1) Person is so authorised, the authorisation shall specify the number and Class of Shares in respect of which each such Person is so authorised. A Person so authorised pursuant to this Article shall be entitled to exercise the same powers on behalf of the recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)) which he represents as that recognised clearing house (or its nominee(s)) or depositary (or its nominee(s)) could exercise if it were an individual Shareholder holding the number and Class of Shares specified in such authorisation, including the right to vote individually on a show of hands. |
DIRECTORS
88. | (a) | Unless otherwise determined by the Company in general meeting, the number of Directors shall not be less than one Director, the exact number of Directors to be determined exclusively by resolutions adopted by a majority of the authorized number of Directors constituting the Board from time to time. For so long as Shares are listed on the Designated Stock Exchange, the Directors shall include such number of Independent Directors as applicable law, rules or regulations or the Designated Stock Exchange Rules require for a foreign private issuer under the United States securities laws, so long as the Company is a foreign private issuer. |
(b) | The Directors shall be divided into three (3) classes designated as Class I, Class II and Class III, respectively. Directors shall be assigned to each class in accordance with a resolution or resolutions adopted by the board of Directors. At the first annual general meeting of Shareholders, the term of office of the Class I Directors shall expire and Class I Directors appointed at such meeting shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years. At the second annual general meeting of Shareholders, the term of office of the Class II Directors shall expire and Class II Directors appointed at such meeting shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years. At the third annual general meeting of Shareholders, the term of office of the Class III Directors shall expire and Class III Directors at such meeting appointed shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years. At each succeeding annual general meeting of Shareholders, Directors shall be elected for a full term of three (3) years to succeed the Directors of the class whose terms expire at such annual general meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, each Director shall hold office until the expiration of his term, until his successor shall have been duly elected and qualified or until his earlier death, resignation or removal. No decrease in the number of Directors constituting the board of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent Director. |
(c) | Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of preferred shares, any vacancies on the Board of Directors resulting from death, resignation, disqualification, removal or other causes, and any newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors, shall, unless the Board of Directors determines by resolution that any such vacancies or newly created directorships shall be filled by the Shareholders, except as otherwise provided by law, be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the Directors then in office, even though less than a quorum of the Board of Directors, and not by the Shareholders. Any Director elected in accordance with the preceding sentence shall hold office for the remainder of the full term of the Director for which the vacancy was created or occurred and until such Directors successor shall have been elected and qualified. |
(d) | The Board of Directors shall have a Chairman (who shall be a Director) elected and appointed by a majority of the Directors then in office. The period for which the Chairman will hold office will also be determined by a majority of all of the Directors then in office. The Chairman shall preside as chairman at every meeting of the Board of Directors. To the extent the Chairman is not present at a meeting of the Board of Directors within fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for holding the same, the attending Directors may choose one of their number to be the chairman of the meeting. |
(e) | The Company may by Ordinary Resolution appoint any person to be a Director. |
(f) | Subject to the Companys compliance with director nomination procedures required under the Designated Stock Exchange Rules as long as Shares are listed on the Designated Stock Exchange, the Board may appoint any person as a Director as an addition to the existing Board. |
(g) | An appointment of a Director may be on terms that the Director shall automatically retire from office (unless he has sooner vacated office) at the next or a subsequent annual general meeting or upon any specified event or after any specified period; but no such term shall be implied in the absence of express provision. Each Director whose term of office expires shall be eligible for re-election at a meeting of the Shareholders or re-appointment by the Board. |
89. | A Director may be removed from office by Ordinary Resolution of the Company, notwithstanding anything in these Articles or in any agreement between the Company and such Director (but without prejudice to any claim for damages under such agreement), however neither the Board of Directors nor any individual Director may be removed without cause. The notice of any meeting at which a resolution to remove a Director shall be proposed or voted upon must contain a statement of the intention to remove that Director and such notice must be served on that Director not less than ten (10) calendar days before the meeting. Such Director is entitled to attend the meeting and be heard on the motion for his removal. |
90. | The Board may, from time to time, and except as required by applicable law or the Designated Stock Exchange Rules, adopt, institute, amend, modify or revoke the corporate governance policies or initiatives, which shall be intended to set forth the policies of the Company and the Board on various corporate governance related matters as the Board shall determine by resolution from time to time. |
91. | A Director shall not be required to hold any Shares in the Company by way of qualification. A Director who is not a Shareholder of the Company shall nevertheless be entitled to attend and speak at general meetings. |
92. | The remuneration of the Directors may be determined by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution. |
93. | The Directors shall be entitled to be paid their travelling, hotel and other expenses properly incurred by them in going to, attending and returning from meetings of the Directors, or any committee of the Directors, or general meetings of the Company, or otherwise in connection with the business of the Company, or to receive such fixed allowance in respect thereof as may be determined by the Directors from time to time, or a combination partly of one such method and partly the other. |
ALTERNATE DIRECTOR OR PROXY
94. | Any Director may in writing appoint another Person to be his alternate and, save to the extent provided otherwise in the form of appointment, such alternate shall have authority to sign written resolutions on behalf of the appointing Director, but shall not be required to sign such written resolutions where they have been signed by the appointing director, and to act in such Directors place at any meeting of the Directors at which the appointing Director is unable to be present. Every such alternate shall be entitled to attend and vote at meetings of the Directors as a Director when the Director appointing him is not personally present and where he is a Director to have a separate vote on behalf of the Director he is representing in addition to his own vote. A Director may at any time in writing revoke the appointment of an alternate appointed by him. Such alternate shall be deemed for all purposes to be a Director of the Company and shall not be deemed to be the agent of the Director appointing him. The remuneration of such alternate shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing him and the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them. |
95. | Any Director may appoint any Person, whether or not a Director, to be the proxy of that Director to attend and vote on his behalf, in accordance with instructions given by that Director, or in the absence of such instructions at the discretion of the proxy, at a meeting or meetings of the Directors which that Director is unable to attend personally. The instrument appointing the proxy shall be in writing under the hand of the appointing Director and shall be in any usual or common form or such other form as the Directors may approve, and must be lodged with the chairman of the meeting of the Directors at which such proxy is to be used, or first used, prior to the commencement of the meeting. A proxy who attends such a meeting shall be counted in the quorum. Every such proxy shall be entitled to attend and vote in such appointing Directors place when the appointing Director is not personally present at such meeting; |
provided, that, prior to each meeting of the Board at which the proxy is to vote, the Director shall instruct the proxy as to the manner in which he is to cast the vote and shall inform the Board accordingly and the proxy shall be entitled to cast a vote on behalf of the Director only in accordance with such instructions. Where the proxy is a Director he shall be entitled to have such separate vote on behalf of the Director for which he is acting as proxy in addition to his own vote. The remuneration of such proxy shall be payable out of the remuneration of the Director appointing himand the proportion thereof shall be agreed between them. The signature of a proxy to any resolution in writing of the Directors or a committee thereof shall, unless the terms of the appointment provides to the contrary, be as effective as the signature of the Director appointing him as proxy. For the avoidance of doubt, any Director that has the right to attend any meeting of a committee established by the Board may appoint a proxy to act in his place at such meeting. Where the Director appointing a proxy is an Interested Director in respect of a matter to be considered at a meeting of the Board, the Interested Director shall procure that the proxy declares the nature of his interest at such meeting and the proxy may be counted in the quorum but shall not be entitled to vote on behalf of the Interested Director in respect of any contract or proposed contract or arrangement in which such Interested Director is interested. For the avoidance of doubt, a person who is appointed a proxy shall not in consequence thereof become an Indemnified Person. |
POWERS AND DUTIES OF DIRECTORS
96. | Subject to the Companies Law, these Articles and to any resolutions passed in a general meeting, the business of the Company shall be managed by the Directors, who may pay all expenses incurred in setting up and registering the Company and may exercise all powers of the Company. No resolution passed by the Company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the Directors that would have been valid if that resolution had not been passed. |
97. | Subject to these Articles, the Directors may from time to time appoint any natural person or corporation, whether or not a Director to hold such office in the Company as the Directors may think necessary for the administration of the Company, including but not limited to, the office of president, one or more vice-presidents, treasurer, assistant treasurer, manager or controller, and for such term and at such remuneration (whether by way of salary or commission or participation in profits or partly in one way and partly in another), and with such powers and duties as the Directors may think fit. Any natural person or corporation so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors. The Directors may also appoint one or more of their number to the office of managing director upon like terms, but any such appointment shall ipso facto terminate if any managing director ceases for any cause to be a Director, or if the Company by Ordinary Resolution resolves that his tenure of office be terminated. |
98. | The Directors may appoint any natural person or corporation to be a Secretary (and if need be an assistant Secretary or assistant Secretaries) who shall hold office for such term, at such remuneration and upon such conditions and with such powers as they think fit. Any Secretary or assistant Secretary so appointed by the Directors may be removed by the Directors or by the Company by Ordinary Resolution. |
99. | The Directors may delegate any of their powers to committees consisting of such member or members of their body as they think fit; any committee so formed shall in the exercise of the powers so delegated conform to any regulations that may be imposed on it by the Directors. |
100. | The Directors may from time to time and at any time by power of attorney (whether under Seal or under hand) or otherwise appoint any company, firm or Person or body of Persons, whether nominated directly or indirectly by the Directors, to be the attorney or attorneys or authorised signatory (any such person being an Attorney or Authorised Signatory, respectively) of the Company for such purposes and with such powers, authorities and discretion (not exceeding those vested in or exercisable by the Directors under these Articles) and for such period and subject to such conditions as they may think fit, and any such power of attorney or other appointment may contain such provisions for the protection and convenience of Persons dealing with any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory as the Directors may think fit, and may also authorise any such Attorney or Authorised Signatory to delegate all or any of the powers, authorities and discretion vested in him. |
101. | The Directors may from time to time provide for the management of the affairs of the Company in such manner as they shall think fit and the provisions contained in the three next following Articles shall not limit the general powers conferred by this Article. |
102. | The Directors from time to time and at any time may establish any committees, local boards or agencies for managing any of the affairs of the Company and may appoint any natural person or corporation to be a member of such committees or local boards and may appoint any managers or agents of the Company and may fix the remuneration of any such natural person or corporation. |
103. | The Directors from time to time and at any time may delegate to any such committee, local board, manager or agent any of the powers, authorities and discretions for the time being vested in the Directors and may authorise the members for the time being of any such local board, or any of them to fill any vacancies therein and to act notwithstanding vacancies and any such appointment or delegation may be made on such terms and subject to such conditions as the Directors may think fit and the Directors may at any time remove any natural person or corporation so appointed and may annul or vary any such delegation, but no Person dealing in good faith and without notice of any such annulment or variation shall be affected thereby. |
104. | Any such delegates as aforesaid may be authorised by the Directors to sub-delegate all or any of the powers, authorities, and discretion for the time being vested in them. |
BORROWING POWERS OF DIRECTORS
105. | The Directors may from time to time at their discretion exercise all the powers of the Company to raise or borrow money and to mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and assets (present and future) and uncalled capital or any part thereof, to issue debentures, debenture stock, bonds and other securities, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of the Company or of any third party. |
THE SEAL
106. | The Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of the Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of the Seal. The Seal shall be affixed in the presence of a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose and every Person as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the Seal is so affixed in their presence. |
107. | The Company may maintain a facsimile of the Seal in such countries or places as the Directors may appoint and such facsimile Seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of a resolution of the Directors provided always that such authority may be given prior to or after the affixing of such facsimile Seal and if given after may be in general form confirming a number of affixings of such facsimile Seal. The facsimile Seal shall be affixed in the presence of such Person or Persons as the Directors shall for this purpose appoint and such Person or Persons as aforesaid shall sign every instrument to which the facsimile Seal is so affixed in their presence and such affixing of the facsimile Seal and signing as aforesaid shall have the same meaning and effect as if the Seal had been affixed in the presence of and the instrument signed by a Director or a Secretary (or an assistant Secretary) or in the presence of any one or more Persons as the Directors may appoint for the purpose. |
108. | Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Secretary or any assistant Secretary shall have the authority to affix the Seal, or the facsimile Seal, to any instrument for the purposes of attesting authenticity of the matter contained therein but which does not create any obligation binding on the Company. |
DISQUALIFICATION OF DIRECTORS
109. | The office of Director shall be vacated, if the Director: |
(a) | becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; |
(b) | dies or is found to be or becomes of unsound mind; |
(c) | resigns his office by notice in writing to the Company; |
(d) | without special leave of absence from the Board, is absent from meetings of the Board for three (3) consecutive meetings and the Board resolves that his office be vacated; or |
(e) | is removed from office pursuant to any other provision of these Articles. |
PROCEEDINGS OF DIRECTORS
110. | The Directors may meet together (either within or without the Cayman Islands) for the despatch of business, adjourn, and otherwise regulate their meetings and proceedings as they think fit. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. At any meeting of the Directors, each Director present in person or represented by his proxy or alternate shall be entitled to one (1) vote. In case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote. A Director may, and a Secretary or assistant Secretary on the requisition of a Director shall, at any time summon a meeting of the Directors. |
111. | A Director may participate in any meeting of the Directors, or of any committee appointed by the Directors of which such Director is a member, by means of telephone or similar communication equipment by way of which all Persons participating in such meeting can communicate with each other and such participation shall be deemed to constitute presence in person at the meeting. |
112. | The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the Directors may be fixed by the Directors, and unless so fixed, the quorum shall be a majority of Directors then in office. A Director represented by proxy or by an alternate Director at any meeting shall be deemed to be present for the purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present. |
113. | A Director who is in any way, whether directly or indirectly, interested in a contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction with the Company shall declare the nature of his interest at a meeting of the Directors. A general notice given to the Directors by any Director to the effect that he is a member of any specified company or firm and is to be regarded as interested in any contract or transaction which may thereafter be made with that company or firm shall be deemed a sufficient declaration of interest in regard to any contract so made or transaction so consummated. A Director may not vote in respect of any contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction that he or she may be interested therein, but he or she may be counted in the quorum of any meeting of the Directors at which any such contract or transaction or proposed contract or transaction shall come before the meeting for consideration. |
114. | A Director may hold any other office or place of profit under the Company (other than the office of auditor) in conjunction with his office of Director for such period and on such terms (as to remuneration and otherwise) as the Directors may determine and no Director or intending Director shall be disqualified by his office from contracting with the Company either with regard to his tenure of any such other office or place of profit or as vendor, purchaser or otherwise, nor shall any such contract or arrangement entered into by or on behalf of the Company in which any Director is in any way interested, be liable to be avoided, nor shall any Director so contracting or being so interested be liable to account to the Company for any profit realised by any such contract or arrangement by reason of such Director holding that office or of the fiduciary relation thereby established. A Director, notwithstanding his or her interest, may be counted in the quorum present at any meeting of the Directors whereat he or she or any other Director is appointed to hold any such office or place of profit under the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged, but he or she may not vote on any such appointment or arrangement. |
115. | Any Director may act by himself or through his firm in a professional capacity for the Company, and he or his firm shall be entitled to remuneration for professional services as if he were not a Director; provided that nothing herein contained shall authorise a Director or his firm to act as auditor to the Company. A Director may be counted in the quorum present for the portion of any meeting of the Directors whereat he or she is appointed to act by himself or herself or through his or her firm in a professional capacity for the Company or whereat the terms of any such appointment are arranged, but he or she may not vote on any such appointment or arrangement. |
116. | The Directors shall cause minutes to be made for the purpose of recording: |
a. | all appointments of officers made by the Directors; |
b. | the names of the Directors present at each meeting of the Directors and of any committee of the Directors; and |
c. | all resolutions and proceedings at all meetings of the Company, and of the Directors and of committees of Directors. |
117. | When the Chairman of a meeting of the Directors signs the minutes of such meeting the same shall be deemed to have been duly held notwithstanding the absence of a Director or Directors (so long as a quorum was present) or that there may have been a technical defect in the proceedings. |
118. | A resolution in writing signed by all the Directors or all the members of a committee of Directors entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be (an alternate Director, subject as provided otherwise in the terms of appointment of the alternate Director, being entitled to sign such a resolution on behalf of his appointer), shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a duly called and constituted meeting of Directors or committee of Directors, as the case may be. When signed a resolution may consist of several documents each signed by one or more of the Directors or his duly appointed alternate. |
119. | The continuing Directors may act notwithstanding any vacancy in their body but if and for so long as their number is reduced below the number fixed by or pursuant to these Articles as the necessary quorum of Directors, the continuing Directors may act for the purpose of increasing the number, or of summoning a general meeting of the Company, but for no other purpose. |
120. | Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, a committee appointed by the Directors may elect a chairman of its meetings. If no such chairman is elected, or if at any meeting the chairman is not present within fifteen (15) minutes after the time appointed for holding the meeting, the committee members present may choose one of their number to be chairman of the meeting. |
121. | A committee appointed by the Directors may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper. Subject to any regulations imposed on it by the Directors, questions arising at any meeting shall be determined by a majority of votes of the committee members present and in case of an equality of votes the chairman shall have a second or casting vote. |
122. | All acts done by any meeting of the Directors or of a committee of Directors, or by any Person acting as a Director, shall notwithstanding that it be afterwards discovered that there was some defect in the appointment of any such Director or Person acting as aforesaid, or that they or any of them were disqualified, be as valid as if every such Person had been duly appointed and was qualified to be a Director. |
PRESUMPTION OF ASSENT
123. | A Director of the Company who is present at a meeting of the Board of Directors at which an action on any Company matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the action taken unless his dissent shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or unless he shall file his written dissent from such action with the person acting as the chairman or secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward such dissent by personal delivery, registered post, recognized overnight courier, or by electronic means with confirmation of receipt, to such person immediately after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to a Director who voted in favour of such action. |
DIVIDENDS
124. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, the Directors may from time to time declare dividends (including interim dividends) and other distributions on Shares in issue and authorise payment of the same out of the funds of the Company lawfully available therefor. |
125. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, the Company by Ordinary Resolution may declare dividends, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by the Directors. |
126. | The Directors may, before recommending or declaring any dividend, set aside out of the funds legally available for distribution such sums as they think proper as a reserve or reserves which shall, in the absolute discretion of the Directors be applicable for meeting contingencies, or for equalising dividends or for any other purpose to which those funds may be properly applied and pending such application may in the absolute discretion of the Directors, either be employed in the business of the Company or be invested in such investments (other than Shares of the Company) as the Directors may from time to time think fit. |
127. | Any dividend payable in cash to the holder of Shares may be paid in any manner determined by the Directors. If paid by cheque it will be sent by mail addressed to the holder at his address in the Register, or addressed to such person and at such addresses as the holder may direct. Every such cheque or warrant shall, unless the holder or joint holders otherwise direct, be made payable to the order of the holder or, in the case of joint holders, to the order of the holder whose name stands first on the Register in respect of such Shares, and shall be sent at his or their risk and payment of the cheque or warrant by the bank on which it is drawn shall constitute a good discharge to the Company. |
128. | The Directors may recommend to Shareholders that a dividend shall be paid wholly or partly by the distribution of specific assets (which may consist of the shares or securities of any other company) and may settle all questions concerning such distribution. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, subject to the approval of Shareholders by an Ordinary Resolution, the Directors may fix the value of such specific assets, may determine that cash payment shall be made to some Shareholders in lieu of specific assets and may vest any such specific assets in trustees on such terms as the Directors think fit. |
129. | Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any Shares, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid up on the Shares, but if and for so long as nothing is paid up on any of the Shares dividends may be declared and paid according to the par value of the Shares. No amount paid on a Share in advance of calls shall, while carrying interest, be treated for the purposes of this Article as paid on the Share. |
130. | If several Persons are registered as joint holders of any Share, any of them may give effective receipts for any dividend or other moneys payable on or in respect of the Share. |
131. | No dividend shall bear interest against the Company. |
132. | Any dividend unclaimed after a period of six (6) years from the date of declaration of such dividend may be forfeited by the Board of Directors and, if so forfeited, shall revert to the Company. |
ACCOUNTS, AUDIT AND ANNUAL RETURN AND DECLARATION
133. | The books of account relating to the Companys affairs shall be kept in such manner as may be determined from time to time by the Directors. |
134. | The books of account shall be kept at the Registered Office, or at such other place or places as the Directors think fit, and shall always be open to the inspection of the Directors. |
135. | The Directors may from time to time determine whether and to what extent and at what times and places and under what conditions or regulations the accounts and books of the Company or any of them shall be open to the inspection of Shareholders not being Directors, and no Shareholder (not being a Director) shall have any right of inspecting any account or book or document of the Company except as conferred by law or authorised by the Directors or by Ordinary Resolution. |
136. | The accounts relating to the Companys affairs shall be audited in such manner and with such financial year end as may be determined from time to time by the Directors or failing any determination as aforesaid shall not be audited. |
137. | The Directors may appoint an auditor of the Company who shall hold office until removed from office by a resolution of the Directors and may fix his or their remuneration. |
138. | Every auditor of the Company shall have a right of access at all times to the books and accounts and vouchers of the Company and shall be entitled to require from the Directors and officers of the Company such information and explanation as may be necessary for the performance of the duties of the auditors. |
139. | The auditors shall, if so required by the Directors, make a report on the accounts of the Company during their tenure of office at the next annual general meeting following their appointment, and at any time during their term of office, upon request of the Directors or any general meeting of the Shareholders. |
140. | The Directors in each year shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an annual return and declaration setting forth the particulars required by the Companies Law and deliver a copy thereof to the Registrar of Companies in the Cayman Islands. |
CAPITALISATION OF RESERVES
141. | Subject to the Companies Law, the Directors may, with the authority of an Ordinary Resolution: |
(a) | resolve to capitalise an amount standing to the credit of reserves (including a Share Premium Account, capital redemption reserve and profit and loss account), whether or not available for distribution; |
(b) | appropriate the sum resolved to be capitalised to the Shareholders in proportion to the nominal amount of Shares (whether or not fully paid) held by them respectively and apply that sum on their behalf in or towards: |
(i) | paying up the amounts (if any) for the time being unpaid on Shares held by them respectively, or |
(ii) | paying up in full unissued Shares or debentures of a nominal amount equal to that sum, |
and allot the Shares or debentures, credited as fully paid, to the Shareholders (or as they may direct) in those proportions, or partly in one way and partly in the other, but the Share Premium Account, the capital redemption reserve and profits which are not available for distribution may, for the purposes of this Article, only be applied in paying up unissued Shares to be allotted to Shareholders credited as fully paid;
(c) | make any arrangements they think fit to resolve a difficulty arising in the distribution of a capitalised reserve and in particular, without limitation, where Shares or debentures become distributable in fractions the Directors may deal with the fractions as they think fit; |
(d) | authorise a Person to enter (on behalf of all the Shareholders concerned) into an agreement with the Company providing for either: |
(i) | the allotment to the Shareholders respectively, credited as fully paid, of Shares or debentures to which they may be entitled on the capitalisation, or |
(ii) | the payment by the Company on behalf of the Shareholders (by the application of their respective proportions of the reserves resolved to be capitalised) of the amounts or part of the amounts remaining unpaid on their existing Shares, |
and any such agreement made under this authority being effective and binding on all those Shareholders; and
(e) | generally do all acts and things required to give effect to the resolution. |
SHARE PREMIUM ACCOUNT
142. | The Directors shall in accordance with the Companies Law establish a Share Premium Account and shall carry to the credit of such account from time to time a sum equal to the amount or value of the premium paid on the issue of any Share. |
143. | There shall be debited to any Share Premium Account on the redemption or purchase of a Share the difference between the nominal value of such Share and the redemption or purchase price provided always that at the discretion of the Directors such sum may be paid out of the profits of the Company or, if permitted by the Companies Law, out of capital. |
NOTICES
144. | Except as otherwise provided in these Articles, any notice or document may be served by the Company or by the Person entitled to give notice to any Shareholder either personally, or by posting it by airmail or air courier service in a prepaid letter addressed to such Shareholder at his address as appearing in the |
Register, or by electronic mail to any electronic mail address such Shareholder may have specified in writing for the purpose of such service of notices, or by facsimile or by placing it on the Companys Website should the Directors deem it appropriate provided that the Company has obtained the Shareholders prior express positive confirmation in writing to receive notices in such manner. In the case of joint holders of a Share, all notices shall be given to that one of the joint holders whose name stands first in the Register in respect of the joint holding, and notice so given shall be sufficient notice to all the joint holders. |
145. | Notices posted to addresses outside the Cayman Islands shall be forwarded by prepaid airmail. |
146. | Any Shareholder present, either personally or by proxy, at any meeting of the Company shall for all purposes be deemed to have received due notice of such meeting and, where requisite, of the purposes for which such meeting was convened. |
147. | Any notice or other document, if served by: |
(a) | post, shall be deemed to have been served five calendar days after the time when the letter containing the same is posted; |
(b) | facsimile, shall be deemed to have been served upon production by the transmitting facsimile machine of a report confirming transmission of the facsimile in full to the facsimile number of the recipient; |
(c) | recognised courier service, shall be deemed to have been served 48 hours after the time when the letter containing the same is delivered to the courier service; or |
(d) | electronic mail, shall be deemed to have been served immediately upon the time of the transmission by electronic mail. |
In proving service by post or courier service it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter containing the notice or documents was properly addressed and duly posted or delivered to the courier service.
148. | Any notice or document delivered or sent by post to or left at the registered address of any Shareholder in accordance with the terms of these Articles shall notwithstanding that such Shareholder be then dead or bankrupt, and whether or not the Company has notice of his death or bankruptcy, be deemed to have been duly served in respect of any Share registered in the name of such Shareholder as sole or joint holder, unless his name shall at the time of the service of the notice or document, have been removed from the Register as the holder of the Share, and such service shall for all purposes be deemed a sufficient service of such notice or document on all Persons interested (whether jointly with or as claiming through or under him) in the Share. |
149. | Notice of every general meeting of the Company shall be given to: |
(a) | all Shareholders holding Shares with the right to receive notice and who have supplied to the Company an address for the giving of notices to them; and |
(b) | every Person entitled to a Share in consequence of the death or bankruptcy of a Shareholder, who but for his death or bankruptcy would be entitled to receive notice of the meeting. |
No other Person shall be entitled to receive notices of general meetings.
INFORMATION
150. | No Shareholder shall be entitled to require discovery of any information in respect of any detail of the Companys trading or any information which is or may be in the nature of a trade secret or secret process which may relate to the conduct of the business of the Company and which in the opinion of the Board would not be in the interests of the Shareholders of the Company to communicate to the public. |
151. | The Board shall be entitled to release or disclose any information in its possession, custody or control regarding the Company or its affairs to any of its Shareholders including, without limitation, information contained in the Register and transfer books of the Company. |
INDEMNITY
152. | Every Director, Secretary, assistant Secretary, or other officer for the time being and from time to time of the Company (but not including the Companys auditors) (each an Indemnified Person) shall be indemnified and secured harmless against all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by such Indemnified Person, other than by reason of such Indemnified Persons own dishonesty, wilful default or fraud, in or about the conduct of the Companys business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of his duties, powers, authorities or discretions (including as a result of any mistake of judgment), including without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, any costs, expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees), losses or liabilities incurred by such Indemnified Person in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil proceedings concerning the Company or its affairs in any court whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere (the Indemnified Matters). |
153. | Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the Indemnified Matters include: |
(a) | for the acts, receipts, neglects, defaults or omissions of any other Director or officer or agent of the Company; or |
(b) | for any loss on account of defect of title to any property of the Company; or |
(c) | on account of the insufficiency of any security in or upon which any money of the Company shall be invested; or |
(d) | for any loss incurred through any bank, broker or other similar Person; or |
(e) | for any loss occasioned by any negligence, default, breach of duty, breach of trust, error of judgement or oversight on such Indemnified Persons part; or |
(f) | for any loss, damage or misfortune whatsoever which may happen in or arise from the execution or discharge of the duties, powers, authorities, or discretions of such Indemnified Persons office or in relation thereto; |
unless the same shall happen through such Indemnified Persons own dishonesty, wilful default or fraud.
FINANCIAL YEAR
154. | Unless the Directors otherwise prescribe, the financial year of the Company shall end on December 31st in each year and shall begin on January 1st in each year. |
NON-RECOGNITION OF TRUSTS
155. | No Person shall be recognised by the Company as holding any Share upon any trust and the Company shall not, unless required by law, be bound by or be compelled in any way to recognise (even when having notice thereof) any equitable, contingent, future or partial interest in any Share or (except only as otherwise provided by these Articles or as the Companies Law requires) any other right in respect of any Share except an absolute right to the entirety thereof in each Shareholder registered in the Register. |
WINDING UP
156. | If the Company shall be wound up the liquidator may, with the sanction of a Special Resolution of the Company and any other sanction required by the Companies Law, divide amongst the Shareholders in species or in kind the whole or any part of the assets of the Company (whether they shall consist of property of the same kind or not) and may for that purpose value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the Shareholders or different classes of Shareholders. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of such assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the Shareholders as the liquidator, with the like sanction, shall think fit, but so that no Shareholder shall be compelled to accept any asset upon which there is a liability. |
157. | If the Company shall be wound up, and the assets available for distribution amongst the Shareholders shall be insufficient to repay the whole of the share capital, such assets shall be distributed so that, as nearly as may be, the losses shall be borne by the Shareholders in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them. If in a winding up the assets available for distribution amongst the Shareholders shall be more than sufficient to repay the whole of the share capital at the commencement of the winding up, the surplus shall be distributed amongst the Shareholders in proportion to the par value of the Shares held by them at the commencement of the winding up subject to a deduction from those Shares in respect of which there are monies due, of all monies payable to the Company for unpaid calls or otherwise. This Article is without prejudice to the rights of the holders of Shares issued upon special terms and conditions. |
AMENDMENT OF ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
158. | Subject to the Companies Law, the Company may at any time and from time to time by Special Resolution alter or amend these Articles in whole or in part. |
CLOSING OF REGISTER OR FIXING RECORD DATE
159. | For the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at any meeting of Shareholders or any adjournment thereof, or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend, or in order to make a determination as to who is a Shareholder for any other purpose, the Directors may provide that the Register shall be closed for transfers for a stated period which shall not exceed in any case forty (40) calendar days. If the Register shall be so closed for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders the Register shall be so closed for at least ten (10) calendar days immediately preceding such meeting and the record date for such determination shall be the date of the closure of the Register. |
160. | In lieu of or apart from closing the Register, the Directors may fix in advance a date as the record date for any such determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of the Shareholders and for the purpose of determining those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of any dividend the Directors may, at or within ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date of declaration of such dividend, fix a subsequent date as the record date for such determination. |
161. | If the Register is not so closed and no record date is fixed for the determination of those Shareholders entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders or those Shareholders that are entitled to receive payment of a dividend, the date on which notice of the meeting is posted or the date on which the resolution of the Directors declaring such dividend is adopted, as the case may be, shall be the record date for such determination of Shareholders. When a determination of those Shareholders that are entitled to receive notice of, attend or vote at a meeting of Shareholders has been made as provided in this Article, such determination shall apply to any adjournment thereof. |
REGISTRATION BY WAY OF CONTINUATION
162. | The Company may by Special Resolution resolve to be registered by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing. In furtherance of a resolution adopted pursuant to this Article, the Directors may cause an application to be made to the Registrar of Companies to deregister the Company in the Cayman Islands or such other jurisdiction in which it is for the time being incorporated, registered or existing and may cause all such further steps as they consider appropriate to be taken to effect the transfer by way of continuation of the Company. |
DISCLOSURE
163. | The Directors, or any service providers (including the officers, the Secretary and the registered office agent of the Company) specifically authorised by the Directors, shall be entitled to disclose to any regulatory or judicial authority any information regarding the affairs of the Company including without limitation information contained in the Register and books of the Company. |
Exhibit 4.3
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||||
PARTIES | 1 | |||||
RECITALS | 1 | |||||
Section 1. |
Certain Definitions |
|||||
(a) |
ADR Register |
1 | ||||
(b) |
ADRs; Direct Registration ADRs |
1 | ||||
(c) |
ADS |
1 | ||||
(d) |
Beneficial Owner |
1 | ||||
(e) |
Custodian |
2 | ||||
(f) |
Deliver, execute, issue et al. |
2 | ||||
(g) |
Delivery Order |
2 | ||||
(h) |
Deposited Securities |
2 | ||||
(i) |
Direct Registration System |
2 | ||||
(j) |
Holder |
2 | ||||
(k) |
Securities Act of 1933 |
3 | ||||
(l) |
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
3 | ||||
(m) |
Shares |
3 | ||||
(n) |
Transfer Office |
3 | ||||
(o) |
Withdrawal Order |
3 | ||||
Section 2. |
Form of ADRs |
3 | ||||
Section 3. |
Deposit of Shares |
4 | ||||
Section 4. |
Issue of ADRs |
5 | ||||
Section 5. |
Distributions on Deposited Securities |
5 | ||||
Section 6. |
Withdrawal of Deposited Securities |
5 | ||||
Section 7. |
Substitution of ADRs |
6 | ||||
Section 8. |
Cancellation and Destruction of ADRs |
6 | ||||
Section 9. |
The Custodian |
6 | ||||
Section 10. |
Lists of Holders |
7 | ||||
Section 11. |
Depositarys Agents |
7 | ||||
Section 12. |
Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary |
7 | ||||
Section 13. |
Reports |
8 | ||||
Section 14. |
Additional Shares |
8 | ||||
Section 15. |
Indemnification |
9 | ||||
Section 16. |
Notices |
10 | ||||
Section 17. |
Counterparts |
11 | ||||
Section 18. |
No Third Party Beneficiaries; Holders and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect |
11 | ||||
Section 19. |
Severability |
11 | ||||
Section 20. |
Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction |
12 | ||||
Section 21. |
Agent for Service |
15 | ||||
Section 22. |
Waiver of Immunities |
16 | ||||
Section 23. |
Waiver of Jury Trial |
16 | ||||
TESTIMONIUM | 17 | |||||
SIGNATURES | 17 |
-i-
EXHIBIT A
Page | ||||||
FORM OF FACE OF ADR | A-1 | |||||
Introductory Paragraph | A-1 | |||||
(1) |
Issuance of ADSs |
A-2 | ||||
(2) |
Withdrawal of Deposited Securities |
A-3 | ||||
(3) |
Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs |
A-3 | ||||
(4) |
Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc. |
A-4 | ||||
(5) |
Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges |
A-5 | ||||
(6) |
Disclosure of Interests |
A-6 | ||||
(7) |
Charges of Depositary |
A-7 | ||||
(8) |
Available Information |
A-10 | ||||
(9) |
Execution |
A-11 | ||||
Signature of Depositary | A-11 | |||||
Address of Depositarys Office | A-11 | |||||
FORM OF REVERSE OF ADR |
A-12 | |||||
(10) |
Distributions on Deposited Securities |
A-12 | ||||
(11) |
Record Dates |
A-13 | ||||
(12) |
Voting of Deposited Securities |
A-13 | ||||
(13) |
Changes Affecting Deposited Securities |
A-16 | ||||
(14) |
Exoneration |
A-17 | ||||
(15) |
Resignation and Removal of Depositary; the Custodian |
A-21 | ||||
(16) |
Amendment |
A-21 | ||||
(17) |
Termination |
A-22 | ||||
(18) |
Appointment; Acknowledgements and Agreements |
A-23 | ||||
(19) |
Waiver |
A-24 | ||||
(20) |
Jurisdiction |
A-20 |
-ii-
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, dated as of , 2020 (the Deposit Agreement), among Legend Biotech Corporation and its successors (the Company), JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as depositary hereunder (the Depositary), and all Holders (as defined below) and Beneficial Owners (as defined below) from time to time of American Depositary Receipts issued hereunder evidencing American Depositary Shares (ADSs) representing deposited Shares (as defined below). The Company hereby appoints the Depositary as depositary for the Deposited Securities (as defined below) and hereby authorizes and directs the Depositary to act in accordance with the terms set forth in this Deposit Agreement. All capitalized terms used herein have the meanings ascribed to them in Section 1 or elsewhere in this Deposit Agreement. The parties hereto agree as follows:
1. Certain Definitions.
(a) ADR Register is defined in paragraph (3) of the form of ADR (Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs).
(b) ADRs mean the American Depositary Receipts executed and delivered hereunder. ADRs may be either in physical certificated form or Direct Registration ADRs (as hereinafter defined). ADRs in physical certificated form, and the terms and conditions governing the Direct Registration ADRs, shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A annexed hereto (the form of ADR). The term Direct Registration ADR means an ADR, the ownership of which is recorded on the Direct Registration System. References to ADRs shall include certificated ADRs and Direct Registration ADRs, unless the context otherwise requires. The form of ADR is hereby incorporated herein and made a part hereof; the provisions of the form of ADR shall be binding upon the parties hereto.
(c) Subject to paragraph (13) of the form of ADR (Changes Affecting Deposited Securities), each ADS evidenced by an ADR represents the right to receive, and to exercise the beneficial ownership interests in, the number of Shares specified in the form of ADR attached hereto as Exhibit A (as amended from time to time) that are on deposit with the Depositary and/or the Custodian and a pro rata share in any other Deposited Securities, subject, in each case, to the terms of this Deposit Agreement and the ADSs. The ADS(s)-to-Share(s) ratio is subject to amendment as provided in the form of ADR (which may give rise to fees contemplated in paragraph (7) thereof (Charges of Depositary)).
(d) Beneficial Owner means as to any ADS, any person or entity having a beneficial ownership interest in such ADS. A Beneficial Owner need not be the Holder of the ADR evidencing such ADS. If a Beneficial Owner of ADSs is not a Holder, it must
1
rely on the Holder of the ADR(s) evidencing such ADSs in order to assert any rights or receive any benefits under this Deposit Agreement. The arrangements between a Beneficial Owner of ADSs and the Holder of the corresponding ADRs may affect the Beneficial Owners ability to exercise any rights it may have.
(e) Custodian means the agent or agents of the Depositary (singly or collectively, as the context requires) and any additional or substitute Custodian appointed pursuant to Section 9.
(f) The terms deliver, execute, issue, register, surrender, transfer or cancel, when used with respect to Direct Registration ADRs, shall refer to an entry or entries or an electronic transfer or transfers in the Direct Registration System, and, when used with respect to ADRs in physical certificated form, shall refer to the physical delivery, execution, issuance, registration, surrender, transfer or cancellation of certificates representing the ADRs.
(g) Delivery Order is defined in Section 3.
(h) Deposited Securities as of any time means all Shares at such time deposited under this Deposit Agreement and any and all other Shares, securities, property and cash at such time held by the Depositary or the Custodian in respect or in lieu of such deposited Shares and other Shares, securities, property and cash. Deposited Securities are not intended to, and shall not, constitute proprietary assets of the Depositary, the Custodian or their nominees. Beneficial ownership in Deposited Securities is intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the Deposit Agreement continue to be, vested in the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs representing such Deposited Securities.
(i) Direct Registration System means the system for the uncertificated registration of ownership of securities established by The Depository Trust Company (DTC) and utilized by the Depositary pursuant to which the Depositary may record the ownership of ADRs without the issuance of a certificate, which ownership shall be evidenced by periodic statements issued by the Depositary to the Holders entitled thereto. For purposes hereof, the Direct Registration System shall include access to the Profile Modification System maintained by DTC which provides for automated transfer of ownership between DTC and the Depositary.
(j) Holder means the person or persons in whose name an ADR is registered on the ADR Register. For all purposes under the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs, a Holder shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by the ADR(s) registered in such Holders name.
2
(k) Securities Act of 1933 means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as from time to time amended.
(l) Securities Exchange Act of 1934 means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as from time to time amended.
(m) Shares mean the ordinary shares of the Company, and shall include the rights to receive Shares specified in paragraph (1) of the form of ADR (Issuance of ADSs).
(n) Transfer Office is defined in paragraph (3) of the form of ADR (Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs).
(o) Withdrawal Order is defined in Section 6.
2. Form of ADRs.
(a) Direct Registration ADRs. Notwithstanding anything in this Deposit Agreement or in the form of ADR to the contrary, ADSs shall be evidenced by Direct Registration ADRs, unless certificated ADRs are specifically requested by the Holder.
(b) Certificated ADRs. ADRs in certificated form shall be printed or otherwise reproduced at the discretion of the Depositary in accordance with its customary practices in its American depositary receipt business, or at the request of the Company typewritten and photocopied on plain or safety paper, and shall be substantially in the form set forth in the form of ADR, with such changes as may be required by the Depositary or the Company to comply with their obligations hereunder, any applicable law, regulation or usage or to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which any particular ADRs are subject. ADRs may be issued in denominations of any number of ADSs. ADRs in certificated form shall be executed by the Depositary by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary. ADRs in certificated form bearing the facsimile signature of anyone who was at the time of execution a duly authorized officer of the Depositary shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding that such officer has ceased to hold such office prior to the delivery of such ADRs.
(c) Binding Effect. Holders of ADRs, and the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such ADRs, shall each be bound by the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and of the form of ADR, regardless of whether such ADRs are Direct Registration ADRs or certificated ADRs.
3
3. Deposit of Shares.
(a) Requirements. In connection with the deposit of Shares hereunder, the Depositary or the Custodian may require the following in a form satisfactory to it:
(i) a written order directing the Depositary to issue to, or upon the written order of, the person or persons designated in such order a Direct Registration ADR or ADRs evidencing the number of ADSs representing such deposited Shares (a Delivery Order);
(ii) proper endorsements or duly executed instruments of transfer in respect of such deposited Shares;
(iii) instruments assigning to the Depositary, the Custodian or a nominee of either any distribution on or in respect of such deposited Shares or indemnity therefor; and
(iv) proxies entitling the Custodian to vote such deposited Shares.
(b) Registration of Deposited Securities. As soon as practicable after the Custodian receives Deposited Securities pursuant to any such deposit or pursuant to paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities) or (13) (Changes Affecting Deposited Securities) of the form of ADR, the Custodian shall present such Deposited Securities for registration of transfer into the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or a nominee of either, in each case for the benefit of Holders, to the extent such registration is practicable, at the cost and expense of the person making such deposit (or for whose benefit such deposit is made) and shall obtain evidence satisfactory to it of such registration. Deposited Securities shall be held by the Custodian for the account and to the order of the Depositary for the benefit of Holders of ADRs (to the extent not prohibited by law) at such place or places and in such manner as the Depositary shall determine. Notwithstanding anything else contained herein, in the form of ADR and/or in any outstanding ADSs, the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective nominees are intended to be, and shall at all times during the term of the Deposit Agreement be, the record holder(s) only of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs for the benefit of the Holders. The Depositary, on its own behalf and on behalf of the Custodian and their respective nominees, disclaims any beneficial ownership interest in the Deposited Securities held on behalf of the Holders.
4
(c) Delivery of Deposited Securities. Deposited Securities may be delivered by the Custodian to any person only under the circumstances expressly contemplated in this Deposit Agreement. To the extent that the provisions of or governing the Shares make delivery of certificates therefor impracticable, Shares may be deposited hereunder by such delivery thereof as the Depositary or the Custodian may reasonably accept, including, without limitation, by causing them to be credited to an account maintained by the Custodian for such purpose with the Company or an accredited intermediary, such as a bank, acting as a registrar for the Shares, together with delivery of the documents, payments and Delivery Order referred to herein to the Custodian or the Depositary.
4. Issue of ADRs. After any such deposit of Shares, the Custodian shall notify the Depositary of such deposit and of the information contained in any related Delivery Order by letter, first class airmail postage prepaid, or, at the request, risk and expense of the person making the deposit, by SWIFT, cable, telex or facsimile transmission. After receiving such notice from the Custodian, the Depositary, subject to this Deposit Agreement, shall properly issue at the Transfer Office, to or upon the order of any person named in such notice, an ADR or ADRs registered as requested and evidencing the aggregate ADSs to which such person is entitled.
5. Distributions on Deposited Securities. To the extent that the Depositary determines in its discretion that any distribution pursuant to paragraph (10) of the form of ADR (Distributions on Deposited Securities) is not practicable with respect to any Holder, the Depositary may make such distribution as it so deems practicable, including the distribution of foreign currency, securities or property (or appropriate documents evidencing the right to receive foreign currency, securities or property) or the retention thereof as Deposited Securities with respect to such Holders ADRs (without liability for interest thereon or the investment thereof).
6. Withdrawal of Deposited Securities. In connection with any surrender of an ADR for withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced thereby, the Depositary may require proper endorsement in blank of such ADR (or duly executed instruments of transfer thereof in blank) and the Holders written order directing the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such ADR to be withdrawn and delivered to, or upon the written order of, any person designated in such order (a Withdrawal Order). Directions from the Depositary to the Custodian to deliver Deposited Securities shall be given by letter, first class airmail postage prepaid, or, at the request, risk and expense of the Holder, by SWIFT, cable, telex or facsimile transmission. Delivery of Deposited Securities may be made by the delivery of certificates (which, if required by law shall be properly endorsed or accompanied by properly executed instruments of transfer or, if such
5
certificates may be registered, registered in the name of such Holder or as ordered by such Holder in any Withdrawal Order) or by such other means as the Depositary may deem practicable, including, without limitation, by transfer of record ownership thereof to an account designated in the Withdrawal Order maintained either by the Company or an accredited intermediary, such as a bank, stock administration agent or depositary or clearing corporation acting as a registrar for the Deposited Securities.
7. Substitution of ADRs. The Depositary shall execute and deliver a new Direct Registration ADR in exchange and substitution for any mutilated certificated ADR upon cancellation thereof or in lieu of and in substitution for such destroyed, lost or stolen certificated ADR, unless the Depositary has notice that such ADR has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser, upon the Holder thereof filing with the Depositary a request for such execution and delivery and a sufficient indemnity bond and satisfying any other reasonable requirements imposed by the Depositary.
8. Cancellation and Destruction of ADRs. All ADRs surrendered to the Depositary shall be cancelled by the Depositary. The Depositary is authorized to destroy ADRs in certificated form so cancelled in accordance with its customary practices.
9. The Custodian.
(a) Rights of the Depositary. Any Custodian in acting hereunder shall be subject to the directions of the Depositary and shall be responsible solely to it. The Depositary reserves the right to add, replace or remove a Custodian. The Depositary will give prompt notice of any such action, which will be advance notice if practicable. The Depositary may discharge any Custodian at any time upon notice to the Custodian being discharged.
(b) Rights of the Custodian. Any Custodian may resign from its duties hereunder by providing at least 30 days prior written notice to the Depositary. Promptly after the receipt of such written notice, the Depositary shall endeavor to appoint a substitute custodian or custodians, each of which shall be a Custodian hereunder upon the effectiveness of such resignation. Any Custodian ceasing to act hereunder as Custodian shall deliver, upon the instruction of the Depositary, all Deposited Securities held by it to a Custodian continuing to act.
(c) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Deposit Agreement (including the ADRs) and, subject to the further limitations set forth in clause (o) of paragraph (14) of the form of ADR (Exoneration), the Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, any
6
act or omission to act on the part of the Custodian except to the extent that any Holder has incurred liability directly as a result of the Custodian having (i) committed fraud or willful misconduct in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary or (ii) failed to use reasonable care in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary as determined in accordance with the standards prevailing in the jurisdiction in which the Custodian is located.
10. Lists of Holders. The Company shall have the right to inspect transfer records of the Depositary and its agents and the ADR Register, take copies thereof and require the Depositary and its agents to supply copies of such portions of such records as the Company may request. The Depositary or its agents shall furnish to the Company promptly upon the written request of the Company, a list of the names, addresses and holdings of ADSs by all Holders as of a date within seven days of the Depositarys receipt of such request.
11. Depositarys Agents. The Depositary may perform its obligations under this Deposit Agreement through any agent appointed by it, provided that the Depositary shall notify the Company of such appointment and shall remain responsible for the performance of such obligations as if no agent were appointed, subject to paragraph (14) of the form of ADR (Exoneration).
12. Resignation and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary.
(a) Resignation of the Depositary. The Depositary may at any time resign as Depositary hereunder by written notice of its election to do so delivered to the Company, such resignation to take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.
(b) Removal of the Depositary. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by providing no less than 60 days prior written notice of such removal to the Depositary, such removal to take effect on the later of (i) the 60th day after such notice of removal is first provided and (ii) the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if upon the resignation or removal of the Depositary a successor depositary is not appointed within the applicable 60-day period as specified in paragraph (17) of the form of ADR (Termination), then the Depositary may elect to terminate this Deposit Agreement and the ADR and the provisions of said paragraph (17) shall thereafter govern the Depositarys obligations hereunder.
7
(c) Appointment of Successor Depositary. In case at any time the Depositary acting hereunder shall resign or be removed, the Company shall use its best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York. Every successor depositary shall execute and deliver to its predecessor and to the Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and thereupon such successor depositary, without any further act or deed, shall become fully vested with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its predecessor. The predecessor depositary, only upon payment of all sums due to it and on the written request of the Company, shall (i) execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such successor all rights and powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than its rights to indemnification and fees owing, each of which shall survive any such removal and/or resignation), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all right, title and interest to the Deposited Securities to such successor, and (iii) deliver to such successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding ADRs. Any such successor depositary shall promptly mail notice of its appointment to such Holders. Any bank or trust company into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated, or to which the Depositary shall transfer substantially all its American depositary receipt business, shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any document or any further act.
13. Reports. On or before the first date on which the Company makes any communication available to holders of Deposited Securities or any securities regulatory authority or stock exchange, by publication or otherwise, the Company shall transmit to the Depositary a copy thereof in English or with an English translation or summary. The Company has delivered to the Depositary, the Custodian and any Transfer Office, a copy of all provisions of or governing the Shares and any other Deposited Securities issued by the Company or any affiliate of the Company and, promptly upon any change thereto, the Company shall deliver to the Depositary, the Custodian and any Transfer Office, a copy (in English or with an English translation) of such provisions as so changed. The Depositary and its agents may rely upon the Companys delivery of all such communications, information and provisions for all purposes of this Deposit Agreement and the Depositary shall have no liability for the accuracy or completeness of any thereof.
14. Additional Shares. The Company agrees with the Depositary that neither the Company nor any company controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Company shall (a) issue (i) additional Shares, (ii) rights to subscribe for Shares, (iii) securities convertible into or exchangeable for Shares or (iv) rights to subscribe for any such securities or (b) deposit any Shares under this Deposit Agreement, except, in each case, under circumstances complying in all respects with the Securities Act of 1933. At the reasonable request of the Depositary where it deems necessary, the Company will furnish the Depositary with legal opinions, in
8
forms and from counsels reasonably acceptable to the Depositary, dealing with such issues requested by the Depositary. The Depositary will not knowingly accept for deposit hereunder any Shares required to be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 unless a registration statement is in effect and will use reasonable efforts to comply with written instructions of the Company not to accept for deposit hereunder any Shares identified in such instructions at such times and under such circumstances as may reasonably be specified in such instructions in order to facilitate the Companys compliance with the requirements of the securities laws, rules and regulations in the United States.
15. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification by the Company. The Company shall indemnify, defend and save harmless each of the Depositary, the Custodian and their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates against any loss, liability or expense (including reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) which may arise out of acts performed or omitted, in connection with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and of the ADRs, as the same may be amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in accordance herewith (i) by either the Depositary or a Custodian or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates, except for any liability or expense directly arising out of the negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary or its directors, officers or affiliates acting in their capacities as such hereunder, or (ii) by the Company or any of its directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates.
The indemnities set forth in the preceding paragraph shall also apply to any liability or expense which may arise out of any misstatement or alleged misstatement or omission or alleged omission in any registration statement, proxy statement, prospectus (or placement memorandum), or preliminary prospectus (or preliminary placement memorandum) relating to the offer, issuance, withdrawal or sale of ADSs or the deposit, withdrawal, offer or sale of Shares, except to the extent any such liability or expense arises out of (i) information relating to the Depositary or its agents (other than the Company), as applicable, furnished in writing by the Depositary expressly for use in any of the foregoing documents and not changed or altered by the Company or any other person (other than the Depositary) or (ii) if such information is provided, the failure to state a material fact therein necessary to make the information provided, in light of the circumstance under which provided, not misleading.
(b) Indemnification by the Depositary. Subject to the limitations provided for in Section 15(c) below, the Depositary shall indemnify, defend and save harmless
9
the Company against any direct loss, liability or expense (including reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) incurred by the Company in respect of this Deposit Agreement to the extent such loss, liability or expense is due to the negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary.
(c) Damages or Lost Profits. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Deposit Agreement or the ADRs to the contrary, neither the Depositary nor the Company, nor any of their respective agents shall be liable to the other for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages (excluding reasonable fees and expenses of counsel) or lost profits, in each case of any form (collectively, Special Damages) incurred by any of them, or liable to any other person or entity (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) for any Special Damages, or any fees or expenses of counsel in connection therewith, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be brought; provided, however, that (i) notwithstanding the foregoing and, for the avoidance of doubt, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to legal fees and expenses in defending against any claim for Special Damages and (ii) to the extent Special Damages arise from or out of a claim brought by a third party (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary or any of its agents, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to full indemnification from the Company for all such Special Damages, and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel in connection therewith, unless such Special Damages are found to have been a direct result of the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary.
(d) Survival. The obligations set forth in this Section 15 shall survive the termination of this Deposit Agreement and the succession or substitution of any indemnified person.
16. Notices.
(a) Notice to Holders. Notice to any Holder shall be deemed given when first mailed, first class postage prepaid, to the address of such Holder on the ADR Register or received by such Holder. Failure to notify a Holder or any defect in the notification to a Holder shall not affect the sufficiency of notification to other Holders or to the Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by the ADRs held by such other Holders. The Depositarys only notification obligations under this Deposit Agreement and the ADRs shall be to Holders. Notice to a Holder shall be deemed, for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs, to constitute notice to any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Holders ADRs.
10
(b) Notice to the Depositary or the Company. Notice to the Depositary or the Company shall be deemed given when first received by it at the address or facsimile transmission number set forth in (i) or (ii), respectively, or at such other address or facsimile transmission number as either may specify to the other by written notice:
(i) | JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. |
383 Madison Avenue, Floor 11
New York, New York, 10179
Attention: Depositary Receipts Group
Fax: (302) 220-4591
(ii) | Legend Biotech Corporation |
2101 Cottontail Lane
Somerset, New Jersey 08873
Attention: Yuan Xu, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer
Fax: (888) 885-9822
17. Counterparts. This Deposit Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which shall constitute one instrument. Delivery of an executed signature page of this Deposit Agreement by facsimile or other electronic transmission (including .pdf, .tif or similar format) shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart hereof.
18. No Third Party Beneficiaries; Holders and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect. This Deposit Agreement is for the exclusive benefit of the Company, the Depositary and the Holders and their respective successors hereunder, and, except to the extent specifically set forth in Section 15 of this Deposit Agreement, shall not give any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other person. The Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time shall be parties to this Deposit Agreement and shall be bound by all of the provisions hereof. A Beneficial Owner shall only be able to exercise any right or receive any benefit hereunder solely through the Holder of the ADR(s) evidencing the ADSs owned by such Beneficial Owner.
19. Severability. If any provision contained in this Deposit Agreement or in the ADRs is, or becomes, invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the remaining provisions contained herein and therein shall in no way be affected thereby.
11
20. Governing Law; Consent to Jurisdiction.
(a) Governing Law. The Deposit Agreement, the ADSs and the ADRs shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York without giving effect to the application of the conflict of law principles thereof.
(b) By the Company. The Company irrevocably agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Company brought by the Depositary or any Holder or Beneficial Owner, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted in any state or federal court in New York, New York, and irrevocably waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. The Company also irrevocably agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Depositary brought by the Company, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the federal securities law carve-out set forth in Section 20(d) below, the Depositary may refer any such suit, action or proceeding to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and, upon such referral, any such suit, action or proceeding instituted by the Company shall be finally decided in such arbitration rather than in such court.
(c) By Holders and Beneficial Owners. By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving Holders or Beneficial Owners brought by the Company or the Depositary, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein each irrevocably waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each also irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Depositary brought by Holders or Beneficial Owners, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York. Notwithstanding the foregoing, subject to the federal securities law carve-out set forth in Section 20(d) below, the Depositary may refer any such suit, action or proceeding to arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement
12
and, upon such referral, any such suit, action or proceeding instituted by Holders and/or Beneficial Owners shall be finally decided in such arbitration rather than in such court.
(d) Optional Arbitration. Notwithstanding anything in this Deposit Agreement to the contrary, each of the parties hereto (i.e. the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners) agrees that: (i) the Depositary may, in its sole discretion, elect to institute any dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding directly or indirectly based on, arising out of or relating to this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, including without limitation any question regarding its or their existence, validity, interpretation, performance or termination (a Dispute) against any other party or parties hereto (including, without limitation, Disputes, suits, actions or proceedings brought against Holders and Beneficial Owners), by having the Dispute referred to and finally resolved by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out below, and (ii) the Depositary may in its sole discretion require, by written notice to the relevant party or parties, that any Dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding brought by any party or parties hereto (including, without limitation, Disputes, suits, actions or proceedings brought by Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary shall be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out below; provided however, notwithstanding the Depositarys written notice under this clause (ii), to the extent there are specific federal securities law violation aspects to any claims against the Company and/or the Depositary brought by any Holder or Beneficial Owner, the federal securities law violation aspects of such claims brought by a Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary may, at the option of such Holder or Beneficial Owner, remain in state or federal court in New York, New York and all other aspects, claims, Disputes, legal suits, actions and/or proceedings brought by such Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary, including those brought along with, or in addition to, federal securities law violation claims, would be referred to arbitration in accordance herewith. Any such arbitration shall, at the Depositarys election, be conducted either in New York, New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association or in Hong Kong following the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre serving as the appointing authority, and the language of any such arbitration shall be English. A notice of arbitration may be mailed to the Company at its address last specified for notices under this Deposit Agreement, and, if applicable, to any Holders at their addresses on the ADR Register, which notice to any such Holder, for the avoidance of doubt, shall be deemed, for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the ADRs, including, without limitation, the arbitration
13
provisions contained in this clause (d), constitute notice to any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Holders ADRs. In any case where the Depositary exercises its right to arbitrate hereunder, arbitration of the Dispute shall be mandatory and any pending litigation arising out of or related to such Dispute shall be stayed. Judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The number of arbitrators shall be three, each of whom shall be disinterested in the dispute or controversy, shall have no connection with any party thereto, and shall be an attorney experienced in international securities transactions. Each of the Company and the Depositary shall appoint one arbitrator and the two arbitrators shall select a third arbitrator who shall serve as chairperson of the tribunal. If a Dispute shall involve more than two parties, the parties shall attempt to align themselves in two sides (i.e., claimant and respondent), each of which shall appoint one arbitrator as if there were only two parties to such Dispute. If either or both parties fail to select an arbitrator, or if such alignment (in the event there are more than two parties) shall not have occurred, within thirty (30) calendar days after the Depositary serves the arbitration demand or the two arbitrators fail to select a third arbitrator within thirty (30) calendar days of the selection of the second arbitrator, the American Arbitration Association in the case of an arbitration in New York, or the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre in the case of an arbitration in Hong Kong, shall appoint the remaining arbitrator or arbitrators in accordance with its rules. The parties and the American Arbitration Association and/or the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, as the case may be, may appoint the arbitrators from among the nationals of any country, whether or not the appointing party or any other party to the arbitration is a national of that country. The arbitrators shall have no authority to award damages against any party not measured by the prevailing partys actual damages and shall have no authority to award any consequential, special or punitive damages against any party and may not, in any event, make any ruling, finding or award that does not conform to the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement. In all cases, the fees of the arbitrators and other costs incurred by the parties in connection with such arbitration shall be paid by the party (or parties) that is (or are) unsuccessful in such arbitration. No party hereto shall be entitled to join or consolidate disputes by or against others in any arbitration, or to include in any arbitration any dispute as a representative or member of a class, or act in any arbitration in the interest of the general public or in a private attorney general capacity.
(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything in this Deposit Agreement to the contrary, any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based on this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby, may be instituted by the Depositary in any competent court in the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the Peoples Republic of China, the United States
14
and/or any other court of competent jurisdiction, or, subject to the federal securities law carve-out set forth in Section 20(d) above, by the Depositary through the commencement of an arbitration pursuant to Section 20(d) of this Deposit Agreement.
21. Agent for Service.
(a) Appointment. The Company has appointed Yuan Xu, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Legend Biotech Corporation, 2101 Cottontail Lane, Somerset, New Jersey 08873, as its authorized agent (the Authorized Agent) upon which process may be served in any such suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based on this Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated herein, therein, hereby or thereby which may be instituted in any state or federal court in New York, New York by the Depositary or any Holder, and waives any other requirements of or objections to personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. Subject to the Companys rights to replace the Authorized Agent with another entity in the manner required were the Authorized Agent to have resigned, such appointment shall be irrevocable.
(b) Agent for Service of Process. The Company represents and warrants that the Authorized Agent has agreed to act as said agent for service of process and/or notice of arbitration, and the Company agrees to take any and all action, including the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to continue such appointment in full force and effect as aforesaid. The Company further hereby irrevocably consents and agrees to the service of any and all legal process, summons, notices and documents in any suit, action or proceeding (including arbitration) against the Company, by service by mail of a copy thereof upon the Authorized Agent (whether or not the appointment of such Authorized Agent shall for any reason prove to be ineffective or such Authorized Agent shall fail to accept or acknowledge such service), with a copy mailed to the Company by registered or certified air mail, postage prepaid, to its address provided in Section 16(b) hereof. The Company agrees that the failure of the Authorized Agent to give any notice of such service to it shall not impair or affect in any way the validity of such service or any judgment or award rendered in any suit, action or proceeding based thereon. If (i) the Authorized Agent named above is no longer employed by the Company or (ii) if, for any reason, the Authorized Agent named above or any successor thereto shall no longer serve as agent of the Company to receive service of process, notice or papers in New York, the Company shall promptly appoint a successor that is a legal entity with offices in New York, New York, so as to serve and will promptly advise the Depositary thereof.
(c) Waiver of Personal Service of Process. In the event the Company fails to continue such designation and appointment in full force and effect, the Company hereby waives personal service of process upon it and consents that any such service
15
of process may be made by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, directed to the Company at its address last specified for notices hereunder, and service so made shall be deemed completed five (5) days after the same shall have been so mailed. Nothing in this Deposit Agreement, including without limitation, anything contained in this Section 21 of the Deposit Agreement, will affect the right of the Depositary or any Holder to serve process on the Company in any other manner permitted by applicable law, including, without limitation, by personal service within or without the State of New York.
22. Waiver of Immunities. To the extent that the Company or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter be entitled to, or have attributed to it, any right of immunity, on the grounds of sovereignty or otherwise, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, including any arbitration, from the giving of any relief in any respect thereof, from setoff or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, or from execution of judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment or arbitration award, in any jurisdiction in which proceedings may at any time be commenced, with respect to its obligations, liabilities or other matters under or arising out of or in connection with the Shares or Deposited Securities, the ADSs, the ADRs or this Deposit Agreement, the Company, to the fullest extent permitted by law, hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, and agrees not to plead or claim, any such immunity and consents to such relief and enforcement.
23. Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH PARTY TO THIS DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH HOLDER AND BENEFICIAL OWNER OF, AND/OR HOLDER OF INTERESTS IN, ADSS OR ADRS) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING AGAINST THE DEPOSITARY AND/OR THE COMPANY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE ADSs OR THE ADRs, THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, COMMON LAW OR ANY OTHER THEORY), INCLUDING ANY CLAIM UNDER THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS. No provision of this Deposit Agreement or any ADR is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights which a Holder or any Beneficial Owner may have under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
[Signature page follows]
16
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Legend Biotech Corporation and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. have duly executed this Deposit Agreement as of the day and year first above set forth and all Holders and Beneficial Owners shall become parties hereto upon acceptance by them of ADSs issued in accordance with the terms hereof, or upon acquisition of any beneficial interest therein.
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
| ||
By: |
| |
Name: | ||
Title: | ||
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.
| ||
By: |
| |
Name: | ||
Title: |
[Signature Page to Deposit Agreement]
EXHIBIT A
ANNEXED TO AND INCORPORATED IN
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
[FORM OF FACE OF ADR]
No. of ADSs: | ||||
Number | ||||
Each ADS represents | ||||
Two (2) Shares | ||||
CUSIP: |
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY RECEIPT
evidencing
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES
representing
ORDINARY SHARES
of
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
(Incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands)
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of the United States of America, as depositary hereunder (the Depositary), hereby certifies that is the registered owner (a Holder) of American Depositary Shares (ADSs), each (subject to paragraph (13) (Changes Affecting Deposited Securities)) representing two (2) ordinary shares (including the rights to receive Shares described in paragraph (1) (Issuance of ADSs), Shares and, together with any other securities, cash or property from time to time held by the Depositary in respect or in lieu of deposited Shares, the Deposited Securities), of Legend Biotech Corporation, a corporation organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the Company), deposited under the Deposit Agreement, dated as of , 2020 (as amended from time to time, the Deposit Agreement), among the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and
A-1
Beneficial Owners from time to time of American Depositary Receipts issued thereunder (ADRs), each of whom by accepting an ADR becomes a party thereto. The Deposit Agreement and this ADR (which includes the provisions set forth on the reverse hereof) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York without giving effect to the application of the conflict of law principles thereof. All capitalized terms used herein, and not defined herein, shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Deposit Agreement.
(1) Issuance of ADSs.
(a) Issuance. This ADR is one of the ADRs issued under the Deposit Agreement. Subject to the other provisions hereof, the Depositary may so issue ADRs for delivery at the Transfer Office (as hereinafter defined) only against deposit of: (i) Shares in a form satisfactory to the Custodian; or (ii) rights to receive Shares from the Company or any registrar, transfer agent, clearing agent or other entity recording Share ownership or transactions.
(b) Lending. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend Shares or ADSs.
(c) Representations and Warranties of Depositors. Every person depositing Shares under the Deposit Agreement represents and warrants that:
(i) | such Shares and the certificates therefor are duly authorized, validly issued and outstanding, fully paid, nonassessable and legally obtained by such person, |
(ii) | all pre-emptive and comparable rights, if any, with respect to such Shares have been validly waived or exercised, |
(iii) | the person making such deposit is duly authorized so to do, |
(iv) | the Shares presented for deposit are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse claim and |
(v) | such Shares (A) are not restricted securities as such term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933 (Restricted Securities) unless at the time of deposit the requirements of paragraphs (c), (e), (f) and (h) of Rule 144 shall not apply and such Shares may be freely transferred and may otherwise be offered and sold freely in the United States or (B) have been |
A-2
registered under the Securities Act of 1933. To the extent the person depositing Shares is an affiliate of the Company as such term is defined in Rule 144, the person also represents and warrants that upon the sale of the ADSs, all of the provisions of Rule 144 which enable the Shares to be freely sold (in the form of ADSs) will be fully complied with and, as a result thereof, all of the ADSs issued in respect of such Shares will not be on the sale thereof, Restricted Securities. |
Such representations and warranties shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares and the issuance and cancellation of ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such ADSs.
(d) The Depositary may refuse to accept for such deposit any Shares identified by the Company in order to facilitate compliance with the requirements of the securities laws, rules and regulations of the United States, including, without limitation, the Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and regulations made thereunder.
(2) Withdrawal of Deposited Securities. Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc.) and (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges), upon surrender of (a) a certificated ADR in a form satisfactory to the Depositary at the Transfer Office or (b) proper instructions and documentation in the case of a Direct Registration ADR, the Holder hereof is entitled to delivery at, or to the extent in dematerialized form from, the Custodians office of the Deposited Securities at the time represented by the ADSs evidenced by this ADR. At the request, risk and expense of the Holder hereof, the Depositary may deliver such Deposited Securities at such other place as may have been requested by the Holder. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR, the withdrawal of Deposited Securities may be restricted only for the reasons set forth in General Instruction I.A.(1) of Form F-6 (as such instructions may be amended from time to time) under the Securities Act of 1933.
(3) Transfers, Split-Ups and Combinations of ADRs. The Depositary or its agent will keep, at a designated transfer office (the Transfer Office), (a) a register (the ADR Register) for the registration, registration of transfer, combination and split-up of ADRs, and, in the case of Direct Registration ADRs, shall include the Direct Registration System, which at all reasonable times will be open for inspection by Holders and the Company for the purpose of communicating with Holders in the interest of the business of the Company or a matter relating to the Deposit Agreement and (b) facilities for the delivery and receipt of ADRs. The term ADR Register includes the Direct Registration System. Title to this ADR (and to the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced hereby), when properly endorsed (in the case of
A-3
ADRs in certificated form) or upon delivery to the Depositary of proper instruments of transfer, is transferable by delivery with the same effect as in the case of negotiable instruments under the laws of the State of New York; provided that the Depositary, notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, may treat the person in whose name this ADR is registered on the ADR Register as the absolute owner hereof for all purposes and neither the Depositary nor the Company will have any obligation or be subject to any liability under the Deposit Agreement or any ADR to any Beneficial Owner, unless such Beneficial Owner is the Holder hereof. Subject to paragraphs (4) and (5), this ADR is transferable on the ADR Register and may be split into other ADRs or combined with other ADRs into one ADR, evidencing the aggregate number of ADSs surrendered for split-up or combination, by the Holder hereof or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this ADR at the Transfer Office properly endorsed (in the case of ADRs in certificated form) or upon delivery to the Depositary of proper instruments of transfer and duly stamped as may be required by applicable law; provided that the Depositary may close the ADR Register at any time or from time to time when deemed expedient by it or, in the case of the issuance book portion of the ADR Register, when reasonably requested by the Company solely in order to enable the Company to comply with applicable law; provided further, that the Depositary shall have no liability and shall be indemnified by the Company in such event. At the request of a Holder, the Depositary shall, for the purpose of substituting a certificated ADR with a Direct Registration ADR, or vice versa, execute and deliver a certificated ADR or a Direct Registration ADR, as the case may be, for any authorized number of ADSs requested, evidencing the same aggregate number of ADSs as those evidenced by the certificated ADR or Direct Registration ADR, as the case may be, substituted.
(4) Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc. Prior to the issue, registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of any ADR, the delivery of any distribution in respect thereof, or, subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), the withdrawal of any Deposited Securities, and from time to time in the case of clause (b)(ii) of this paragraph (4), the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian may require:
(a) payment with respect thereto of (i) any stock transfer or other tax or other governmental charge, (ii) any stock transfer or registration fees in effect for the registration of transfers of Shares or other Deposited Securities upon any applicable register and (iii) any applicable charges as provided in paragraph (7) (Charges of Depositary) of this ADR;
(b) the production of proof satisfactory to it of (i) the identity of any signatory and genuineness of any signature and (ii) such other information, including without limitation, information as to citizenship, residence, exchange control approval, beneficial or other ownership of, or interest in, any securities, compliance
A-4
with applicable law, regulations, provisions of or governing Deposited Securities and terms of the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, as it may deem necessary or proper; and
(c) compliance with such regulations as the Depositary may establish consistent with the Deposit Agreement.
The issuance of ADRs, the acceptance of deposits of Shares, the registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination of ADRs or, subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), the withdrawal of Deposited Securities may be suspended, generally or in particular instances, when the ADR Register or any register for Deposited Securities is closed or when any such action is deemed advisable by the Depositary.
(5) Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges. If any tax or other governmental charges (including any penalties and/or interest) shall become payable by or on behalf of the Custodian or the Depositary with respect to this ADR, any Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced hereby or any distribution thereon, including, without limitation, any Chinese enterprise income tax owed if the Circular Guoshuifa [2009] No. 82 issued by the State Administration of Taxation of the Peoples Republic of China or any other circular, edict, order or ruling, as issued and as from time to time amended, is applied or otherwise, such tax or other governmental charge shall be paid by the Holder hereof to the Depositary and by holding or owning, or having held or owned, this ADR or any ADSs evidenced hereby, the Holder and all Beneficial Owners hereof and thereof, and all prior Holders and Beneficial Owners hereof and thereof, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify, defend and save harmless each of the Depositary, the Company, and their respective agents in respect of such tax or other governmental charge. Neither the Depositary nor the Company, nor any of their respective agents, shall be liable to Holders or Beneficial Owners of the ADSs and ADRs for failure of any of them to comply with applicable tax laws, rules and/or regulations. Notwithstanding the Depositarys right to seek payment from current and former Beneficial Owners, by holding or owning, or having held or owned, an ADR, the Holder hereof (and prior Holder hereof) acknowledges and agrees that the Depositary has no obligation to seek payment of amounts owing under this paragraph (5) from any current or former Beneficial Owner. The Depositary may refuse to effect any registration, registration of transfer, split-up or combination hereof or, subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), any withdrawal of such Deposited Securities until such payment is made. The Depositary may also deduct from any distributions on or in respect of Deposited Securities, or may sell by public or private sale for the account of the Holder hereof any part or all of such Deposited Securities (after attempting by reasonable means to notify the Holder hereof prior to such sale), and
A-5
may apply such deduction or the proceeds of any such sale in payment of such tax or other governmental charge, the Holder hereof remaining liable for any deficiency, and shall reduce the number of ADSs evidenced hereby to reflect any such sales of Shares. In connection with any distribution to Holders, the Company will remit to the appropriate governmental authority or agency all amounts (if any) required to be withheld and owing to such authority or agency by the Company; and the Depositary and the Custodian will remit to the appropriate governmental authority or agency all amounts (if any) required to be withheld and owing to such authority or agency by the Depositary or the Custodian. To the extent not prohibited by law, rule or regulation, the Depositary will forward to the Company such information in its possession from its transfer records maintained by it in its capacity as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement as the Company may reasonably request in writing to enable the Company to file any required reports with governmental authorities or agencies; provided, however, for the avoidance of doubt, the Depositary shall have no liability for the accuracy of any such information and shall be indemnified by the Company in connection with the foregoing. If the Depositary determines that any distribution in property other than cash (including Shares or rights) on Deposited Securities is subject to any tax that the Depositary or the Custodian is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such property in such amounts and in such manner as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay such taxes, by public or private sale, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale or the balance of any such property after deduction of such taxes to the Holders entitled thereto. Each Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian and any of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit obtained which obligations shall survive any transfer or surrender of ADSs or the termination of the Deposit Agreement.
(6) Disclosure of Interests.
(a) General. To the extent that the provisions of or governing any Deposited Securities may require disclosure of or impose limits on beneficial or other ownership of, or interest in, Deposited Securities, other Shares and other securities and may provide for blocking transfer, voting or other rights to enforce such disclosure or limits, Holders and Beneficial Owners agree to comply with all such disclosure requirements and ownership limitations and to comply with any reasonable Company instructions in respect thereof. The Company reserves the right to instruct Holders to deliver their ADSs for cancellation and withdrawal of the Deposited Securities so as to permit the Company to deal directly with the Holder thereof as a holder of Shares and Holders and Beneficial Owners agree to comply with such instructions. The Depositary
A-6
agrees to cooperate with the Company in its efforts to inform Holders of the Companys exercise of its rights under this paragraph and agrees to consult with, and provide reasonable assistance, in each case without risk, liability or expense on the part of the Depositary, to the Company on the manner or manners in which the Company may implement such requirements with respect to any Holder; provided, however, for the avoidance of doubt, the Depositary shall be indemnified by the Company in connection with the foregoing.
(b) Jurisdiction Specific.
Any summary of the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands and of the terms of the Companys constituent documents has been provided by the Company solely for the convenience of Holders, Beneficial Owners and the Depositary. Such summaries (i) are summaries and as such may not include all aspects of the materials summarized applicable to a Holder or Beneficial Owner, and (ii) they are provided by the Company as of the date of the Deposit Agreement and these laws and regulations and the Companys constituent documents may change after the date of the Deposit Agreement. Neither the Depositary nor the Company has any obligation to update any such summaries.
(7) Charges of Depositary.
(a) Rights of the Depositary. The Depositary may charge, and collect from, (i) each person to whom ADSs are issued, including, without limitation, issuances against deposits of Shares, issuances in respect of Share Distributions, Rights and Other Distributions (as such terms are defined in paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities)), issuances pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by the Company, or issuances pursuant to a merger, exchange of securities or any other transaction or event affecting the ADSs or the Deposited Securities, and (ii) each person surrendering ADSs for withdrawal of Deposited Securities or whose ADSs are cancelled or reduced for any other reason, U.S.$5.00 for each 100 ADSs (or portion thereof) issued, delivered, reduced, cancelled or surrendered, or upon which a Share Distribution or elective distribution is made or offered (as the case may be). The Depositary may sell (by public or private sale) sufficient securities and property received in respect of Share Distributions, Rights and Other Distributions prior to such deposit to pay such charge.
(b) Additional charges by the Depositary. The following additional charges shall also be incurred by the Holders, the Beneficial Owners, by any party depositing or withdrawing Shares or by any party surrendering ADSs and/or to whom ADSs are issued (including, without limitation, issuances pursuant to a stock dividend or stock split declared by the Company or an exchange of stock regarding the ADSs or
A-7
the Deposited Securities or a distribution of ADSs pursuant to paragraph (10) (Distributions on Deposited Securities)), whichever is applicable:
(i) | a fee of U.S.$0.05 or less per ADS held for any Cash distribution made, or for any elective cash/stock dividend offered, pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, |
(ii) | a fee for the distribution or sale of securities pursuant to paragraph (10) hereof, such fee being in an amount equal to the fee for the execution and delivery of ADSs referred to above which would have been charged as a result of the deposit of such securities (for purposes of this paragraph (7) treating all such securities as if they were Shares) but which securities or the net cash proceeds from the sale thereof are instead distributed by the Depositary to Holders entitled thereto, |
(iii) | an aggregate fee of U.S.$0.05 or less per ADS per calendar year (or portion thereof) for services performed by the Depositary in administering the ADRs (which fee may be charged on a periodic basis during each calendar year and shall be assessed against Holders as of the record date or record dates set by the Depositary during each calendar year and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the Depositary by billing such Holders or by deducting such charge from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions), and |
(iv) | a fee for the reimbursement of such fees, charges and expenses as are incurred by the Depositary and/or any of its agents (including, without limitation, the Custodian and expenses incurred on behalf of Holders in connection with compliance with foreign exchange control regulations or any law or regulation relating to foreign investment) in connection with the servicing of the Shares or other Deposited Securities, the sale of securities (including, without limitation, Deposited Securities), the delivery of Deposited Securities or otherwise in connection with the Depositarys or its Custodians compliance with applicable law, rule or regulation (which fees and charges shall be assessed on a proportionate basis against Holders as of the record date or dates set by the Depositary and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the Depositary by billing such Holders or by deducting such charge from one or more cash dividends or other cash distributions). |
A-8
(c) Other Obligations and Charges. The Company will pay all other charges and expenses of the Depositary and any agent of the Depositary (except the Custodian) pursuant to agreements from time to time between the Company and the Depositary, except:
(i) | stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges (which are payable by Holders or persons depositing Shares); |
(ii) | SWIFT, cable, telex and facsimile transmission and delivery charges incurred at the request of persons depositing, or Holders delivering Shares, ADRs or Deposited Securities (which are payable by such persons or Holders); and |
(iii) | transfer or registration fees for the registration or transfer of Deposited Securities on any applicable register in connection with the deposit or withdrawal of Deposited Securities (which are payable by persons depositing Shares or Holders withdrawing Deposited Securities; there are no such fees in respect of the Shares as of the date of the Deposit Agreement. |
(d) Foreign Exchange Related Matters. To facilitate the administration of various depositary receipt transactions, including disbursement of dividends or other cash distributions and other corporate actions, the Depositary may engage the foreign exchange desk within JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the Bank) and/or its affiliates in order to enter into spot foreign exchange transactions to convert foreign currency into U.S. dollars (FX Transactions). For certain currencies, FX Transactions are entered into with the Bank or an affiliate, as the case may be, acting in a principal capacity. For other currencies, FX Transactions are routed directly to and managed by an unaffiliated local custodian (or other third party local liquidity provider), and neither the Bank nor any of its affiliates is a party to such FX Transactions.
The foreign exchange rate applied to an FX Transaction will be either (a) a published benchmark rate, or (b) a rate determined by a third party local liquidity provider, in each case plus or minus a spread, as applicable. The Depositary will disclose which foreign exchange rate and spread, if any, apply to such currency on the Disclosures page (or successor page) of www.adr.com (as updated by the Depositary from time to time, ADR.com). Such applicable foreign exchange rate and spread may (and neither the Depositary, the Bank nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to ensure that such rate does not) differ from rates and spreads at which comparable transactions are entered into with other customers or the range of foreign
A-9
exchange rates and spreads at which the Bank or any of its affiliates enters into foreign exchange transactions in the relevant currency pair on the date of the FX Transaction. Additionally, the timing of execution of an FX Transaction varies according to local market dynamics, which may include regulatory requirements, market hours and liquidity in the foreign exchange market or other factors. Furthermore, the Bank and its affiliates may manage the associated risks of their position in the market in a manner they deem appropriate without regard to the impact of such activities on the Company, the Depositary, Holders or Beneficial Owners. The spread applied does not reflect any gains or losses that may be earned or incurred by the Bank and its affiliates as a result of risk management or other hedging related activity.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent the Company provides U.S. dollars to the Depositary, neither the Bank nor any of its affiliates will execute an FX Transaction as set forth herein. In such case, the Depositary will distribute the U.S. dollars received from the Company.
Further details relating to the applicable foreign exchange rate, the applicable spread and the execution of FX Transactions will be provided by the Depositary on ADR.com. The Company, Holders and Beneficial Owners each acknowledge and agree that the terms applicable to FX Transactions disclosed from time to time on ADR.com will apply to any FX Transaction executed pursuant to the Deposit Agreement.
(e) The right of the Depositary to receive payment of fees, charges and expenses as provided above shall survive the termination of the Deposit Agreement. As to any Depositary, upon the resignation or removal of such Depositary, such right shall extend for those fees, charges and expenses incurred prior to the effectiveness of such resignation or removal.
(f) Disclosure of Potential Depositary Payments. The Depositary anticipates reimbursing the Company for certain expenses incurred by the Company that are related to the establishment and maintenance of the ADR program upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary may agree from time to time. The Depositary may make available to the Company a set amount or a portion of the Depositary fees charged in respect of the ADR program or otherwise upon such terms and conditions as the Company and the Depositary may agree from time to time.
(8) Available Information. The Deposit Agreement, the provisions of or governing Deposited Securities and any written communications from the Company, which are both received by the Custodian or its nominee as a holder of Deposited
A-10
Securities and made generally available to the holders of Deposited Securities, are available for inspection by Holders at the offices of the Depositary and the Custodian, at the Transfer Office, on the website of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission), or upon request from the Depositary (which request may be refused by the Depositary at its discretion). The Depositary will distribute copies of such communications (or English translations or summaries thereof) to Holders when furnished by the Company. The Company is subject to the periodic reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and accordingly files certain reports with the Commission. Such reports and other information may be inspected and copied through the Commissions EDGAR system or at public reference facilities maintained by the Commission located at the date hereof at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549.
(9) Execution. This ADR shall not be valid for any purpose unless executed by the Depositary by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized officer of the Depositary.
Dated:
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as Depositary
| ||
By |
| |
Authorized Officer |
The Depositarys office is located at 383 Madison Avenue, Floor 11, New York, New York 10179.
A-11
[FORM OF REVERSE OF ADR]
(10) Distributions on Deposited Securities. Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc.) and (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and other Charges), to the extent practicable, the Depositary will distribute to each Holder entitled thereto on the record date set by the Depositary therefor at such Holders address shown on the ADR Register, in proportion to the number of Deposited Securities (on which the following distributions on Deposited Securities are received by the Custodian) represented by ADSs evidenced by such Holders ADRs:
(a) Cash. Any U.S. dollars available to the Depositary resulting from a cash dividend or other cash distribution or the net proceeds of sales of any other distribution or portion thereof authorized in this paragraph (10) (Cash), on an averaged or other practicable basis, subject to (i) appropriate adjustments for taxes withheld, (ii) such distribution being impermissible or impracticable with respect to certain Holders, and (iii) deduction of the Depositarys and/or its agents fees and expenses in (1) converting any foreign currency to U.S. dollars by sale or in such other manner as the Depositary may determine to the extent that it determines that such conversion may be made on a reasonable basis, (2) transferring foreign currency or U.S. dollars to the United States by such means as the Depositary may determine to the extent that it determines that such transfer may be made on a reasonable basis, (3) obtaining any approval or license of any governmental authority required for such conversion or transfer, which is obtainable at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time and (4) making any sale by public or private means in any commercially reasonable manner.
(b) Shares. (i) Additional ADRs evidencing whole ADSs representing any Shares available to the Depositary resulting from a dividend or free distribution on Deposited Securities consisting of Shares (a Share Distribution) and (ii) U.S. dollars available to it resulting from the net proceeds of sales of Shares received in a Share Distribution, which Shares would give rise to fractional ADSs if additional ADRs were issued therefor, as in the case of Cash.
(c) Rights. (i) Warrants or other instruments in the discretion of the Depositary representing rights to acquire additional ADRs in respect of any rights to subscribe for additional Shares or rights of any nature available to the Depositary as a result of a distribution on Deposited Securities (Rights), to the extent that the Company timely furnishes to the Depositary evidence satisfactory to the Depositary that the Depositary may lawfully distribute the same (the Company has no obligation to so furnish such evidence), or (ii) to the extent the Company does not so furnish such evidence and sales of Rights are practicable, any U.S. dollars available to the
A-12
Depositary from the net proceeds of sales of Rights as in the case of Cash, or (iii) to the extent the Company does not so furnish such evidence and such sales cannot practicably be accomplished by reason of the nontransferability of the Rights, limited markets therefor, their short duration or otherwise, nothing (and any Rights may lapse).
(d) Other Distributions. (i) Securities or property available to the Depositary resulting from any distribution on Deposited Securities other than Cash, Share Distributions and Rights (Other Distributions), by any means that the Depositary may deem equitable and practicable, or (ii) to the extent the Depositary deems distribution of such securities or property not to be equitable and practicable, any U.S. dollars available to the Depositary from the net proceeds of sales of Other Distributions as in the case of Cash.
The Depositary reserves the right to utilize a division, branch or affiliate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. to direct, manage and/or execute any public and/or private sale of securities hereunder. Such division, branch and/or affiliate may charge the Depositary a fee in connection with such sales, which fee is considered an expense of the Depositary contemplated above and/or under paragraph (7) (Charges of Depositary). Any U.S. dollars available will be distributed by checks drawn on a bank in the United States for whole dollars and cents. Fractional cents will be withheld without liability and dealt with by the Depositary in accordance with its then current practices. All purchases and sales of securities will be handled by the Depositary in accordance with its then current policies, which are currently set forth on the Disclosures page (or successor page) of ADR.com, the location and contents of which the Depositary shall be solely responsible for.
(11) Record Dates. The Depositary may, after consultation with the Company if practicable, fix a record date (which, to the extent applicable, shall be as near as practicable to any corresponding record date set by the Company) for the determination of the Holders who shall be responsible for the fee assessed by the Depositary for administration of the ADR program and for any expenses provided for in paragraph (7) hereof as well as for the determination of the Holders who shall be entitled to receive any distribution on or in respect of Deposited Securities, to give instructions for the exercise of any voting rights, to receive any notice or to act in respect of other matters and only such Holders shall be so entitled or obligated.
(12) Voting of Deposited Securities.
(a) Notice of any Meeting or Solicitation. As soon as practicable after receipt of notice of any meeting at which the holders of Shares are entitled to vote, or of solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Shares or other Deposited
A-13
Securities, the Depositary shall fix the ADS record date in accordance with paragraph (11) above provided that if the Depositary receives a written request from the Company in a timely manner and at least 30 days prior to the date of such vote or meeting, the Depositary shall, at the Companys expense, distribute to Holders a notice (the Voting Notice) stating (i) final information particular to such vote and meeting and any solicitation materials, (ii) that each Holder on the record date set by the Depositary will, subject to any applicable provisions of Cayman Islands law, be entitled to instruct the Depositary as to the exercise of the voting rights, if any, pertaining to the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such Holders ADRs and (iii) the manner in which such instructions may be given or deemed given in accordance with paragraph 12(b)(ii) below, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company. Each Holder shall be solely responsible for the forwarding of Voting Notices to the Beneficial Owners of ADSs registered in such Holders name. There is no guarantee that Holders and Beneficial Owners generally or any Holder or Beneficial Owner in particular will receive the notice described above with sufficient time to enable such Holder or Beneficial Owner to return any voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner.
(b) Voting of Deposited Securities.
(i) Following actual receipt by the ADR department responsible for proxies and voting of Holders instructions (including, without limitation, instructions of any entity or entities acting on behalf of the nominee for DTC), the Depositary shall, in the manner and on or before the time established by the Depositary for such purpose, endeavor to vote or cause to be voted the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs evidenced by such Holders ADRs in accordance with such instructions insofar as practicable and permitted under the provisions of or governing Deposited Securities. The Depositary will not itself exercise any voting discretion in respect of any Deposited Securities.
(ii) To the extent that (A) the Depositary has been provided with at least 35 days notice of the proposed meeting from the Company, (B) the Voting Notice will be received by all Holders and Beneficial Owners no less than 10 days prior to the date of the meeting and/or the cut-off date for the solicitation of consents, and (C) the Depositary does not receive instructions on a particular agenda item from a Holder (including, without limitation, any entity or entities acting on behalf of the nominee for DTC) in a timely manner, such Holder shall be deemed, and the Depositary is instructed to deem such Holder, to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy for such agenda item(s) to a person designated by the Company to vote the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs for which actual instructions were not so given by all such Holders on such agenda item(s), provided
A-14
that no such instruction shall be deemed given and no discretionary proxy shall be given unless (1) the Company informs the Depositary in writing (and the Company agrees to provide the Depositary with such instruction promptly in writing) that (a) it wishes such proxy to be given with respect to such agenda item(s), (b) there is no substantial opposition existing with respect to such agenda item(s) and (c) such agenda item(s), if approved, would not materially or adversely affect the rights of holders of Shares, and (2) the Depositary has obtained an opinion of counsel, in form and substance satisfactory to the Depositary, confirming that (i) the granting of such discretionary proxy does not subject the Depositary to any reporting obligations in the Cayman Islands, (ii) the granting of such proxy will not result in a violation of the laws, rules, regulations or permits of the Cayman Islands, (iii) the voting arrangement and deemed instruction as contemplated herein will be given effect under the laws, rules and regulations of the Cayman Islands, and (iv) the granting of such discretionary proxy will not under any circumstances result in the Shares represented by the ADSs being treated as assets of the Depositary under the laws, rules or regulations of the Cayman Islands.
(iii) The Depositary may from time to time access information available to it to consider whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above exist, or request additional information from the Company in respect thereto. By taking any such action, the Depositary shall not in any way be deemed or inferred to have been required, or have had any duty or responsibility (contractual or otherwise), to monitor or inquire whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above existed. In addition to the limitations provided for in paragraph (14) hereof, Holders and Beneficial Owners are advised and agree that (a) the Depositary will rely fully and exclusively on the Company to inform the Depositary of any of the circumstances set forth in (1) of subsection (ii) above, and (b) neither the Depositary, the Custodian nor any of their respective agents shall be obliged to inquire or investigate whether any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above exist and/or whether the Company complied with its obligation to timely inform the Depositary of such circumstances. Neither the Depositary, the Custodian nor any of their respective agents shall incur any liability to Holders or Beneficial Owners (i) as a result of the Companys failure to determine that any of the circumstances described in (1)(b) or (1)(c) of subsection (ii) above exist or its failure to timely notify the Depositary of any such circumstances or (ii) if any agenda item which is approved at a meeting has, or is claimed to have, a material or adverse effect on the rights of holders of Shares. Because there is no guarantee that Holders and Beneficial Owners will receive the notices described above with sufficient time to enable such Holders or Beneficial Owners to return any voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner, Holders and Beneficial Owners may be deemed to have instructed the Depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company in such circumstances, and neither the Depositary, the Custodian nor any of their respective agents shall incur any liability to Holders or Beneficial Owners in such circumstances.
A-15
(c) Alternative Methods of Distributing Materials. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR, the Depositary may, to the extent not prohibited by any law, rule or regulation or by the rules, regulations or requirements of the stock exchange on which the ADSs are listed, in lieu of distribution of the materials provided to the Depositary in connection with any meeting of or solicitation of consents or proxies from holders of Deposited Securities, distribute to the Holders a notice that provides Holders with or otherwise publicizes to Holders instructions on how to retrieve such materials or receive such materials upon request (i.e., by reference to a website containing the materials for retrieval or a contact for requesting copies of the materials). Holders are strongly encouraged to forward their voting instructions as soon as possible. Voting instructions will not be deemed received until such time as the ADR department responsible for proxies and voting has received such instructions, notwithstanding that such instructions may have been physically received by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as Depositary, prior to such time.
(d) Manner of Voting. The Depositary has been advised by the Company that under Cayman Islands law and the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Company, each as in effect as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, voting at any meeting of shareholders of the Company is by show of hands unless a poll is (before or on the declaration of the results of the show of hands or on the withdrawal of any other demand for a poll) demanded. In the event that voting on any resolution or matter is conducted on a show of hands basis in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Depositary will refrain from voting and the voting instructions received by the Depositary from Holders shall lapse. The Depositary will not demand a poll or join in demanding a poll, whether or not requested to do so by Holders of ADSs.
(13) Changes Affecting Deposited Securities.
(a) Subject to paragraphs (4) (Certain Limitations to Registration, Transfer etc.) and (5) (Liability of Holder or Beneficial Owner for Taxes, Duties and Other Charges), the Depositary may, in its discretion, and shall if reasonably requested by the Company, amend this ADR or distribute additional or amended ADRs (with or without calling this ADR for exchange) or cash, securities or property on the record date set by the Depositary therefor to reflect any change in par value, split-up, consolidation, cancellation or other reclassification of Deposited Securities, any Share Distribution or Other Distribution not distributed to Holders or any cash, securities or property available to the Depositary in respect of Deposited Securities from (and the Depositary is hereby authorized to surrender any Deposited Securities to any person
A-16
and, irrespective of whether such Deposited Securities are surrendered or otherwise cancelled by operation of law, rule, regulation or otherwise, to sell by public or private sale any property received in connection with) any recapitalization, reorganization, merger, consolidation, liquidation, receivership, bankruptcy or sale of all or substantially all the assets of the Company.
(b) To the extent the Depositary does not so amend this ADR or make a distribution to Holders to reflect any of the foregoing, or the net proceeds thereof, whatever cash, securities or property results from any of the foregoing shall constitute Deposited Securities and each ADS evidenced by this ADR shall automatically represent its pro rata interest in the Deposited Securities as then constituted.
(c) Promptly upon the occurrence of any of the aforementioned changes affecting Deposited Securities, the Company shall notify the Depositary in writing of such occurrence and as soon as practicable after receipt of such notice from the Company, may instruct the Depositary to give notice thereof, at the Companys expense, to Holders in accordance with the provisions hereof. Upon receipt of such instruction, the Depositary shall give notice to the Holders in accordance with the terms thereof, as soon as reasonably practicable.
(14) Exoneration.
(a) The Depositary, the Company, and each of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates and each of them shall: (i) incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to Holders or Beneficial Owners) (A) if any present or future law, rule, regulation, fiat, order or decree of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the Peoples Republic of China, the United States or any other country or jurisdiction, or of any governmental or regulatory authority or any securities exchange or market or automated quotation system, the provisions of or governing any Deposited Securities, any present or future provision of the Companys charter, any act of God, war, terrorism, epidemic, pandemic, nationalization, expropriation, currency restrictions, work stoppage, strike, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions, computer failure or circumstance beyond its direct and immediate control shall prevent or delay, or shall cause any of them to be subject to any civil or criminal penalty in connection with, any act which the Deposit Agreement or this ADR provides shall be done or performed by it or them (including, without limitation, voting pursuant to paragraph (12) hereof), or (B) by reason of any non-performance or delay, caused as aforesaid, in the performance of any act or things which by the terms of the Deposit Agreement it is provided shall or may be done or performed or any exercise or failure to exercise any discretion given it in the Deposit Agreement or this ADR (including, without limitation, any failure to determine that
A-17
any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably practicable); (ii) incur or assume no liability (including, without limitation, to Holders or Beneficial Owners) except to perform its obligations to the extent they are specifically set forth in this ADR and the Deposit Agreement without gross negligence or willful misconduct and the Depositary shall not be a fiduciary or have any fiduciary duty to Holders or Beneficial Owners; (iii) in the case of the Depositary and its agents, be under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities, the ADSs or this ADR; (iv) in the case of the Company and its agents hereunder be under no obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities, the ADSs or this ADR, which in its opinion may involve it in expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense (including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be furnished as often as may be required; and (v) not be liable (including, without limitation, to Holders or Beneficial Owners) for any action or inaction by it in reliance upon the advice of or information from any legal counsel, any accountant, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any Holder, or any other person believed by it to be competent to give such advice or information and/or, in the case of the Depositary, the Company. The Depositary shall not be liable for the acts or omissions made by, or the insolvency of, any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement system.
(b) The Depositary. The Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, the insolvency of any Custodian that is not a branch or affiliate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. The Depositary shall not have any liability for the price received in connection with any sale of securities, the timing thereof or any delay in action or omission to act nor shall it be responsible for any error or delay in action, omission to act, default or negligence on the part of the party so retained in connection with any such sale or proposed sale. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in the Deposit Agreement (including the ADRs) and, subject to the further limitations set forth in clause (o) of this paragraph (14), the Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising from, any act or omission to act on the part of the Custodian except to the extent that any Holder has incurred liability directly as a result of the Custodian having (i) committed fraud or willful misconduct in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary or (ii) failed to use reasonable care in the provision of custodial services to the Depositary as determined in accordance with the standards prevailing in the jurisdiction in which the Custodian is located.
(c) The Depositary, the Company and their respective agents may rely and shall be protected in acting upon any written notice, request, direction, instruction or document believed by them to be genuine and to have been signed, presented or given by the proper party or parties.
A-18
(d) The Depositary shall be under no obligation to inform Holders or Beneficial Owners about the requirements of the laws, rules or regulations or any changes therein or thereto of the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, the Peoples Republic of China, the United States or any other country or jurisdiction or of any governmental or regulatory authority or any securities exchange or market or automated quotation system.
(e) The Depositary and its agents will not be responsible for any failure to carry out any instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, for the manner in which any voting instructions are given or deemed to be given in accordance with paragraph 12(b) hereof, including instructions to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by the Company, for the manner in which any vote is cast, including, without limitation, any vote cast by a person to whom the Depositary is instructed or deemed to have been instructed to grant a discretionary proxy pursuant to paragraph (12)(b) hereof, or for the effect of any such vote.
(f) The Depositary may rely upon instructions from the Company or its counsel in respect of any approval or license required for any currency conversion, transfer or distribution.
(g) The Depositary and its agents may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its affiliates and in ADRs.
(h) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in the Deposit Agreement or an ADR, the Depositary and its agents may fully respond to any and all demands or requests for information maintained by or on its behalf in connection with the Deposit Agreement, any Holder or Holders, any ADR or ADRs or otherwise related hereto or thereto to the extent such information is requested or required by or pursuant to any lawful authority, including without limitation laws, rules, regulations, administrative or judicial process, banking, securities or other regulators.
(i) None of the Depositary, the Custodian or the Company, or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or affiliates, shall be liable for the failure by any Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the benefits of credits or refunds of non-U.S. tax paid against such Holders or Beneficial Owners income tax liability.
(j) The Depositary is under no obligation to provide the Holders and Beneficial Owners, or any of them, with any information about the tax status of the Company. The Depositary and the Company, and any of their respective directors,
A-19
officers, employees, agents and affiliates, shall not incur any liability for any tax or tax consequences that may be incurred by Holders or Beneficial Owners on account of their ownership or disposition of the ADRs or ADSs.
(k) The Depositary shall not incur any liability for the content of any information submitted to it by or on behalf of the Company for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the Deposited Securities, for the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of the Deposit Agreement or for the failure or timeliness of any notice from the Company.
(l) Notwithstanding anything herein or in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the Depositary and the Custodian(s) may use third party delivery services and providers of information regarding matters such as, but not limited to, pricing, proxy voting, corporate actions, class action litigation and other services in connection herewith and the Deposit Agreement, and use local agents to provide services such as, but not limited to, attendance at any meetings of security holders of issuers. Although the Depositary and the Custodian will use reasonable care (and cause their agents to use reasonable care) in the selection and retention of such third party providers and local agents, they will not be responsible for any errors or omissions made by them in providing the relevant information or services.
(m) The Depositary shall not be liable for any acts or omissions made by a successor depositary whether in connection with a previous act or omission of the Depositary or in connection with any matter arising wholly after the removal or resignation of the Depositary.
(n) The Company has agreed to indemnify the Depositary and its agents under certain circumstances and the Depositary has agreed to indemnify the Company under certain circumstances.
(o) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR to the contrary, neither the Depositary nor the Company, nor any of their respective agents shall be liable to the other for any indirect Special Damages in any form incurred by any of them, or liable to any other person or entity (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) for any Special Damages, or any fees or expenses of counsel in connection therewith, whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be brought; provided, however, that (i) notwithstanding the foregoing and, for the avoidance of doubt, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to legal fees and expenses in defending against any claim for Special Damages and (ii) to the extent Special Damages arise
A-20
from or out of a claim brought by a third party (including, without limitation, Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary or any of its agents, the Depositary and its agents shall be entitled to full indemnification from the Company for all such Special Damages, and reasonable fees and expenses of counsel in connection therewith, unless such Special Damages are found to have been a direct result of the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Depositary.
(p) No provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights which Holders or Beneficial Owners may have under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
(15) Resignation and Removal of Depositary; the Custodian.
(a) Resignation. The Depositary may resign as Depositary by written notice of its election to do so delivered to the Company, such resignation to take effect upon the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement.
(b) Removal. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by no less than 60 days prior written notice of such removal, to become effective upon the later of (i) the 60th day after delivery of the notice to the Depositary and (ii) the appointment of a successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as provided in the Deposit Agreement.
(c) The Custodian. The Depositary may appoint substitute or additional Custodians and the term Custodian refers to each Custodian or all Custodians as the context requires.
(16) Amendment. Subject to the last sentence of paragraph (2) (Withdrawal of Deposited Securities), the ADRs and the Deposit Agreement may be amended by the Company and the Depositary, provided that any amendment that imposes or increases any fees or charges (other than stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental charges, transfer or registration fees, SWIFT, cable, telex or facsimile transmission costs, delivery costs or other such expenses), or that shall otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall become effective 30 days after notice of such amendment shall have been given to the Holders. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment to the Deposit Agreement so becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such ADR, to consent and agree to such amendment and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement as amended thereby. In no event shall any amendment impair the right of the Holder of any ADR to surrender such ADR and receive the Deposited Securities
A-21
represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory provisions of applicable law. Any amendments or supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by the Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on Form F-6 under the Securities Act of 1933 or (b) the ADSs or Shares to be traded solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed not to prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial Owners. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any governmental body or regulatory body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations which would require amendment or supplement of the Deposit Agreement or the form of ADR to ensure compliance therewith, the Company and the Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit Agreement and the ADR at any time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such amendment or supplement to the Deposit Agreement in such circumstances may become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to Holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance. Notice of any amendment to the Deposit Agreement or form of ADRs shall not need to describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice invalid, provided, however, that, in each such case, the notice given to the Holders identifies a means for Holders and Beneficial Owners to retrieve or receive the text of such amendment (i.e., upon retrieval from the Commissions, the Depositarys or the Companys website or upon request from the Depositary).
(17) Termination. The Depositary may, and shall at the written direction of the Company, terminate the Deposit Agreement and this ADR by mailing notice of such termination to the Holders at least 30 days prior to the date fixed in such notice for such termination; provided, however, if the Depositary shall have (i) resigned as Depositary hereunder, notice of such termination by the Depositary shall not be provided to Holders unless a successor depositary shall not be operating hereunder within 60 days of the date of such resignation, or (ii) been removed as Depositary hereunder, notice of such termination by the Depositary shall not be provided to Holders unless a successor depositary shall not be operating hereunder on the 60th day after the Companys notice of removal was first provided to the Depositary. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, the Depositary may terminate the Deposit Agreement without notice to the Company, but subject to giving 30 days notice to the Holders, under the following circumstances: (i) in the event of the Companys bankruptcy or insolvency, (ii) if the Shares cease to be listed on an internationally recognized stock exchange, (iii) if the Company effects (or will effect) a redemption of all or substantially all of the Deposited Securities, or a cash or share distribution representing a return of all or substantially all of the value of the Deposited Securities, or (iv) there occurs a merger, consolidation, sale of assets or other transaction as a result of which securities or other property are delivered in exchange for or in lieu of Deposited Securities.
A-22
After the date so fixed for termination, (a) all Direct Registration ADRs shall cease to be eligible for the Direct Registration System and shall be considered ADRs issued on the ADR Register and (b) the Depositary shall use its reasonable efforts to ensure that the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible so that neither DTC nor any of its nominees shall thereafter be a Holder. At such time as the ADSs cease to be DTC eligible and/or neither DTC nor any of its nominees is a Holder, the Depositary shall (a) instruct its Custodian to deliver all Deposited Securities to the Company along with a general stock power that refers to the names set forth on the ADR Register and (b) provide the Company with a copy of the ADR Register (which copy may be sent by email or by any means permitted under the notice provisions of the Deposit Agreement). Upon receipt of such Deposited Securities and the ADR Register, the Company shall use its best efforts to issue to each Holder a Share certificate representing the Shares represented by the ADSs reflected on the ADR Register in such Holders name and to deliver such Share certificate to the Holder at the address set forth on the ADR Register. After providing such instruction to the Custodian and delivering a copy of the ADR Register to the Company, the Depositary and its agents will perform no further acts under the Deposit Agreement and this ADR and shall cease to have any obligations under the Deposit Agreement and/or the ADRs. After the Company receives the copy of the ADR Register and the Deposited Securities, the Company shall be discharged from all obligations under the Deposit Agreement except (i) to distribute the Shares to the Holders entitled thereto and (ii) for its obligations to the Depositary and its agents.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, in connection with any termination pursuant to this paragraph (17), the Depositary may, in its sole discretion and without notice to the Company, establish an unsponsored American depositary share program (on such terms as the Depositary may determine) for the Shares and make available to Holders a means to withdraw the Shares represented by the ADSs issued under the Deposit Agreement and to direct the deposit of such Shares into such unsponsored American depositary share program, subject, in each case, to receipt by the Depositary, at its discretion, of the fees, charges and expenses provided for in paragraph (7) hereof and the fees, charges and expenses applicable to the unsponsored American depositary share program.
(18) Appointment; Acknowledgements and Agreements. Each Holder and each Beneficial Owner, upon acceptance of any ADSs or ADRs (or any interest in any of them) issued in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed for all purposes to (a) be a party to and bound by the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), (b) appoint the Depositary its attorney-in-fact, with full power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take any and all
A-23
actions contemplated in the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), to adopt any and all procedures necessary to comply with applicable law and to take such action as the Depositary in its sole discretion may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the Deposit Agreement and the applicable ADR(s), the taking of such actions to be the conclusive determinant of the necessity and appropriateness thereof, and (c) acknowledge and agree that (i) nothing in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR shall give rise to a partnership or joint venture among the parties thereto, nor establish a fiduciary or similar relationship among such parties, (ii) the Depositary, its divisions, branches and affiliates, and their respective agents, may from time to time be in the possession of non-public information about the Company, Holders, Beneficial Owners and/or their respective affiliates, (iii) the Depositary and its divisions, branches and affiliates may at any time have multiple banking relationships with the Company, Holders, Beneficial Owners and/or the affiliates of any of them, (iv) the Depositary and its divisions, branches and affiliates may, from time to time, be engaged in transactions in which parties adverse to the Company or the Holders or Beneficial Owners and/or their respective affiliates may have interests, (v) nothing contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR(s) shall (A) preclude the Depositary or any of its divisions, branches or affiliates from engaging in any such transactions or establishing or maintaining any such relationships, or (B) obligate the Depositary or any of its divisions, branches or affiliates to disclose any such transactions or relationships or to account for any profit made or payment received in any such transactions or relationships, (vi) the Depositary shall not be deemed to have knowledge of any information held by any branch, division or affiliate of the Depositary and (vii) notice to a Holder shall be deemed, for all purposes of the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, to constitute notice to any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Holders ADRs. For all purposes under the Deposit Agreement and this ADR, the Holder hereof shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of any and all Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by this ADR.
(19) Waiver. EACH PARTY TO THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH HOLDER AND BENEFICIAL OWNER OF, AND/OR HOLDER OF INTERESTS IN, ADSS OR ADRS) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING AGAINST THE DEPOSITARY AND/OR THE COMPANY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE ADSs OR THE ADRs, THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, COMMON LAW OR ANY OTHER THEORY), INCLUDING ANY CLAIM UNDER THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS. No provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR is intended to constitute a waiver or limitation of any rights which a Holder or any Beneficial Owner may have under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, to the extent applicable.
A-24
(20) Jurisdiction. By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving Holders or Beneficial Owners brought by the Company or the Depositary, arising out of or based upon the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein, herein, thereby or hereby, may be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York, and by holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein each irrevocably waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. By holding or owning an ADR or ADS or an interest therein, Holders and Beneficial Owners each also irrevocably agree that any legal suit, action or proceeding against or involving the Depositary brought by Holders or Beneficial Owners, arising out of or based upon the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein, herein, thereby or hereby, may only be instituted in a state or federal court in New York, New York. Notwithstanding the above or anything in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, in the Deposit Agreement each of the parties thereto (i.e. the Company, the Depositary and all Holders and Beneficial Owners) have agreed that: (i) the Depositary may, in its sole discretion, elect to institute any dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding directly or indirectly based on, arising out of or relating to the Deposit Agreement, the ADSs, the ADRs or the transactions contemplated therein, herein, thereby or hereby, including without limitation any question regarding its or their existence, validity, interpretation, performance or termination (a Dispute) against any other party or parties (including, without limitation, Disputes, suits, actions or proceedings brought against Holders and Beneficial Owners), by having the Dispute referred to and finally resolved by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out below, and (ii) the Depositary may in its sole discretion require, by written notice to the relevant party or parties, that any Dispute, suit, action, controversy, claim or proceeding brought by any party or parties to the Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, Disputes, suits, actions or proceedings brought by Holders and Beneficial Owners) against the Depositary shall be referred to and finally settled by an arbitration conducted under the terms set out in the Deposit Agreement: provided however, notwithstanding the Depositarys written notice under this clause (ii), to the extent there are specific federal securities law violation aspects to any claims against the Company and/or the Depositary brought by any Holder or Beneficial Owner, the federal securities law violation aspects of such claims brought by a Holder or Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary may, at the option of such Holder or Beneficial Owner, remain in state or federal court in New York, New York and all other aspects, claims, Disputes, legal suits, actions and/or proceedings brought by such Holder or
A-25
Beneficial Owner against the Company and/or the Depositary, including those brought along with, or in addition to, federal securities law violation claims, would be referred to arbitration in accordance herewith. Any such arbitration shall, at the Depositarys election, be conducted either in New York, New York in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association or in Hong Kong following the arbitration rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) with the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre serving as the appointing authority, and the language of any such arbitration shall be English, in each case as provided in the Deposit Agreement.
A-26
Exhibit 5.1
|
Harney Westwood & Riegels 3501 The Center 99 Queens Road Central Hong Kong Tel: +852 5806 7800 Fax: +852 5806 7810 |
26 June 2020
raymond.ng@harneys.com
+852 5806 7883
053431-0001-RLN
Legend Biotech Corporation
2101 Cottontail Lane,
Somerset, NJ 08873,
United States of America
Dear Sirs
Legend Biotech Corporation (the Company)
We are lawyers qualified to practise in the Cayman Islands and have acted as Cayman Islands legal advisers to the Company in connection with a registration statement on Form S-8 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) on 26 June 2020 (the Registration Statement) relating to the registration under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the Securities Act) of 31,000,000 Ordinary Shares, par value US$0.0001 per share (the Shares), consisting of (i) ordinary shares reserved for future issuance under the Option Scheme (as defined in Schedule 1), (ii) ordinary shares underlying share options granted under the Option Scheme and (iii) ordinary shares to be issued upon vesting of restricted share units granted under the RSU Plan (as defined in Schedule 1) or reserved for issuance under the RSU Plan.
We are furnishing this opinion as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement.
For the purposes of giving this opinion, we have examined the Documents (as defined in Schedule 1). We have not examined any other documents, official or corporate records or external or internal registers and have not undertaken or been instructed to undertake any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction which is the subject of this opinion.
In giving this opinion we have relied upon the assumptions set out in Schedule 2 which we have not independently verified.
Based solely upon the foregoing examinations and assumptions and upon such searches as we have conducted and having regard to legal considerations which we deem relevant, and subject to the qualifications set out in Schedule 3, we are of the opinion that under the laws of the Cayman Islands, the issue and allotment of the Shares as contemplated by the Registration Statement have been duly authorised and, when allotted, issued and fully paid for in accordance with the terms of the Option Scheme or the RSU Plan (as applicable), and when the names of the shareholders are entered in the register of members of the Company, the Shares will be validly issued, allotted and fully paid and there will be no further obligation of the holders of any of the Shares to make any further payment to the Company in respect of such Shares.
Resident Partners: M Chu | JP Engwirda A Johnstone | P Kay | BJ King | MW Kwok | VA Lord | IN Mann R Ng | ME Parrott | ATC Ridgers | N Roberts | PJ Sephton | Y Xu Bermuda legal services provided through an association with Zuill & Co. HK:10444315_210338418 |
Anguilla | Bermuda | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands Cyprus | Hong Kong | London | Luxembourg | Montevideo São Paulo | Shanghai | Singapore | Vancouver www.harneys.com |
This opinion is confined to the matters expressly opined on herein and given on the basis of the laws of the Cayman Islands as they are in force and applied by the Cayman Islands courts at the date of this opinion. We have made no investigation of, and express no opinion on, the laws of any other jurisdiction. Except as specifically stated herein, we express no opinion as to matters of fact.
In connection with the above opinion, we hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference made to this firm in the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we come within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.
This opinion is limited to the matters referred to herein and shall not be construed as extending to any other matter or document not referred to herein.
This opinion shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.
Yours faithfully |
/s/ Harney Westwood & Riegels |
Harney Westwood & Riegels |
2
SCHEDULE 1
List of Documents and Records Examined
1 | The certificate of incorporation of the Company dated 27 May 2015; |
2 | The third amended and restated memorandum and articles of association of the company as adopted by a special resolution passed on 26 May 2020 and effective immediately prior to the completion of the initial public offering of the American depository shares of the Company; |
3 | The register of members and register of directors of the Company provided to us on 26 June 2020; |
Copies of 1-3 above have been provided to us by the Companys registered office in the Cayman Islands (the Corporate Documents, and together with 4-7 below, the Documents).
4 | A copy of the written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 2 December 2017, written resolutions of the shareholders of the Company dated 2 December 2017 and the unanimous written resolutions of the shareholders of the Company dated 26 June 2020 (the Resolutions); |
5 | A copy of the share option scheme (the Option Scheme) adopted by the written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 2 December 2017 and written resolutions of the shareholders of the Company dated 2 December 2017; |
6 | A copy of the Legend Biotech Corporation 2020 Restricted Shares Plan (the RSU Plan) adopted by the unanimous written resolutions of the shareholders of the Company dated 26 May 2020; and |
7 | The Registration Statement. |
3
SCHEDULE 2
Assumptions
1 | Authenticity of Documents. Copy documents or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals. All original Corporate Documents are authentic, all signatures, initials and seals are genuine, all copies of the Registration Statement are true and correct copies and the Registration Statement conform in every material respect to the latest drafts of the same produced to us and, where the Registration Statement has been provided to us in successive drafts marked-up to indicate changes to such documents, all such changes have been so indicated. |
2 | Corporate Documents. All matters required by law to be recorded in the Corporate Documents are so recorded, and all corporate minutes, resolutions, certificates, documents and records which we have reviewed are accurate and complete, and all facts expressed in or implied thereby are accurate and complete as at the date of the passing of the Resolutions. |
3 | Conversion. The conversion of any shares in the capital of the Company will be effected via legally available means under Cayman law. |
4 | No Steps to Wind-up. The directors and shareholders of the Company have not taken any steps to appoint a liquidator of the Company and no receiver has been appointed over any of the Companys property or assets. |
5 | Resolutions. The Resolutions remain in full force and effect, and the Resolutions are an accurate record of the relevant meetings and are factually accurate as to notice and quorum. |
6 | Unseen Documents. Save for the Corporate Documents provided to us there are no resolutions, agreements, documents or arrangements which materially affect, amend or vary the transactions envisaged in the Registration Statement. |
4
SCHEDULE 3
Qualifications
1 | We express no opinion in relation to provisions making reference to foreign statutes in the Registration Statement. |
2 | Except as specifically stated herein, we make no comment with respect to any representations and warranties which may be made by or with respect to the Company in any of the documents or instruments cited in this opinion or otherwise with respect to the commercial terms of the transactions the subject of this opinion. |
5
Exhibit 10.1
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
(incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability)
SHARE OPTION SCHEME
Adopted by the resolutions of the shareholders of
Legend Biotech Corporation on 2 December 2017 and
approved by the resolutions of the shareholders of
Genscript Biotech Corporation at the extraordinary meeting on 21 December 2017
1
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. |
DEFINITIONS | 3 | ||||
2. |
ADOPTION OF THIS SCHEME | 7 | ||||
3. |
PURPOSE, DURATION AND ADMINISTRATION | 7 | ||||
4. |
GRANT OF OPTION | 8 | ||||
5. |
SUBSCRIPTION PRICE | 9 | ||||
6. |
EXERCISE OF OPTIONS | 10 | ||||
7. |
INCENTIVE STOCK OPTIONS | 12 | ||||
8. |
LAPSE OF OPTION | 13 | ||||
9. |
MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SHARES SUBJECT TO OPTIONS | 14 | ||||
10. |
REORGANISATION OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND SPECIAL DIVIDENDS | 15 | ||||
11. |
SHARE CAPITAL | 15 | ||||
12. |
ALTERATION OF THIS SCHEME | 16 | ||||
13. |
TERMINATION | 16 | ||||
14. |
MISCELLANEOUS | 16 | ||||
EXHIBIT A PROXY FORM |
19 | |||||
EXHIBIT B NOTICE OF GRANT |
20 | |||||
EXHIBIT C NOTICE OF EXERCISE |
25 | |||||
EXHIBIT D INVESTMENT REPRESENTATION STATEMENT |
30 |
2
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
(incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability)
SHARE OPTION SCHEME
1. | DEFINITIONS |
1.1 | In this Scheme, save where the context otherwise requires, the following expressions have the respective meanings set opposite them:- |
Adoption Date |
21 December 2017, being the date of adoption of this Scheme pursuant to the resolutions of the shareholders of the Listco at the extraordinary general meeting on 21 December 2017; | |
associate |
has the meaning ascribed to it in the Listing Rules; | |
Auditors |
the auditors of the Company from time to time; | |
Board |
the board of directors of the Company from time to time or a duly authorised committee of the Board or such other committee as the Board may authorise for the purpose of administering this Scheme; | |
Business Day |
any day on which the Stock Exchange is open for the business of trading in securities; | |
Cause |
has the meaning ascribed to such term in any written agreement between the Participant and the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company defining such term as applicable to an Option and, in the absence of such an agreement, such term means, with respect to a Participant, the occurrence of any of the following events: (i) such Participants commission of any felony; (ii) such Participants commission of a crime involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude under the laws of the United States or any state thereof that is reasonably likely to result in material adverse effects on the Company; (iii) such participants intentional, material violation of any contract or agreement between the Participant and the Company or of any statutory duty owed to the Company; (iv) such Participants unauthorized use or disclosure of the Companys confidential information or trade secrets; or (v) such Participants gross misconduct that is reasonably likely to result in material adverse effects on the Company. The determination that a termination or cessation of a Participants employment or engagement for Cause or without Cause will be made by the Board, at its sole discretion; | |
close associate |
has the meaning ascribed to it in the Listing Rules; |
3
Company |
Legend Biotech Corporation, an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with limited liability on 27 May 2015, which is a direct non-wholly owned Subsidiary of the Listco; | |
Companies Law |
the Companies Law (as revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time; | |
connected person |
has the meaning ascribed to it in the Listing Rules; | |
Date of Grant |
in respect of an Option, subject as mentioned in paragraph 9.5 and the approval of the directors and shareholders of the Listco (if required), the date on which the Board resolves to make an Offer of that Option to the Participant, which date must be a Business Day; | |
Director |
a director of the Company; | |
Disability |
the inability of such Participant to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than twelve (12) months, and will be determined by the Board on the basis of such medical evidence as the Board deems warranted under the circumstances; | |
Fair Market Value |
as of any date, the value of a Share determined by the Board in good faith with reference to a valuation report to be obtained from time to time and in a manner that complies with Sections 409A and 422 of the Internal Revenue Code; | |
GEM |
Growth Enterprise Market, an alternative stock market operated by the Stock Exchange | |
Grantee |
any Participant who accepts an Offer in accordance with the terms of this Scheme, or (where the context so permits) any person who is entitled to any such Option in consequence of the death of the original Grantee, or the legal personal representative of such person; | |
Group |
the Listco and its Subsidiaries; | |
HK$ |
Hong Kong dollar, the lawful currency of Hong Kong; | |
Hong Kong |
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China; |
4
Individual Limit |
has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph 9.5; | |
Internal Revenue Code |
the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time, and the rules and regulations thereunder; | |
ISO or Incentive Stock Option |
an Option granted under this Scheme that is intended to be, and that qualifies as, an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code; (note) | |
ISO Period |
has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph 3.2; | |
Listco |
Genscript Biotech Corporation (金斯瑞生物科技股份有限公司), an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with limited liability on 21 May 2015, whose shares are listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 1548); | |
Listing Rules |
the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange (as amended from time to time); | |
Market Standoff Period |
has the meaning ascribed to it in paragraph 14.1; | |
Nonstatutory Option |
means an Option granted under this Scheme to a U.S. Participant that does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option; (note) | |
Offer |
the offer of the grant of an Option made in accordance with paragraph 4.1; | |
Option |
a right granted for the subscription of a Share pursuant to this Scheme, which, for U.S. Participants may be an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Option; | |
Option Period |
a period to be notified by the Board to each Grantee at the time of making an Offer, which shall not expire later than ten years from the Date of Grant (or five years in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a U.S. Participant who is a Ten Percent Shareholder); | |
Participants |
any directors (including executive directors, non-executive directors and independent non-executive directors) and employees of any member of the Group; provided, that for any Participant who is subject to the tax laws of the United States of America, such Participant must be a natural person and a director or employee of the Company or a Subsidiary that is at least 50% (or such lesser percentage as may be determined in accordance with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and the final regulations and guidance thereunder) owned by the Company; |
5
Related Corporation |
any parent corporation or subsidiary corporation as defined in Section 1.424-1(f)(1) and (2) of the U.S. Treasury Regulations; | |
Scheme |
this share option scheme in its present form or as amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions hereof; | |
Scheme Limit |
the meaning given to that term in paragraph 9.1; | |
Scheme Mandate Limit |
the meaning given to that term in paragraph 9.2; | |
Securities Act |
The United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended; | |
Shareholders |
holders of the Shares; | |
Share(s) |
ordinary shares of par value US$0.0001 each in the share capital of the Company; | |
Stock Exchange |
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited; | |
Subscription Price |
the price per Share at which a Grantee may subscribe for Shares on the exercise of an Option as described in paragraph 5; | |
Subsidiary |
has the meaning ascribed to it in the Listing Rules or a subsidiary corporation as defined in Section 1.424-1(f)(1) and (2) of the U.S. Treasury Regulations (as the case may be); | |
substantial shareholder |
has the meaning ascribed to it in the Listing Rules; | |
Ten Percent Shareholder |
means an employee of the Company or a subsidiary corporation (as defined in Section 1.424-1(f)(1) and (2) of the U.S. Treasury Regulations) of the Company who owns (or is treated as owning) stock possessing more than 10 percent of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the corporation employing the Grantee or of a Related Corporation; | |
US$ |
U.S. dollar, the lawful currency of the United States of America; and | |
U.S. Participant |
means a Participant who is subject to the tax laws of the United States of America. |
Note:
The main difference between an Incentive Stock Option and a Nonstatutory Option is that a U.S. Participant may receive more favorable tax treatment at the time of grant, exercise, and sale of Shares of Legend Cayman received upon the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option (as described in 26 U.S. Code Sec. 422 and the related U.S. Treasury Regulations), depending on the U.S. Participants tax situation. An Incentive Stock Option must meet certain specific requirements to receive preferential tax treatment.
6
1.2 | In this Scheme, save where the context otherwise requires:- |
(a) | the headings are inserted for convenience only and shall not limit, vary, extend or otherwise affect the construction of any provision of this Scheme; |
(b) | references to paragraphs are references to paragraphs of this Scheme; |
(c) | references to any statute or statutory provision shall be construed as references to such statute or statutory provision as respectively amended, consolidated or re-enacted, or as its operation is modified by any other statute or statutory provision (whether with or without modification), and shall include any subsidiary legislation enacted under the relevant statute; |
(d) | expressions in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa; |
(e) | expressions in any gender or the neuter shall include other genders and the neuter; and |
(f) | references to persons shall include bodies corporate, corporations, partnerships, sole proprietorships, organisations, associations, enterprises, branches and entities of any other kind whether or not having separate legal identity. |
2. | ADOPTION OF THIS SCHEME |
2.1 | This Scheme shall become valid and effective upon adoption by the resolutions of the shareholders of the Company and approval by the resolutions of the shareholders of the Listco at the extraordinary meeting. |
2.2 | The approval in Section 2.1 above must comply with all applicable provisions of the corporate charter, bylaws, and applicable state law prescribing the method and degree of stockholder approval required for the issuance of corporate stock or options. |
3. | PURPOSE, DURATION AND ADMINISTRATION |
3.1 | The purpose of this Scheme is to provide Participants with the opportunity to acquire proprietary interests in the Company and to encourage Participants to work towards enhancing the value of the Company and its Shares for the benefit of the Company and its Shareholders as a whole. This Scheme will provide the Company with a flexible means of either retaining, incentivising, rewarding, remunerating, compensating and/or providing benefits to Participants. |
3.2 | Subject to paragraphs 13 and 14, this Scheme shall be valid and effective for a period of ten years commencing on the Adoption Date. After the expiry of the ten-year period, no further Options shall be offered or granted, but in all other respects the provisions of this Scheme shall remain in full force and effect; provided, that no Incentive Stock Options may be granted under the Scheme after the tenth anniversary of the earlier of (a) the date the Scheme is adopted by the Board and (b) the date the Scheme is approved by the Companys Shareholders (such period, the ISO Period). Options complying with the provisions of Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules which are granted during the life of this Scheme shall continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms of issue after the end of the ten-year term of this Scheme. |
7
3.3 | This Scheme shall be subject to the administration of the Board, and the decision of the Board shall be final and binding on all parties. The Board shall have the right to (i) interpret and construe the provisions of this Scheme, (ii) determine the persons who will be offered Options under this Scheme, the terms on which Options are granted, the number of Shares and the Subscription Price, subject to paragraph 5, in relation to such Options, (iii) subject to paragraphs 10 and 12, make such adjustments to the terms of this Scheme and to the terms of the Options granted under this Scheme as it deems necessary, including providing for the accelerated vesting and/or exercisability of Options as it deems appropriate, and shall notify the relevant Grantee(s) of such adjustment(s) by written notice, and (iv) make such other decisions or determinations as it shall deem appropriate in the administration of this Scheme. |
3.4 | No member of the Board shall be personally liable by reason of any contract or other instrument executed by such member or on his behalf in his capacity as a member of the Board or for any mistake of judgment made in good faith for the purposes of this Scheme, and the Company shall indemnify and hold harmless each employee, officer or director of the Company to whom any duty or power relating to the administration or interpretation of this Scheme may be allocated or delegated, against any cost or expense (including legal fees) or liability (including any sum paid in settlement of a claim with the approval of the Board) arising out of any act or omission to act in connection with the Scheme unless arising out of such persons own fraud or bad faith. |
4. | GRANT OF OPTION |
4.1 | On and subject to the terms of this Scheme, the Board shall be entitled at any time within ten years after the Adoption Date (or, in the case of an Incentive Stock Option, within the ISO Period) to make an Offer to any Participant, as the Board may at its absolute discretion select, to take up an Option pursuant to which such Participant may, during the Option Period, subscribe for such number of Shares as the Board may determine at the Subscription Price. The Offer shall specify the terms on which the Option is to be granted, including the number of Shares that may be subscribed for, and the Subscription Price, and may include at the discretion of the Board other terms either on a case by case basis or generally. |
4.2 | Each grant of Options to any director, chief executive or substantial shareholder of the Listco (or any of their respective associates) shall be subject to the prior approval of the independent non-executive directors of the Listco (excluding any independent non-executive director of the Listco who is a proposed recipient of the grant of Options). Where any grant of Options to a substantial shareholder or an independent non-executive director of the Listco, or any of their respective associates, would result in the Shares issued and to be issued upon exercise of all Options already granted and to be granted (including Options exercised, cancelled and outstanding) to such person in the 12-month period (or such other period as may from time to time be specified by the Stock Exchange) up to and including the Date of Grant, representing in aggregate over 0.1 % (or such other percentage as may from time to time be specified by the Stock Exchange) of the Shares in issue, such grant of Options shall be subject to prior approval by the Listcos shareholders (voting by way of poll). The Grantee, his associates and all core connected persons (as defined in the Listing Rules) of the Listco shall abstain from voting at such general meeting, except that any such person may vote against the relevant resolution at the general meeting, provided that his intention to do so has been stated in the circular to be sent to the Listcos shareholders in connection therewith. |
8
4.3 | No Offer shall be made and no Option shall be granted to any Participant after inside information has come to the knowledge of the Listco and the Company until the Listco has announced the information. In particular, the Company shall not grant any Option during the period commencing one month immediately preceding the earlier of:- |
(1) | the date of the board meeting of the Listco (as such date is first notified to the Stock Exchange in accordance with the requirements of the Listing Rules) for the approval of the Listcos results for any year, half year, quarter or any other interim period (whether or not required under the Listing Rules); and |
(2) | the deadline for the Listco to publish an announcement of its results for any year or half-year under the Listing Rules, or quarter or any other interim period (whether or not required under the Listing Rules), |
and ending on the date of the results announcement. For the avoidance of doubt, the period during which no Option shall be granted mentioned above shall include any period of delay in the publication of a results announcement.
4.4 | An Offer shall be made to a Participant by a letter in duplicate in such form as the Board may from time to time determine requiring the Participant to undertake to hold the Option on the terms on which it is to be granted and to be bound by the provisions of this Scheme and shall remain open for acceptance by the Participant to whom the Offer is made for a period of 21 days from the date on which the letter containing the Offer is delivered to that Participant, provided that no such Offer shall be open for acceptance after the tenth anniversary of the Adoption Date (or, in the case of an Offer for an ISO, after the ISO Period) or after this Scheme has been terminated in accordance with the provisions hereof or after the person/entity to whom the Offer is made has ceased to be a Participant. |
4.5 | An Offer shall be deemed to have been accepted and the Option to which the Offer relates shall be deemed to have been granted and to have taken effect when the duplicate of the offer letter comprising acceptance of the Offer duly signed by the Grantee with the number of Shares in respect of which the Offer is accepted clearly stated therein, together with a total remittance in favour of the Company of US$ 1.00 (or its equivalent in RMB) by way of consideration for the grant thereof, is received by the Company. Such remittance shall not be refundable in any circumstances. |
4.6 | Any Offer may be accepted in respect of less than the number of Shares for which it is offered. To the extent that the Offer is not accepted within 21 days from the date on which the letter containing the Offer is delivered to that Participant in the manner indicated in paragraph 4.5, it shall be deemed to have been irrevocably declined. |
5. | SUBSCRIPTION PRICE |
5.1 | The Subscription Price payable by any Grantee (including a non-U.S. Participant or a U.S. Participant) shall be no less than the Fair Market Value of a Share of Legend Cayman on the Date of Grant (determined with reference to a valuation report to be obtained in determining the Fair Market Value of a Share of Legend Cayman from time to time), subject to rounding adjustments (that the Subscription Price as determined pursuant to this paragraph shall be rounded to the nearest ten), provided that with respect to the period from the date when the Company resolves to seek a separate listing of Legend Cayman on the Stock Exchange, GEM, or an overseas stock exchange and up to the listing date (if any), the rules under note (2) to rule 17.03(9) of the Listing Rules is complied with. |
9
6. | EXERCISE OF OPTIONS |
6.1 | An Option shall be personal to the Grantee and shall not be assignable and no Grantee shall in any way sell, transfer, charge, mortgage, encumber or create any interest in favour of any other person over or in relation to any Option, except for the transmission of an Option on the death of the Grantee to his personal representative(s) on terms of this Scheme. Any breach of the foregoing shall entitle the Company to cancel any outstanding Option or part thereof granted to such Grantee without incurring any liability on the part of the Company. |
6.2 | An Option may, subject to the terms and conditions upon which such Option is granted, be exercised in whole or in part in the manner as set out in paragraph 6.3 by the Grantee giving notice in writing to the Company stating that the Option is thereby exercised and the number of Shares in respect of which it is exercised. The notice of exercise shall be in such form as the Board may from time to time determine. Each such notice must be accompanied by a remittance for the aggregate amount of the Subscription Price multiplied by the number of Shares in respect of which the notice is given. Within 15 Business Days after receipt of the notice, the aggregate amount of the Subscription Price, and, where appropriate, receipt of the Auditors or the relevant financial advisors (retained for such purpose) certificate pursuant to paragraph 10, the Company shall, at the Boards absolute discretion, allot and issue the relevant number of Shares to the Grantee credited as fully paid and issue to the Grantee a share certificate in respect of the Shares so allotted; provided, that, the issuance of Shares to a U.S. Participant upon exercise of an Option shall be subject to the U.S. Participant satisfying any applicable tax withholding obligations, which may be satisfied by the U.S. Participant in cash or check or any other method permitted by the Company in accordance with applicable law. |
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, as to PRC (as hereinafter defined) Participants, the Option may not be exercised, unless otherwise approved by the Board, until all registrations, consents, approvals, filings or waivers required under applicable laws, including the laws of the Peoples Republic of China (the PRC), are duly obtained. In particular, the exercise of Options shall be conditioned by the Grantees completion of requisite registration by the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) or its authorized institutions under the Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on the Administration of Foreign Exchange Involved in Overseas Investment, Financing and Return on Investment Conducted by Residents in China via Special-Purpose Companies (Circular 37) with regard to the Shares acquired upon exercise. The Company shall coordinate with the Grantee in connection with handling registrations, approvals, filings or waivers for the exercise of Option only to the extent determined by the Board.
6.3 | Subject to the terms and conditions upon which such Option was granted, an Option may be exercised by the Grantee at any time during the Option Period, provided that:- |
(a) | unless otherwise provided in an agreement evidencing the grant of an Option, in the event the Grantee (being an employee or a director of any member of the Group with respect to Participants who are not U.S. Participants, or, in the case of U.S. Participants, being an employee or a director of the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company) ceases to be a Participant for any reason other than (i) his or her death, (ii) his or her Disability, or (iii) on one or more of the grounds of termination of employment or engagement specified in paragraph 8(f) the Option shall lapse on the date of cessation of such employment or engagement and not be exercisable unless the Board otherwise determines in which event the Option shall be exercisable to the extent and within such period as the Board may determine; provided that if the Participant is a U.S. Participant and the U.S. Participant ceases employment or engagement for any reason other than Cause, death or Disability, the Option shall lapse 30 days after the date of such cessation of such employment or engagement and shall not be exercisable thereafter. The date of cessation of employment of a Grantee (being an employee and who may or may not be a director of any member of the Group) shall be the last actual working day on which the Grantee was physically at work with the Company or the relevant Subsidiary, whether salary is paid in lieu of notice or not; |
10
(b) | in the event the Grantee (A) dies before exercising the Option in full and none of the events for termination of employment or engagement under paragraph 8(f) then exists with respect to such Grantee, the personal representative(s) of the Grantee shall be entitled within a period of twelve months from the date of death to exercise the Option up to the entitlement of such Grantee as at the date of death, or (B) becomes Disabled before exercising the Option in full and none of the events for termination of employment or engagement under paragraph 8(f) then exists with respect to such Grantee, the Grantee shall be entitled within a period of twelve months from the date he becomes Disabled to exercise the Option up to the entitlement of such Grantee as at the date when he becomes Disabled; |
(c) | if a general offer by way of voluntary offer, takeover or otherwise (other than by way of scheme of arrangement pursuant to paragraph 6.3(d) below) is made to all the holders of Shares (or all such holders other than the offeror, any person controlled by the offeror and any person acting in association or concert with the offeror) and such offer becomes or is declared unconditional prior to the expiry date of the relevant Option, the Company shall forthwith give notice thereof to the Grantee and the Grantee shall be entitled to exercise the Option to its full extent or, if the Company shall give the relevant notification, to the extent notified by the Company pursuant to paragraph 6.4(b) at any time within such period as shall be notified by the Company; |
(d) | if a general offer for Shares by way of scheme of arrangement is made to all the holders of Shares and has been approved by the necessary number of holders of Shares at the requisite meetings, the Company shall forthwith give notice thereof to the Grantee and the Grantee may at any time thereafter (but before such time as shall be notified by the Company) exercise the Option to its full extent or, if the Company shall give the relevant notification, to the extent notified by the Company pursuant to paragraph 6.4(b)); |
(e) | in the event a notice is given by the Company to its Shareholders to convene a Shareholders meeting for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, approving a resolution to voluntarily wind-up the Company, the Company shall forthwith give notice thereof to the Grantee and the Grantee may at any time thereafter (but before such time as shall be notified by the Company) exercise the Option to its full extent or, if the Company shall give the relevant notification, to the extent notified by the Company pursuant to paragraph 6.4(b), and the Company shall as soon as possible and in any event no later than three days prior to the date of the proposed Shareholders meeting, allot, issue and register in the name of the Grantee such number of fully paid Shares which fall to be issued on exercise of such Option; and |
(f) | in the event of a compromise or arrangement, other than a scheme of arrangement contemplated in paragraph 6.3(d) above, between the Company and its members and/or creditors being proposed in connection with a scheme for the reconstruction or amalgamation of the Company, the Company shall give notice thereof to all Grantees on the same day as it first gives notice of the meeting to its members and/or creditors to consider such a scheme or arrangement and the Grantee may at any time thereafter but before such time as shall be notified by the Company exercise the Option to its full extent or, if the Company shall give the relevant notification, to the extent notified by the Company pursuant to paragraph 6.4(b), and the Company shall as soon as possible and in any event no later than three days prior to the date of the proposed meeting, allot, issue and register in the name of the Grantee such number of fully paid Shares which fall to be issued on exercise of such Option. |
11
6.4 | For the purpose of this paragraph 6:- |
(a) | any references to exercising an Option shall refer to exercising that Option to the extent not already exercised, notwithstanding that the Option Period has not come into effect; |
(b) | pursuant to paragraphs 6.3(c), (d), (e) and (f), the Company may in its discretion notwithstanding the terms of the relevant Option, at the same time as giving the notice provided for under each of those paragraphs, also give notice to a Grantee that his or her Option may be exercised at any time within such period as shall be notified by the Company and/or to the extent (not being less than the extent to which it could then be exercised in accordance with its terms) notified by the Company; and |
(c) | if the Company gives notice under paragraph 6.4(b) that an Option can be exercised in part only, the balance of the Option shall lapse. |
6.5 | The Shares to be allotted and issued upon the exercise of an Option shall be subject to all the provisions of the memorandum and articles of association of the Company for the time being in force and will rank pari passu with the fully paid Shares in issue on the date the name of the Grantee is registered on the register of members of the Company. Prior to the Grantee being registered on the register of members of the Company, the Grantee shall not have any voting rights, or rights to participate in any dividends or distributions (including those arising on a liquidation of the Company), in respect of the Shares to be issued upon the exercise of the Option. |
6.6 | Only with respect to Participants who are not U.S. Participants, any Options granted but not exercised may be cancelled if the Grantee so agrees and new Options may be granted to the Grantee provided such new Options are granted within the limits prescribed by paragraph 9 and otherwise comply with the terms of this Scheme. |
6.7 | The Participant shall, concurrently with the exercise of all or any portion of the Option, deliver to the Company an irrevocable proxy in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A. |
7. | INCENTIVE STOCK OPTIONS |
7.1 | Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Scheme, the following shall apply to Options that are intended to be granted as Incentive Stock Options. |
(a) | Eligibility. Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Participants who are employees of the Company or a subsidiary corporation thereof (as such term is defined in Section 424(f) of the Internal Revenue Code). An Incentive Stock Option shall not be exercisable after the expiration of ten years after the Date of Grant. |
(b) | Subscription Price. The Subscription Price of an Incentive Stock Option shall be no less than the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Date of Grant. |
(c) | Terms. The Offer evidencing the grant of each Incentive Stock Option shall provide that the Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option and shall provide that the Option shall not be exercisable after the expiration of ten years after the Date of Grant (or five years, in the case of Incentive Stock Options granted to Ten Percent Shareholders). |
12
(d) | Ten Percent Shareholders. Pursuant to U.S. tax laws (26 U.S. Code Sec. 422), a, a Ten Percent Shareholder will not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the Subscription Price of such Option is at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value on the Date of Grant and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five years after the Date of Grant. |
(e) | Transferability. An Incentive Stock Option will not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and will be exercisable during the lifetime of the Grantee only by the Grantee. |
(f) | US$100,000 Limitation. If the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Shares with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Grantee during any calendar year (under all share option schemes of the Company and Related Corporations) exceeds US$ 100,000 or such other limit established in the Internal Revenue Code) or if an Option grant otherwise does not comply with the rules governing Incentive Stock Options, the Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) or otherwise do not comply with the rules will be treated as Nonstatutory Options, despite any contrary provisions of the applicable Offer evidencing the grant of such Option. |
8. | LAPSE OF OPTION |
An Option shall lapse automatically (to the extent not already exercised) on the earliest of:-
(a) | the expiry of the Option Period (subject to the provisions of paragraphs 2.2 and 13); |
(b) | the expiry of the periods for exercising the Option as referred to in paragraph 6.3(a),(b),(c),(d); |
(c) | subject to the scheme of arrangement (referred to in paragraph 6.3(d)) becoming effective, the expiry of the period for exercising the Option as referred to in paragraph 6.3(d); |
(d) | subject to paragraph 6.3(e), the date of the commencement of the winding-up of the Company; |
(e) | the date on which the Grantee commits a breach of paragraph 6.1; |
(f) | the date on which the Grantee (being an employee or a director of any member of the Group) (i) ceases to be a Participant by reason of the termination of his or her employment or engagement for Cause, (ii) has been convicted of any criminal offence involving his or her integrity or honesty, or on any other ground on which an employer would be entitled to terminate his or her employment summarily, or (iii) only with respect to Grantees who are not U.S. Participants, appears either to be unable to pay or to have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay his or her debts or has become |
(g) | bankrupt or has made any arrangement or composition with his or her creditors generally; |
(h) | where the Grantee is an employee, director, officer or contract consultant of a member of the Group (other than the Company), the date on which such member ceases to be a Subsidiary; and |
13
(i) | unless the Board otherwise determines, and other than in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 6.3(a) or (b), the date the Grantee ceases to be a Participant (as determined by a resolution of the Board) for any reason. |
Transfer of employment or engagement or relationship from one member of the Group to another member of the Group shall not be considered as a cessation of employment, engagement or relationship; provided, that for U.S. Participants, transfer of employment or engagement or relationship from the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company to Listco shall be deemed to be a termination of employment or engagement for purposes of participation in this Scheme.
9. | MAXIMUM NUMBER OF SHARES SUBJECT TO OPTIONS |
9.1 | The overall limit on the number of Shares which may be issued upon exercise of all outstanding Options granted and yet to be exercised under this Scheme and other share option schemes of the Company (and to which the provisions of Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules are applicable) must not exceed 30% of the Shares in issue from time to time (the Scheme Limit). |
9.2 | The total number of Shares which may be issued upon exercise of all Options to be granted under this Scheme and other share option schemes of the Company shall not in aggregate exceed 10% of the Shares in issue as at the date of the Adoption Date (the Scheme Mandate Limit), being 200,000,000 Shares multiplied by 10% which equals to 20,000,000, assuming that there is no change in the issued share capital of the Company between the period from the Latest Practicable Date and the Adoption Date. Options lapsed in accordance with the terms of this Scheme will not be counted for the purpose of calculating the Scheme Mandate Limit. |
9.3 | The Company may seek approval of the Shareholders in general meeting for refreshing the Scheme Mandate Limit, under the Share Option Scheme. However, the total number of Shares which may be issued upon exercise of all Options to be granted under all of the schemes of the Company under the Scheme Mandate Limit as refreshed shall not exceed 10% of the Shares in issue as at the date of the aforesaid approval of the Scheme Mandate Limit. Options previously granted under this Scheme and other share option schemes of the Company (including those outstanding, cancelled, lapsed in accordance with its terms or exercised options), will not be counted for the purpose of calculating the limit as refreshed. A circular must be sent to the Listcos shareholders in connection with the meeting at which their approval will be sought. |
9.4 | The Company may also seek separate approval of the Listcos shareholders in general meeting for granting Options beyond the Scheme Mandate Limit provided the Options in excess of the Scheme Mandate Limit are granted only to Participants specifically identified by the Listco before such approval is sought. A circular shall be sent to the Listcos shareholders containing a generic description of the specified Participants who may be granted such Options, the number and terms of the Options to be granted and the purpose of granting Options to the specified Participants with an explanation as to how the terms of the Options serve such purpose. |
9.5 | The total number of Shares issued and to be issued upon exercise of the Options granted to each Participant (including both exercised, cancelled and outstanding Options) in any 12-month period shall not exceed 1% of the Shares in issue (the Individual Limit). Any further grant of Options to a Participant which would result in the Shares issued and to be issued upon exercise of all Options granted and to be granted to such Participant (including exercised, cancelled and outstanding Options) in the 12-month period up to and including the Date of Grant of such further Options exceeding the Individual Limit shall be subject to the approval of Listcos shareholders in advance with such Participant and his close associates (or his associates if such Participant is a connected |
14
person) abstaining from voting. A circular must be sent to the Listcos shareholders disclosing the identity of such Participant and the number and terms of the Options granted and to be granted. The number and terms of Options to be granted to such Participants shall be fixed before the approval of the Listcos shareholders is sought and the date of the Listcos board meeting for proposing such further grant shall for all purposes be the Date of Grant for the purpose of calculating the Subscription Price. |
9.6 | Subject to paragraph 10, the aggregate maximum number of Shares that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options under this Scheme will be equal to the Scheme Limit, as may be refreshed from time to time. |
9.7 | The maximum number of Shares referred to in paragraph 9 shall be adjusted, in such manner as the Auditors or the financial advisor of the Company retained for such purpose shall certify to be appropriate, fair and reasonable in the event of any alteration in the capital structure of the Company in accordance with paragraph 10 by way of capitalisation of profits or reserves, rights issue, subdivision or consolidation of Shares, reduction of the share capital of the Company. |
10. | REORGANISATION OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND SPECIAL DIVIDENDS |
In the event of an alteration in the capital structure of the Company whilst any Option remains exercisable by way of capitalisation of profits or reserves, rights issue, subdivision or consolidation of shares, or reduction of the share capital of the Company, such corresponding alterations (if any) shall be made to:
(i) | the number or nominal amount of Shares subject to the Option so far as unexercised; or |
(ii) | the Subscription Price, |
or any combination thereof, as the Auditors or a financial advisor engaged by the Company for such purpose shall, at the request of the Company, certify in writing, either generally or as regards any particular Grantee, to be in their opinion fair and reasonable, provided that any such adjustments give a Grantee the same proportion of the equity capital of the Company as that to which that Grantee was previously entitled, but so that no such adjustments be made to the extent that a Share would be issued at less than its nominal value; and further provided that any such adjustments for U.S. Participants shall comply with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. The capacity of the Auditors or financial advisor (as the case may be) in this paragraph is that of experts and not of arbitrators and their certification shall, in the absence of manifest error, be final and binding on the Company and the Grantees. The costs of the Auditors or financial advisor (as the case may be) shall be borne by the Company.
11. | SHARE CAPITAL |
11.1 | The exercise of any Option shall be subject to the Shareholders in general meeting approving any necessary increase in the authorised share capital of the Company in accordance with the Companies Law. Subject thereto, the Board shall make available sufficient authorised but unissued share capital of the Company to meet subsisting requirements on the exercise of Options. |
11.2 | Prior to the exercise of the Options and the acquisition of the underlying Shares, the Options do not carry any right to vote in general meeting of the Company, or any right to dividend, or any other rights whether or not arising on the liquidation of the Company. |
15
12. | ALTERATION OF THIS SCHEME |
12.1 | Subject to paragraph 12.2 below, the Board may amend any of the provisions of the Scheme (including without limitation amendments in order to comply with changes in legal or regulatory requirements and amendments in order to waive any restrictions, imposed by the provisions of the Scheme, which are not found in Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules) at any time (but not so as to affect adversely any rights which have accrued to any Grantee at that date). |
12.2 | Those specific provisions of this Scheme which relate to the matters set out in rule 17.03 of the Listing Rules cannot be altered to the advantage of Participants, and no changes to the authority of the Directors or administrator of this Scheme in relation to any alteration of the terms of this Scheme shall be made, without the prior approval of the Listcos shareholders in general meeting. Any alterations to the terms and conditions of this Scheme which are of a material nature, or any change to the terms of Options granted, must also, to be effective, be approved by the Listcos shareholders in general meeting, except where the alterations take effect automatically under the existing terms of this Scheme. This Scheme so altered must comply with Chapter 17 of the Listing Rules. |
12.3 | Notwithstanding any approval obtained pursuant to paragraph 12.1, no amendment shall operate to adversely affect the terms of issue of any Option granted or agreed to be granted prior to such amendment except with the consent or sanction in writing of such number of Grantees as shall together hold Options in respect of not less than three-fourths in nominal value of all Shares then subject to the options granted under this Scheme, except where such amendment takes effect automatically under the existing terms of this Scheme. |
13. | TERMINATION |
The Company by ordinary resolution in general meeting or the Board may at any time terminate the operation of this Scheme and in such event no further Options will be offered or granted but in all other respects the provisions of this Scheme shall remain in full force and effect. Options which are unexercised and unexpired immediately prior to the termination of the operation of this Scheme shall continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms of issue after the termination of this Scheme.
14. | MISCELLANEOUS |
14.1 | Lock-Up Period. A Grantee shall agree that, if so requested by the Company in connection with any registration of the offering of any securities of the Company under the Securities Act or any applicable United States state laws, the Grantee shall not sell or otherwise transfer any shares of Shares or other securities of the Company during the 180-day period (or such longer period as may be agreed to in writing by the Company) following the effective date of a registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act in connection with any initial public offering of Shares (the Market Standoff Period). The Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to securities subject to the foregoing restrictions until the end of such Market Standoff Period and these restrictions shall be binding on any transferee of such shares of Shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 180-day period may be extended for up to such number of additional days as is deemed necessary by the Company. |
16
14.2 | Legends and Stop-Transfer Orders. |
(a) | Legends. The Company shall cause the legends set forth below or legends substantially similar thereto, to be placed upon any certificate(s) evidencing ownership of the shares of Shares acquired upon exercise of an Option together with any other legends that may be required by United States state or federal securities laws: |
THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 (THE ACT) OR ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR HYPOTHECATED UNLESS AND UNTIL REGISTERED UNDER THE ACT AND SUCH LAWS OR, IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL IN FORM AND SUBSTANCE SATISFACTORY TO THE ISSUER OF THESE SECURITIES, SUCH OFFER, SALE OR TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR HYPOTHECATION IS IN COMPLIANCE THEREWITH.
THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AND RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL AND REPURCHASE RIGHTS HELD BY THE ISSUER OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S) AS SET FORTH IN THE EXERCISE NOTICE BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. SUCH TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS AND RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL AND REPURCHASE RIGHTS ARE BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
(b) | Stop-Transfer Notices. In order to ensure compliance with the restrictions referred to herein, the Company may issue appropriate stop transfer instructions to its transfer agent, if any, and that, if the Company transfers its own securities, it may make appropriate notations to the same effect in its own records. |
(c) | Refusal to Transfer. The Company shall not be required (i) to transfer on its books any shares of Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Scheme or (ii) to treat as owner of such shares or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such shares shall have been so transferred. |
14.3 | Grantees Representations. If the shares of Shares purchasable pursuant to the exercise of an Option have not been registered under the Securities Act or any applicable state laws at the time the Option is exercised, a Grantee shall, if required by the Company, concurrently with the exercise of all or any portion of the Option, deliver to the Company his or her Investment Representation Statement in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A and shall make such other written representations as are deemed necessary or appropriate by the Company and/or its counsel. |
14.4 | To the extent applicable, it is intended that this Scheme and any Options granted hereunder to U.S. Participants are exempt from, or comply with, the provisions of Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. This Scheme and any Options granted hereunder will be administered in a manner consistent with this intent. |
14.5 | This Scheme shall not form part of any contract of employment between the any member of the Group and any Grantee, and the rights and obligations of any such Grantee under the terms of his or her office or employment or engagement shall not be affected by his or her participation in this Scheme and this Scheme shall afford such Grantee no additional rights to compensation or damages in consequence of the termination of such office or employment or engagement for any reason. |
17
14.6 | Participation in this Scheme shall be at the Boards absolute discretion and neither participation in this Scheme nor the receipt of an Offer pursuant to this Scheme shall create any right to or expectation of any future participation or offer under this Scheme or any other equity-based incentive plans of the Group. |
14.7 | This Scheme shall not confer on any person any legal or equitable right (other than those rights constituting the Options themselves) against the Company directly or indirectly or give rise to any cause of action at law or in equity against the Company or any Subsidiary. |
14.8 | The Company shall bear the costs of establishing and administering this Scheme. |
14.9 | A Grantee shall be entitled to receive copies of all notices and other documents sent by the Company to holders of Shares generally. |
14.10 | Any notice or other communication between the Company and a Grantee may be given by sending the same by prepaid post or by personal delivery to, in the case of the Company, its principal place of business in Nanjing, the Peoples Republic of China or such other address as notified to the Grantee from time to time and, in the case of the Grantee, his or her address last notified to the Company. |
14.11 | Any notice or other communication served by post:- |
(a) | by the Company shall be deemed to have been served 24 hours after the same was put in the post; and |
(b) | by the Grantee shall not be deemed to have been received until the same shall have been received by the Company. |
14.12 | All allotments and issues of Shares will be subject to all necessary consents under any relevant legislation for the time being in force in Hong Kong and in the Cayman Islands, and a Grantee shall be responsible for obtaining any governmental or other official consent or approval that may be required by any country or jurisdiction in order to permit the grant, holding or exercise of the Option. The Company shall not be responsible for any failure by a Grantee to obtain any such consent or approval or for any tax or other liability to which a Grantee may become subject as a result of his or her participation in this Scheme. |
14.13 | Each Grantee shall pay all taxes and discharge all other liabilities to which he may become subject as a result of his participation in this Scheme or the exercise of any Option. |
14.14 | The Board shall have the power from time to time to make or vary regulations for the administration and operation of this Scheme, provided that the same are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Scheme. The Board shall also have the power to delegate its powers to grant Options to Participants and to determine the Subscription Price, to the Companys chief executive officer or managing director from time to time. |
14.15 | This Scheme and all Options granted hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong |
18
EXHIBIT A
PROXY FORM
The undersigned shareholder (the Shareholder) of Legend Biotech Corporation, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands (the Company), hereby irrevocably (to the fullest extent permitted by law) appoints Fangliang Zhang (the Proxyholder) as the sole and exclusive attorney and proxy of the undersigned, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to vote and exercise all voting and related rights (to the full extent that the undersigned is entitled to do so) with respect to ____________ ordinary shares of the Company that now are legally owned or will be owned by the undersigned, and any and all other shares or securities of the Company issued or issuable in respect thereof on or after the date hereof (collectively, the Shares), in accordance with the terms of this irrevocable proxy (the Proxy). Upon the undersigneds execution of this Proxy, any and all prior proxies given by the undersigned with respect to any Shares are hereby revoked and the undersigned agrees not to grant any subsequent proxies with respect to the Shares.
This Proxy is coupled with an interest and is given to secure the performance of the Shareholders obligations under the Notice of Grant pursuant to which the Shares were originally acquired from the Company. This Proxy is irrevocable until the expiration date as set out in the Notice of Grant.
The Proxyholder is hereby authorised and empowered by the undersigned to act as the undersigneds attorney and proxy to vote the Shares, and to exercise all voting, consent and similar rights of the undersigned with respect to the Shares (including, without limitation, the power to execute and deliver written consents) at every annual, special, adjourned or postponed meeting of shareholders of the Company and with respect to every written resolutions in lieu of such meeting in the manner determined by the Proxyholder in his sole discretion.
This Proxy shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong.
This Proxy shall not affect the right to transfer the Shares other than as set forth in the following sentence, the Scheme and the Notice of Exercise and Share Purchase Agreement. Any obligation of the undersigned hereunder shall be binding upon the transferees, heirs, successors, assigns, administrators, executors and other legal representatives of the undersigned.
Shareholder |
Mr. Fangliang Zhang |
Proxyholder |
DATED : MM/DD/YYYY
19
EXHIBIT B
NOTICE OF GRANT
To:
Mm/dd/yyyy
Dear :
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION SHARE OPTION SCHEME
NOTICE OF GRANT OF AN OPTION
We are pleased to inform you that Legend Biotech Corporation (the Company) is granting you an Option to subscribe for ordinary shares in the share capital of the Company (the Shares). This grant is being made pursuant to the share option scheme adopted by the Company on Dec. 21st 2017 (the Scheme) and is subject to the terms set out in this letter (the Notice of Grant) and the rules of the Scheme (as such rules may be amended from time to time). Capitalized terms not defined in this Notice of Grant shall have the meanings ascribed in the Scheme. The Scheme is enclosed with this Notice of Grant.
Grant of Option
The terms of the grant of the Option are as follows:
Type of Option: |
Incentive Stock | |
Number of Shares subject to the Option:
(Performance A or S is required) |
||
Subscription price
(the price per Share at which you may subscribe for Shares upon exercising the Option). |
||
Expiration date | mm/dd/yyyy |
20
[Time-Based Vesting: The Option is subject to time-based vesting. Subject to the rules of the Scheme and the conditions set out below, the Option will vest and be exercisable with respect to the number of Shares and on the dates set forth in the following schedule:
Vesting date |
Performance Goal/ Performance Period (if applicable) |
Number of |
Exercise period | |||
mm/dd/yyyy | Performance Period:
mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy |
mm/dd/yyyy- mm/dd/yyyy | ||||
mm/dd/yyyy | Performance Period:
mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy |
mm/dd/yyyy- mm/dd/yyyy | ||||
mm/dd/yyyy | Performance Period:
mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy |
mm/dd/yyyy- mm/dd/yyyy | ||||
mm/dd/yyyy | Performance Period:
mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy |
mm/dd/yyyy- mm/dd/yyyy | ||||
mm/dd/yyyy | Performance Period:
mm/dd/yyyy to mm/dd/yyyy |
mm/dd/yyyy- mm/dd/yyyy |
[Performance-Based Vesting: The Option is subject to performance-based vesting and, subject to the rules of the Scheme and the conditions set out below, the Option will vest and be exercisable with respect to the number of Shares as follows:
(a) If the KPI rating is B for the performance period, 50% of the options will be vested and the remaining shares will be cancelled.
(b) If the KPI rating is C or D for the performance period, none of shares will be vested and all options will be cancelled.
(c) If the KPI rating is A or S for the performance period, the shares will be 100% vested.
The vesting of the Option shall be conditional upon the Participant being not in violation of any of the Companys policies and/or not acting in any way which is contrary to the best interest of the Company, as determined by the Board in its sole discretion. In addition, the vesting of the Option shall be subject to the Scheme in relation to the termination of employment or engagement of the Participant.
21
The Option is granted purely at the Companys discretion and does not form part of any contract of employment or engagement for services between you and the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. Your rights and obligations under the terms of your employment or engagement are not affected by your participation in the Scheme and such participation shall not give you any additional rights to compensation or damages in the event of the termination (however caused, and whether lawful or unlawful) of your employment or engagement for services.
This invitation to apply for an option pursuant to the Scheme does not constitute an offer or invitation to the public within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) or the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong), and it is made on terms that only the qualifying person (as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance) to whom this invitation has been addressed is eligible to apply. Options offered in relation to the Scheme may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document, except in circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus as defined in the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance.
No person may issue or possess for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, any advertisement, invitation or document relating to options offered in relation to the Scheme, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to options which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong.
You acknowledge receipt of, and understand and agree to, this Notice of Grant and the Scheme. You acknowledge that you have been made aware of the Companys Rule 701(e) Information Statement (the Information Statement) for the Scheme [and how to access the Information Statement on the Companys [stock plan administration platform]. The Company encourages you to review the Information Statement before exercising the Option. You acknowledge and agree that if you exercise the Option without first reviewing the Information Statement (as drafted at such future date), you are knowingly and voluntarily declining to review the Information Statement. As of the Date of Grant, this Notice of Grant and the Scheme set forth the entire understanding between you and the Company regarding the Option and supersede all prior oral and written agreements with respect to the Option. By accepting the Option, you consent to receive documents governing the Option by electronic delivery and to participate in the Scheme through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company from time to time.
[The remaining of this page is intended to be blank.]
22
Please confirm your acceptance of the grant of the option by signing and returning the duplicate letter together with a payment of the sum of US$1.00 (or its equivalent in RMB) by no later than mm/dd/yyyy
Yours faithfully,
|
For and on behalf of |
Legend Biotech Corporation |
Name: Fangliang Zhang
Title: Chairman of Legend Biotech Corporation
23
To: Legend Biotech Corporation
I, with address
,
hereby accept the grant of the option set out above and undertake to hold the option on the terms set out in the letter and to be bound by the terms of the Scheme. I enclose the payment of the sum of US$1.00 (or its equivalent in RMB) as consideration for the grant of the option.
I confirm that I have read, understand and accept the terms of the Scheme.
Yours faithfully |
|
Name: |
Date: mm/dd/yyyy |
24
EXHIBIT C
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
SHARE OPTION SCHEME
NOTICE OF EXERCISE AND SHARE PURCHASE AGREEMENT
(to be executed in duplicate with a copy to each party)
This Notice of Exercise (this Exercise Notice), dated as of ____________, 20__ (the Exercise Date), constitutes written notice to Legend Biotech Corporation, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability (the Company) that ____________ (Purchaser) hereby elects to purchase the number of ordinary shares of par value US$_____ each in the share capital of the Company (Ordinary Shares) subject to the Option granted to Purchaser on ____________, 20__ (the Option), under the terms of the Notice of Grant of Option (the Notice of Grant) and the Legend Biotech Corporation Share Option Scheme, adopted by the Company on [*], 2017 (the Scheme). Capitalized terms used in this Exercise Notice, if not defined herein, have the meanings ascribed to them in the Notice of Grant or, as applicable, the Scheme.
As used in this Notice, Shares refers not only to the Ordinary Shares purchased under this Exercise Notice, but also all securities and property received in respect of those shares in an event described in paragraph 10 of the Scheme, and all new, substituted or additional securities or other property to which Purchaser is entitled by reason of Purchasers ownership of the purchased Shares.
1. Exercise Details. The Subscription Price for the Shares shall be $_________ per Share, for a total purchase price of $_________. As the Shares are not publicly traded, Purchaser shall pay the full exercise price to the Company in cash, check, bank draft, electronic funds or wire transfer, or money order payable to the Company. The purchase and sale of the Shares shall occur simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Exercise Notice, the payment of the aggregate Subscription Price, and the satisfaction of any applicable tax withholding obligations, all in accordance with the provisions of the Notice of Grant and the Scheme.
2. Limitations on Transfer.1 No Shares purchased pursuant to this Exercise Notice, nor any beneficial interest in such Shares, shall be sold, gifted, transferred, encumbered or otherwise disposed of in any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) by Purchaser or any subsequent transferee other than in compliance with this Exercise Notice. The Shares remain subject to the Lock-Up Period described in paragraph 14.1 of the Scheme and the restrictions on transfer described in [____________], which provisions are incorporated by reference herein. Purchaser acknowledges that Purchaser may be required to hold the Shares purchased hereunder indefinitely.
3. Investment and Taxation Representations. In connection with the purchase of the Shares, simultaneously with the delivery of this Exercise Notice, the Purchaser shall deliver the Investment Representation Statement, attached as Exhibit D to the Scheme.
25
4. Restrictive Legends and Stop-Transfer Orders.
(a) Restrictive Legends. Purchaser understands and agrees that the Company shall place the legends set forth below or similar legends on any stock certificate(s) evidencing the Shares, together with any other legends that may be required by state or federal securities laws, the Companys organizational documents or bylaws, any other agreement between Purchaser and the Company or any agreement between Purchaser and any third party.
THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED HEREBY HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 (THE ACT) OR ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED, PLEDGED OR HYPOTHECATED UNLESS AND UNTIL REGISTERED UNDER THE ACT AND SUCH LAWS OR, IN THE OPINION OF COUNSEL IN FORM AND SUBSTANCE SATISFACTORY TO THE ISSUER OF THESE SECURITIES, SUCH OFFER, SALE OR TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR HYPOTHECATION IS IN COMPLIANCE THEREWITH.
THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSFER AND RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL AND REPURCHASE RIGHTS HELD BY THE ISSUER OR ITS ASSIGNEE(S) AS SET FORTH IN THE EXERCISE NOTICE BETWEEN THE ISSUER AND THE ORIGINAL HOLDER OF THESE SHARES, A COPY OF WHICH MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE PRINCIPAL OFFICE OF THE ISSUER. SUCH TRANSFER RESTRICTIONS AND RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL AND REPURCHASE RIGHTS ARE BINDING ON TRANSFEREES OF THESE SHARES.
(b) Stop-Transfer Notices. Purchaser agrees that, in order to ensure compliance with the restrictions referred to herein, the Company may issue appropriate stop transfer instructions to its transfer agent, if any, and that, if the Company transfers its own securities, it may make appropriate notations to the same effect in its own records.
(c) Refusal to Transfer. The Company shall not be required (i) to transfer on its books any shares of Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of this Scheme or (ii) to treat as owner of such shares or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such shares shall have been so transferred.
(d) Lock Up. Purchaser agrees that Purchaser will not sell, dispose of, transfer, make any short sale of, grant any option for the purchase of or enter into any hedging or similar transaction with the same economic effect as a sale, any Shares or other securities of the Company held by the Purchaser during the 180-day period (or such longer period as may be agreed to in writing by the Company) following the effective date of a registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act in connection with any initial public offering of Shares (the Market Standoff Period). The Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to securities subject to the foregoing restrictions until the end of such Market Standoff Period and these restrictions shall be binding on any transferee of such shares of Shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 180-day period may be extended for up to such number of additional days as is deemed necessary by the Company or the Managing Underwriter to continue coverage by research analysts in accordance with NASD Rule 2711 or any successor rule.
26
5. Tax Consequences.
(a) Purchaser hereby agrees that the Company does not have a duty to design or administer the Scheme or its other compensation programs in a manner that minimizes Purchasers tax liabilities. Purchaser will not make any claim against the Company, or any of its officers, directors, employees or affiliates related to tax liabilities arising from this Exercise Notice.
(b) Purchaser has reviewed with his own tax advisors the federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of this investment and the transactions contemplated by this Exercise Notice. Purchaser is relying solely on such advisors and not on any statements or representations of the Company or any other person. Purchaser understands that Purchaser (and not the Company or any other person) shall be responsible for Purchasers own tax liability that may arise as a result of this investment or the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(c) Purchaser understands that the Shares have been valued by the Companys Board of Directors for the purpose of this sale, and that the Company believes this valuation represents a fair appraisal of its worth. Purchaser also understands, however, that the Company can give no assurances that such price is in fact the fair market value of the Shares and that it is possible that the United States Internal Revenue Service would successfully assert that the value of the Shares on the date of purchase is substantially greater than so determined. If the United States Internal Revenue Service were to succeed in a determination that the Shares had value greater than the purchase price, the additional value would constitute income as of the date of its receipt. The additional taxes (and interest) due would be payable by Purchaser, and there is no provision for the Company to reimburse him for that tax liability. Purchaser assumes responsibility for such potential tax liability.
6. Additional Agreements. At the request of the Company from time to time, as a condition to the exercise of the Option, Purchaser agrees to provide such additional documents as the Company may reasonably require.
7. Miscellaneous.
(a) No Employment Rights. Nothing in this Exercise Notice shall affect in any manner whatsoever the right or power of the Company, or a parent or subsidiary of the Company, to terminate Purchasers service relationship, for any reason, with or without Cause.
(b) Governing Scheme Document. This Exercise Notice is subject to all the provisions of the Scheme, the provisions of which are hereby made a part of this Exercise Notice, and is further subject to all interpretations, amendments, rules and regulations, which may from time to time be promulgated and adopted pursuant to the Scheme. [In addition, the Shares issued under this Agreement are subject to recoupment in accordance with The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and any implementing regulations thereunder, any clawback policy adopted by the Company and any compensation recovery policy otherwise required by applicable law. No recovery of compensation under such a clawback policy will be an event giving rise to a right to resign for good reason or for a constructive termination (or similar term) under any agreement with the Company.]
(c) Entire Agreement. This Exercise Notice, together with all of its Exhibits, the Notice of Grant and the Scheme constitute the full and entire understanding and agreement between the parties with regard to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior understandings and agreements, whether oral or written, between the parties with regard to the subject matter hereof, and may only be modified or amended in writing signed by both parties.
27
(d) Severability. If all or any part of this Exercise Notice, the Notice of Grant or the Scheme is declared by any court or governmental authority to be unlawful or invalid, such unlawfulness or invalidity will not invalidate any portion of this Exercise Notice, the Notice of Grant or the Scheme not declared to be unlawful or invalid. Any provision of this Exercise Notice (or part of such a provision) so declared to be unlawful or invalid will, if possible, be construed in a manner which will give effect to the terms of such Section or part of a Section to the fullest extent possible while remaining lawful and valid.
(e) Counterparts. This Exercise Notice may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. Facsimile copies of signed signature pages will be binding originals.
(f) Effect on Other Employee Benefit Plans. The value of the Shares will not be included as compensation, earnings, salaries, or other similar terms used when calculating Purchasers benefits under any employee benefit plan sponsored by the Company or any Subsidiary or affiliate, except as such plan otherwise expressly provides. The Company expressly reserves its rights to amend, modify or terminate any of the Companys or any of its Subsidiarys or Affiliates employee benefit plans.
(g) Successors and Assigns. The rights and benefits of this Exercise Notice shall inure to the benefit of, and be enforceable by the Companys successors and assigns. The rights and obligations of Purchaser under this Notice may only be assigned with the prior written consent of the Company.
(h) Legal Representation. Purchaser has reviewed the provisions of this Exercise Notice, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing this Notice and fully understands and agrees to the provisions hereof. Purchaser understands that the law firm of Jones Day represents the Company and not any purchaser individually.
28
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have duly executed this Exercise Notice as of the Exercise Date.
THE COMPANY: |
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION |
|
(Signature) |
Name: Fangliang Zhang |
Title: Chairman of Legend Biotech Corporation |
PURCHASER: |
|
(Signature) |
Name: |
29
EXHIBIT D
INVESTMENT REPRESENTATION STATEMENT
GRANTEE |
: | |||||
COMPANY |
: | LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION | ||||
SECURITY |
: | ORDINARY SHARES OF PAR | ||||
VALUE US$[ ] | ||||||
AMOUNT |
: | |||||
DATE |
: |
In connection with the purchase of the above-listed shares of Shares (the Securities) of Legend Biotech Corporation (the Company), the undersigned (the Grantee) represents to the Company the following:
(a) Grantee is aware of the Companys business affairs and financial condition and has acquired sufficient information about the Company to reach an informed and knowledgeable decision to acquire the Securities. Grantee is acquiring these Securities for investment for Grantees own account only and not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any distribution thereof within the meaning of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act).
(b) Grantee acknowledges and understands that the Securities constitute restricted securities under the Securities Act and have not been registered under the Securities Act or qualified under the California Corporate Securities Law of 1968, as amended (the California Securities Law), in each case, in reliance upon specific exemptions therefrom, which exemptions depend upon, among other things, the bona fide nature of Grantees investment intent as expressed herein. Grantee understands that the Securities must be held indefinitely unless they are subsequently registered under the Securities Act and qualification under the California Securities Law, or an exemption from such registration and qualification is available. Grantee further acknowledges and understands that the Company is under no obligation to register the Securities. Grantee understands that the certificate evidencing the Securities will be imprinted with a legend which prohibits the transfer of the Securities unless they are registered and qualified, or such registration and qualification is not required in the opinion of counsel satisfactory to the Company. Grantee acknowledges and understands that the California Commissioner of Corporations has made no finding or determination relating to the fairness for investment of the Securities offered by the Company and that the Commissioner has not and will not recommend or endorse the Securities.
(c) Grantee is familiar with the provisions of Rule 701 and Rule 144, each promulgated under the Securities Act, which, in substance, permit limited public resale of restricted securities acquired, directly or indirectly from the issuer thereof, in a non-public offering subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Rule 701 provides that if the issuer qualifies under Rule 701 at the time of the grant of the Option to Grantee, the exercise will be exempt from registration under the Securities Act. In the event the Company becomes subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), ninety (90) days thereafter (or such longer period as any market stand-off agreement may require) the Securities exempt under Rule 701 may be resold, subject to the satisfaction of certain of the conditions specified by Rule 144, including: (1) the resale being made through a broker in an unsolicited brokers transaction or in transactions directly with
30
a market maker (as said term is defined under the Exchange Act); and, in the case of an affiliate, (2) the availability of certain public information about the Company, (3) the amount of Securities being sold during any three (3) month period not exceeding the limitations specified in Rule 144(e), and (4) the timely filing of a Form 144, if applicable.
(d) In the event that the Company does not qualify under Rule 701 at the time of grant of the Option, then the Securities may be resold in certain limited circumstances subject to the provisions of Rule 144, which requires (i) the resale to occur not less than six months, or, in the event the Company is not subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, not less than one year, after the later of the date the Securities were sold by the Company or the date the Securities were sold by an affiliate of the Company, (ii) in the case of resales by persons who are not affiliates of the Company (within the meaning of Rule 144), the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in section (2) of the paragraph immediately above, and (iii) in the case of resales by affiliates of the Company, the satisfaction of the conditions set forth in sections (1), (2), (3) and (4) of the paragraph immediately above. Grantee acknowledges that a copy of Rule 144 will be delivered to Grantee upon request.
(e) Grantee further understands that in the event all of the applicable requirements of Rule 701 or 144 are not satisfied, registration under the Securities Act, compliance with Regulation A, or some other registration exemption will be required; and that, notwithstanding the fact that Rules 144 and 701 are not exclusive, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission has expressed its opinion that persons proposing to sell private placement securities other than in a registered offering and otherwise than pursuant to Rules 144 or 701 will have a substantial burden of proof in establishing that an exemption from registration is available for such offers or sales, and that such persons and their respective brokers who participate in such transactions do so at their own risk. Grantee understands that no assurances can be given that any such other registration exemption will be available in such event.
(f) Grantee is a resident and domiciliary of the state or other jurisdiction hereinafter set forth opposite the Grantees signature.
(g) Grantee understands and acknowledges that the Company will rely upon the accuracy and truth of the foregoing representations and Grantee hereby consents to such reliance.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned Grantee has executed this Investment Representation Statement as of
By: | ||||
Name: | ||||
Address: | ||||
31
Exhibit 10.2
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
2020 RESTRICTED SHARES PLAN
ARTICLE 1
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Legend Biotech Corporation 2020 Restricted Shares Plan (the Plan) is to promote the success and enhance the value of Legend Biotech Corporation, an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (the Company), by linking the personal interests of the members of the Board, Employees, and Consultants to those of the Companys shareholders and by providing such individuals with an incentive for outstanding performance to generate superior returns to the Companys shareholders. The Plan is further intended to provide flexibility to the Company in its ability to motivate, attract, and retain the services of members of the Board, Employees, and Consultants upon whose judgment, interest, and special effort the successful conduct of the Companys operation is largely dependent.
ARTICLE 2
DEFINITIONS AND CONSTRUCTION
Wherever the following terms are used in the Plan, they shall have the meanings specified below, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The singular pronoun shall include the plural where the context so indicates.
2.1 Applicable Laws means the legal requirements relating to the Plan and the Awards under applicable provisions of the corporate, securities, tax and other laws, rules, regulations and government orders, and the rules of any applicable stock exchange or national market system, of any jurisdiction applicable to Awards granted to residents therein.
2.2 Award means a Restricted Share or Restricted Share Unit award granted to a Participant pursuant to the Plan.
2.3 Award Agreement means any written agreement, contract, or other instrument or document evidencing an Award, including through electronic medium.
2.4 Board means the Board of Directors of the Company.
2.5 Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of the United States, as amended.
2.6 Committee means the Board or a committee of the Board described in Article 9.
2.7 Consultant means any consultant or adviser if: (a) the consultant or adviser renders bona fide services to a Service Recipient; (b) the services rendered by the consultant or adviser are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the Companys securities; and (c) the consultant or adviser is a natural person who has contracted directly with the Service Recipient to render such services.
2.8 Corporate Transaction, unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means any of the following transactions, provided, however, that the Committee shall determine under (d) and (e) whether multiple transactions are related, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive:
(a) an amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation or scheme of arrangement (i) in which the Company is not the surviving entity, except for a transaction the principal purpose of which is to change the jurisdiction in which the Company is incorporated or (ii) following which the holders of the voting securities of the Company do not continue to hold more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of the surviving entity;
1.
(b) the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company;
(c) the complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company;
(d) any reverse takeover or series of related transactions culminating in a reverse takeover (including, but not limited to, a tender offer followed by a reverse takeover) in which the Company is the surviving entity but (A) the Companys equity securities outstanding immediately prior to such takeover are converted or exchanged by virtue of the takeover into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise, or (B) in which securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Companys outstanding securities are transferred to a person or persons different from those who held such securities immediately prior to such takeover or the initial transaction culminating in such takeover, but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction; or
(e) acquisition in a single or series of related transactions by any person or related group of persons (other than the Company or by a Company-sponsored employee benefit plan) of beneficial ownership (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act) of securities possessing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total combined voting power of the Companys outstanding securities but excluding any such transaction or series of related transactions that the Committee determines shall not be a Corporate Transaction.
2.9 Disability, unless otherwise defined in an Award Agreement, means that the Participant qualifies to receive long-term disability payments under the long-term disability insurance program, as it may be amended from time to time, of the Service Recipient to which the Participant provides services regardless of whether the Participant is covered by such policy. If the Service Recipient to which the Participant provides service does not have a long-term disability plan in place, Disability means that a Participant has been rendered permanently unable to carry out the responsibilities and functions of any position in the Company by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment as documented by a hospital facility. A Participant will not be considered to have incurred a Disability unless he or she furnishes proof of such impairment sufficient to satisfy the Committee in its discretion.
2.10 Effective Date shall have the meaning set forth in Section 10.1.
2.11 Employee means any person, including an officer or a member of the board of directors of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, who is in the employment of a Service Recipient, subject to the control and direction of the Service Recipient as to both the work to be performed and the manner and method of performance. The payment of a directors fee by a Service Recipient shall not be sufficient to constitute employment by the Service Recipient.
2.12 Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 of the United States, as amended.
2.13 Fair Market Value means, as of any date, the value of Shares determined as follows:
(a) If the Shares are listed on one or more established stock exchanges or national market systems, including without limitation, The New York Stock Exchange and The Nasdaq Stock Market, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be the closing sales price for such Shares (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on the principal exchange or system on which the Shares are listed (as determined by the Committee) on the date of determination (or, if no closing sales price or closing bid was reported on that date, as applicable, on the last trading date such closing sales price or closing bid was reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable;
(b) If the Shares are regularly quoted on an automated quotation system (including the OTC Bulletin Board) or by a recognized securities dealer, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be
2.
the closing sales price for such Shares as quoted on such system or by such securities dealer on the date of determination, but if selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of a Share shall be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Shares on the date of determination (or, if no such prices were reported on that date, on the last date such prices were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Committee deems reliable; or
(c) In the absence of an established market for the Shares of the type described in (a) and (b), above, the Fair Market Value thereof shall be determined by the Committee in good faith and in its discretion by reference to (i) the placing price of the latest private placement of the Shares and the development of the Companys business operations and the general economic and market conditions since such latest private placement, (ii) other third party transactions involving the Shares and the development of the Companys business operations and the general economic and market conditions since such transactions, (iii) an independent valuation of the Shares, or (iv) such other methodologies or information as the Committee determines to be indicative of Fair Market Value and relevant.
2.14 Independent Director means (i) before the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who is a Non-Employee Director; and (ii) after the Shares or other securities representing the Shares are listed on a stock exchange, a member of the Board who meets the independence standards under the applicable corporate governance rules of the stock exchange.
2.15 Market Standoff Period means the 180-day period (or such longer period as may be agreed to in writing by the Company) following the effective date of a registration statement of the Company filed under the Securities Act in connection with any initial public offering of Shares.
2.16 Non-Employee Director means a member of the Board who qualifies as a Non-Employee Director as defined in Rule 16b-3(b)(3) of the Exchange Act, or any successor definition adopted by the Board.
2.17 Participant means a person who, as a member of the Board, Consultant or Employee, has been granted an Award pursuant to the Plan.
2.18 Parent means a parent corporation under Section 424(e) of the Code.
2.19 Plan means this Legend Biotech Corporation 2020 Restricted Shares Plan, as it may be amended from time to time.
2.20 Related Entity means any business, corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company, a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company holds a substantial ownership interest, directly or indirectly, but which is not a Subsidiary and which the Board designates as a Related Entity for purposes of the Plan.
2.21 Restricted Share means a Share awarded to a Participant pursuant to Article 5 that is subject to certain restrictions and may be subject to risk of forfeiture.
2.22 Restricted Share Unit means the right granted to a Participant pursuant to Article 6 to receive a Share at a future date.
2.23 Securities Act means the Securities Act of 1933 of the United States, as amended.
2.24 Service Recipient means the Company, any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company and any Related Entity to which a Participant provides services as an Employee, a Consultant or a Director.
2.25 Share means ordinary shares in the capital of the Company, and such other securities of the Company that may be substituted for Shares pursuant to Article 8.
2.26 Subsidiary means any corporation or other entity of which a majority of the outstanding voting shares or voting power is beneficially owned directly or indirectly by the Company.
3.
2.27 Trading Date means the closing of the first sale to the general public of the Shares pursuant to a registration statement filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act.
ARTICLE 3
SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN
3.1 Number of Shares.
(a) Subject to the provisions of Article 9 and Section 3.1(b), the maximum aggregate number of Shares, which may be issued pursuant to all Awards granted under the Plan, shall be equal to 11,000,000 Shares.
(b) To the extent that an Award terminates, expires, or lapses for any reason, any Shares subject to the Award shall again be available for the grant of an Award pursuant to the Plan. To the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, Shares issued in assumption of, or in substitution for, any outstanding awards of any entity acquired in any form or combination by the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company shall not be counted against Shares available for grant pursuant to the Plan. Shares delivered by the Participant or withheld by the Company upon the vesting of any Award under the Plan, in payment of the purchase price thereof or tax withholding thereon, may again be granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a). If any Restricted Shares are forfeited by the Participant or repurchased by the Company, such Shares may again be granted or awarded hereunder, subject to the limitations of Section 3.1(a).
3.2 Shares Distributed. Any Shares distributed pursuant to an Award may consist, in whole or in part, of authorized and unissued Shares, treasury shares (subject to Applicable Laws) or Shares purchased on the open market. Additionally, in the discretion of the Committee, American Depositary Shares in an amount equal to the number of Shares which otherwise would be distributed pursuant to an Award may be distributed in lieu of Shares in settlement of any Award. If the number of Shares represented by an American Depositary Share is other than on a one-to-one basis, the limitations of Section 3.1 shall be adjusted to reflect the distribution of American Depositary Shares in lieu of Shares.
ARTICLE 4
ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
4.1 Eligibility. Persons eligible to participate in this Plan include Employees, Consultants, and all members of the Board, as determined by the Committee.
4.2 Participation. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Committee may, from time to time, select from among all eligible individuals, those to whom Awards shall be granted and shall determine the nature and amount of each Award. No individual shall have any right to be granted an Award pursuant to this Plan.
4.3 Jurisdictions. In order to assure the viability of Awards granted to Participants employed in various jurisdictions, the Committee may provide for such special terms as it may consider necessary or appropriate to accommodate differences in local law, tax policy, or custom applicable in the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides or is employed. Moreover, the Committee may approve such supplements to, or amendments, restatements, or alternative versions of, the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for such purposes without thereby affecting the terms of the Plan as in effect for any other purpose; provided, however, that no such supplements, amendments, restatements, or alternative versions shall increase the share limitations contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted, that would violate any Applicable Laws.
4.4 Grant of Awards. No Award shall be granted to Participants:
4.
(a) where the Company has, or reasonably believes there is, material non-public information or inside information that must be disclosed under the applicable laws and regulations, until such information has been published on website of the Company and the relevant stock exchange; or
(b) within any black-out period or equivalent period of time restricting and/or prohibiting the dealing of Shares by Participants before the publication of financial statements of the Company as provided in the rules of the applicable stock exchange; or
(c) in any other circumstances where dealings by Participants (including directors of any member of the Group) are prohibited under any applicable law or regulation or where the requisite approval from any applicable regulatory authorities has not been granted.
ARTICLE 5
RESTRICTED SHARES
5.1 Grant of Restricted Shares. The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Shares to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Shares to be granted to each Participant.
5.2 Restricted Shares Award Agreement. Each Award of Restricted Shares shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify the period of restriction, the number of Restricted Shares granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. Unless the Committee determines otherwise, Restricted Shares shall be held by the Company as escrow agent until the restrictions on such Restricted Shares have lapsed.
5.3 Issuance and Restrictions. Restricted Shares shall be subject to such restrictions on transferability and other restrictions as the Committee may impose (including, without limitation, limitations on the right to vote Restricted Shares or the right to receive dividends on the Restricted Share). These restrictions may lapse separately or in combination at such times, pursuant to such circumstances, in such installments, or otherwise, as the Committee determines at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter.
5.4 Forfeiture/Repurchase. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Shares that are at that time subject to restrictions shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; provided, however, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares will be waived in whole or in part in the event of termination resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Shares.
5.5 Certificates for Restricted Shares. Restricted Shares granted pursuant to the Plan may be evidenced in such manner as the Committee shall determine. If certificates representing Restricted Shares are registered in the name of the Participant, certificates must bear an appropriate legend referring to the terms, conditions, and restrictions applicable to such Restricted Shares, and the Company may, at its discretion, retain physical possession of the certificate until such time as all applicable restrictions lapse.
5.6 Removal of Restrictions. Except as otherwise provided in this Article 5 Restricted Shares granted under the Plan shall be released from escrow as soon as practicable after the last day of the period of restriction. The Committee, in its discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions shall lapse or be removed. After the restrictions have lapsed, the Participant shall be entitled to have any legend or legends under Section 5.5 removed from his or her Share certificate, and the Shares shall be freely transferable by the Participant, subject to applicable legal restrictions. The Committee (in its discretion) may establish procedures regarding the release of Shares from escrow and the removal of legends, as necessary or appropriate to minimize administrative burdens on the Company.
5.
ARTICLE 6
RESTRICTED SHARE UNITS
6.1 Grant of Restricted Share Units. The Committee, at any time and from time to time, may grant Restricted Share Units to Participants as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine the number of Restricted Share Units to be granted to each Participant.
6.2 Restricted Share Units Award Agreement. Each Award of Restricted Share Units shall be evidenced by an Award Agreement that shall specify any vesting conditions, the number of Restricted Share Units granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall determine.
6.3 Performance Objectives and Other Terms. The Committee, in its discretion, may set performance objectives or other vesting criteria which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Restricted Share Units that will be paid out to the Participants.
6.4 Form and Timing of Payment of Restricted Share Units. At the time of grant, the Committee shall specify the date or dates on which the Restricted Share Units shall become fully vested and nonforfeitable. Upon vesting, the Committee, in its sole discretion, may pay Restricted Share Units in the form of cash, in Shares or in a combination thereof.
6.5 Forfeiture/Repurchase. Except as otherwise determined by the Committee at the time of the grant of the Award or thereafter, upon termination of employment or service during the applicable restriction period, Restricted Share Units that are at that time unvested shall be forfeited or repurchased in accordance with the Award Agreement; provided, however, the Committee may (a) provide in any Restricted Share Unit Award Agreement that restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units will be waived in whole or in part in the event of termination resulting from specified causes, and (b) in other cases waive in whole or in part restrictions or forfeiture and repurchase conditions relating to Restricted Share Units.
ARTICLE 7
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO AWARDS
7.1 Award Agreement. Awards under the Plan shall be evidenced by Award Agreements that set forth the terms, conditions and limitations for each Award which may include the term of an Award, the provisions applicable in the event the Participants employment or service terminates, and the Companys authority to unilaterally or bilaterally amend, modify, suspend, cancel or rescind an Award.
7.2 No Transferability; Limited Exception to Transfer Restrictions.
7.2.1 Limits on Transfer. Unless otherwise expressly provided in (or pursuant to) this Section 7.2, by Applicable Laws and by the Award Agreement, as the same may be amended:
(a) all Awards are non-transferable and will not be subject in any manner to sale, transfer, anticipation, alienation, assignment, pledge, encumbrance or charge;
(b) Awards will be exercised only by the Participant; and
(c) amounts payable or Shares issuable pursuant to an Award will be delivered only to (or for the account of), and, in the case of Shares, registered in the name of, the Participant.
6.
In addition, the Shares shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in the applicable Award Agreement.
7.2.2 Further Exceptions to Limits on Transfer. The exercise and transfer restrictions in Section 7.2.1 will not apply to:
(a) transfers to the Company or a Subsidiary;
(b) transfers by gift to immediate family as that term is defined in SEC Rule 16a-1(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act;
(c) the designation of a beneficiary to receive benefits if the Participant dies or, if the Participant has died, transfers to or exercises by the Participants beneficiary, or, in the absence of a validly designated beneficiary, transfers by will or the laws of descent and distribution;
(d) if the Participant has suffered a Disability, permitted transfers or exercises on behalf of the Participant by the Participants duly authorized legal representative; or
(e) transfer to one or more natural persons who are the Participants family members or entities owned and controlled by the Participant and/or the Participants family members, including but not limited to trusts or other entities whose beneficiaries or beneficial owners are the Participant and/or the Participants family members, or to such other persons or entities as may be expressly approved by the Committee, pursuant to such conditions and procedures as the Committee may establish. Any such permitted transfer is subject to the conditions that (i) the Committee receives evidence that the transfer is being made for estate and/or tax planning purposes and on a basis consistent with the Companys lawful issue of securities and (ii) the Committee has not in its absolute discretion determined that such evidence is insufficient or otherwise unsatisfactory.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Section 7.2.2 to the contrary, but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, Restricted Shares and Restricted Share Units will be subject to any and all transfer restrictions under the Code applicable to such Awards or necessary to maintain the intended tax consequences of such Awards. Notwithstanding clause (b) above but subject to compliance with all Applicable Laws, any contemplated transfer by gift to immediate family as referenced in clause (b) above is subject to the condition precedent that the transfer be approved by the Committee in order for it to be effective.
7.3 Beneficiaries. Notwithstanding Section 7.2, a Participant may, in the manner determined by the Committee, designate a beneficiary to exercise the rights of the Participant and to receive any distribution with respect to any Award upon the Participants death. A beneficiary, legal guardian, legal representative, or other person claiming any rights pursuant to the Plan is subject to all terms and conditions of the Plan and any Award Agreement applicable to the Participant, except to the extent the Plan and Award Agreement otherwise provide, and to any additional restrictions deemed necessary or appropriate by the Committee. If the Participant is married and resides in a community property state, a designation of a person other than the Participants spouse as his or her beneficiary with respect to more than 50% of the Participants interest in the Award shall not be effective without the prior written consent of the Participants spouse. If no beneficiary has been designated or survives the Participant, payment shall be made to the person entitled thereto pursuant to the Participants will or the laws of descent and distribution. Subject to the foregoing, a beneficiary designation may be changed or revoked by a Participant at any time provided the change or revocation is filed with the Committee.
7.4 Share Certificates. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to issue or deliver any certificates evidencing the Shares pursuant to the exercise of any Award, unless and until the Committee has determined, with advice of counsel, that the issuance and delivery of such certificates is in compliance with all Applicable Laws, regulations of governmental authorities and, if applicable, the requirements of any exchange on which the Shares are listed or traded.
7.
All Share certificates delivered pursuant to the Plan are subject to any stop-transfer orders and other restrictions as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to comply with all Applicable Laws, and the rules of any national securities exchange or automated quotation system on which the Shares are listed, quoted, or traded. The Committee may place legends on any Share certificate to reference restrictions applicable to the Shares. In addition to the terms and conditions provided herein, the Committee may require that a Participant make such reasonable covenants, agreements, and representations as the Committee, in its discretion, deems advisable in order to comply with any such laws, regulations, or requirements. The Committee shall have the right to require any Participant to comply with any timing or other restrictions with respect to the settlement or exercise of any Award, including a window-period limitation, as may be imposed in the discretion of the Committee. The Company shall not be required (i) to transfer on its books any Shares that have been sold or otherwise transferred in violation of any of the provisions of the Plan or (ii) to treat as owner of such Shares or to accord the right to vote or pay dividends to any purchaser or other transferee to whom such Shares shall have been so transferred.
7.5 Paperless Administration. Subject to Applicable Laws, the Committee may make Awards, provide applicable disclosure and procedures for exercise of Awards by an internet website or interactive voice response system for the paperless administration of Awards.
7.6 Foreign Currency. A Participant may be required to provide evidence that any currency used to pay the exercise price of any Award were acquired and taken out of the jurisdiction in which the Participant resides in accordance with Applicable Laws, including foreign exchange control laws and regulations. In the event the exercise price for an Award is paid in Chinese Renminbi or other foreign currency, as permitted by the Committee, the amount payable will be determined by conversion from U.S. dollars at the official rate promulgated by the Peoples Bank of China for Chinese Renminbi, or for other foreign currencies, the exchange rate as selected by the Committee on the date of exercise.
ARTICLE 8
CHANGES IN CAPITAL STRUCTURE
8.1 Adjustments. In the event of any dividend, share split, combination or exchange of Shares, amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation, spin-off, recapitalization or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to its shareholders, or any other change affecting the number of Shares or the price of a Share, the Committee shall make such proportionate adjustments, if any, as the Committee in its discretion may deem appropriate to reflect such change with respect to (a) the aggregate number and type of Shares that may be issued under the Plan (including, but not limited to, adjustments of the limitations in Section 3.1); (b) the terms and conditions of any outstanding Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable performance targets or criteria with respect thereto); and (c) the grant or exercise price per Share for any outstanding Awards under the Plan.
8.2 Corporate Transactions. Except as may otherwise be provided in any Award Agreement or any other written agreement entered into by and between the Company and a Participant, if the Committee anticipates the occurrence, or upon the occurrence, of a Corporate Transaction, the Committee may, in its sole discretion, provide for (i) any and all Awards outstanding hereunder to terminate at a specific time in the future and shall give each Participant the right to exercise the vested portion of such Awards during a period of time as the Committee shall determine, or (ii) the purchase of any Award for an amount of cash equal to the amount that could have been attained upon the exercise of such Award (and, for the avoidance of doubt, if as of such date the Committee determines in good faith that no amount would have been attained upon the exercise of such Award, then such Award may be terminated by the Company without payment), or (iii) the replacement of such Award with other rights or property selected by the Committee in its sole discretion or the assumption of or substitution of such Award by the successor or surviving corporation, or a Parent or Subsidiary thereof, with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of Shares and prices, or (iv) payment of Award in cash based on the value of Shares on the date of the Corporate Transaction plus reasonable interest on the Award through the date when such Award would otherwise be vested or have been paid in accordance with its original terms, if necessary to comply with Section 409A of the Code.
8.
8.3 Outstanding Awards Other Changes. In the event of any other change in the capitalization of the Company or corporate change other than those specifically referred to in this Section 8, the Committee may, in its absolute discretion, make such adjustments in the number and class of Shares subject to Awards outstanding on the date on which such change occurs and in such other terms of each Award as the Committee may consider appropriate to prevent dilution or enlargement of rights.
8.4 No Other Rights. Except as expressly provided in the Plan, no Participant shall have any rights by reason of any subdivision or consolidation of Shares of any class, the payment of any dividend, any increase or decrease in the number of Shares of any class or any dissolution, liquidation, merger, or consolidation of the Company or any other corporation. Except as expressly provided in the Plan or pursuant to action of the Committee under the Plan, no issuance by the Company of Shares of any class, or securities convertible into Shares of any class, shall affect, and no adjustment by reason thereof shall be made with respect to, the number of Shares subject to an Award or the grant or exercise price of any Award.
ARTICLE 9
ADMINISTRATION
9.1 Committee. Prior to the Trading Date, the Plan shall be administered by the Board. On and after the Trading Date, the Plan shall be administered by the compensation committee of the Board, which may delegate its duties and powers in whole or in part to any subcommittee thereof consisting solely of at least two individuals who are intended to qualify as Non-Employee Directors within the meaning of Rule 16b-3 under the Act (or any successor rule thereto) and as independent directors as defined in the Listing Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market or the applicable corporate governance rules of the relevant stock exchange. Any grant or amendment of Awards to any Committee member shall then require an affirmative vote of a majority of the Board members who are not on the Committee.
9.2 Action by the Committee. A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum. The acts of a majority of the members of the Committee present at any meeting at which a quorum is present, and acts approved in writing by a majority of the Committee in lieu of a meeting, shall be deemed the acts of the Committee. Each member of the Committee is entitled to, in good faith, rely or act upon any report or other information furnished to that member by any officer or other employee of the Company or any Subsidiary, the Companys independent certified public accountants, or any executive compensation consultant or other professional retained by the Company to assist in the administration of the Plan.
9.3 Authority of the Committee. Subject to any specific designation in the Plan, the Committee has the exclusive power, authority and discretion to:
(a) designate Participants to receive Awards;
(b) determine the type or types of Awards to be granted to each Participant;
(c) determine the number of Awards to be granted and the number of Shares to which an Award will relate;
(d) determine the terms and conditions of any Award granted pursuant to the Plan, including, but not limited to, the exercise price, grant price, or purchase price, any restrictions or limitations on the Award, any schedule for lapse of forfeiture restrictions or restrictions on the exercisability of an Award, and accelerations or waivers thereof, any provisions related to non-competition and recapture of gain on an Award, based in each case on such considerations as the Committee in its sole discretion determines;
9.
(e) determine whether, to what extent, and pursuant to what circumstances an Award may be settled in, or the exercise price of an Award may be paid in, cash, Shares, other Awards, or other property, or an Award may be canceled, forfeited, or surrendered;
(f) prescribe the form of each Award Agreement, which need not be identical for each Participant;
(g) decide all other matters that must be determined in connection with an Award;
(h) establish, adopt, or revise any rules and regulations as it may deem necessary or advisable to administer the Plan;
(i) interpret the terms of, and any matter arising pursuant to, the Plan or any Award Agreement; and
(j) make all other decisions and determinations that may be required pursuant to the Plan or as the Committee deems necessary or advisable to administer the Plan.
9.4 Decisions Binding. The Committees interpretation of the Plan, any Awards granted pursuant to the Plan, any Award Agreement and all decisions and determinations by the Committee with respect to the Plan are final, binding, and conclusive on all parties.
ARTICLE 10
EFFECTIVE AND EXPIRATION DATE
10.1 Effective Date. This Plan shall become effective on the date on which the Plan is approved by the shareholders of the Company according to its Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association (the Effective Date).
10.2 Expiration Date. The Plan will expire on, and no Award may be granted pursuant to the Plan after, the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date. Any Awards that are outstanding on the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date shall remain in force according to the terms of the Plan and the applicable Award Agreement.
ARTICLE 11
AMENDMENT, MODIFICATION, AND TERMINATION
11.1 Amendment, Modification, And Termination. With the approval of the Board, at any time and from time to time, the Committee may terminate, amend or modify the Plan; provided, however, that (a) to the extent necessary and desirable to comply with Applicable Laws or stock exchange rules, the Company shall obtain shareholder approval of any Plan amendment in such a manner and to such a degree as required, unless the Company decides to follow home country practice, and (b) unless the Company decides to follow home country practice, shareholder approval is required for any amendment to the Plan that (i) increases the number of Shares available under the Plan (other than any adjustment as provided by Article 10), (ii) permits the Committee to extend the term of the Plan, or (iii) results in a material increase in benefits or a change in eligibility requirements.
11.2 Awards Previously Granted. Except with respect to amendments made pursuant to Section 11.1, no termination, amendment, or modification of the Plan shall adversely affect in any material way any Award previously granted pursuant to the Plan without the prior written consent of the Participant.
ARTICLE 12
GENERAL PROVISIONS
12.1 Lock-Up Period. A Participant shall agree that, if so requested by the Company in connection with any registration of the offering of any securities of the Company under the Securities Act
10.
or any applicable United States state laws, the Participant shall not sell or otherwise transfer any Shares or other securities of the Company during the Market Standoff Period. The Company may impose stop-transfer instructions with respect to securities subject to the foregoing restrictions until the end of such Market Standoff Period and these restrictions shall be binding on any transferee of such Shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Market Standoff Period may be extended for up to such number of additional days as is deemed necessary by the Company.
12.2 No Rights to Awards. No Participant, Employee, or other person shall have any claim to be granted any Award pursuant to the Plan, and neither the Company nor the Committee is obligated to treat Participants, Employees, and other persons uniformly.
12.3 No Shareholders Rights. No Award gives the Participant any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company unless and until Shares are in fact issued to such person in connection with such Award.
12.4 Taxes. No Shares shall be delivered under the Plan to any Participant until such Participant has made arrangements acceptable to the Committee for the satisfaction of any income and employment tax withholding obligations under Applicable Laws. The Company or any Subsidiary shall have the authority and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy all applicable taxes (including the Participants payroll tax obligations) required or permitted by Applicable Laws to be withheld with respect to any taxable event concerning a Participant arising as a result of the Plan. The Committee may in its discretion and in satisfaction of the foregoing requirement allow a Participant to elect to have the Company withhold Shares otherwise issuable under an Award (or allow the return of Shares) having a Fair Market Value equal to the sums required to be withheld. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the number of Shares which may be withheld with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of any Award (or which may be repurchased from the Participant of such Award after such Shares were acquired by the Participant from the Company) in order to satisfy any income and payroll tax liabilities applicable to the Participant with respect to the issuance, vesting, exercise or payment of the Award shall, unless specifically approved by the Committee, be limited to the number of Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of withholding or repurchase equal to the aggregate amount of such liabilities based on the minimum statutory withholding rates for the applicable income and payroll tax purposes that are applicable to such supplemental taxable income.
12.5 No Right to Employment or Services. Nothing in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall interfere with or limit in any way the right of the Service Recipient to terminate any Participants employment or services at any time, nor confer upon any Participant any right to continue in the employment or services of any Service Recipient.
12.6 Unfunded Status of Awards. The Plan is intended to be an unfunded plan for incentive compensation. With respect to any payments not yet made to a Participant pursuant to an Award, nothing contained in the Plan or any Award Agreement shall give the Participant any rights that are greater than those of a general creditor of the Company or any Subsidiary.
12.7 Indemnification. To the extent allowable pursuant to Applicable Laws, each member of the Committee or of the Board shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Company from any loss, cost, liability, or expense that may be imposed upon or reasonably incurred by such member in connection with or resulting from any claim, action, suit, or proceeding to which he or she may be a party or in which he or she may be involved by reason of any action or failure to act pursuant to the Plan and against and from any and all amounts paid by him or her in satisfaction of judgment in such action, suit, or proceeding against him or her; provided he or she gives the Company an opportunity, at its own expense, to handle and defend the same before he or she undertakes to handle and defend it on his or her own behalf. The foregoing right of indemnification shall not be exclusive of any other rights of indemnification to which such persons may be entitled pursuant to the Companys Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association, as a matter of law, or otherwise, or any power that the Company may have to indemnify them or hold them harmless.
11.
12.8 Relationship to other Benefits. No payment pursuant to the Plan shall be taken into account in determining any benefits pursuant to any pension, retirement, savings, profit sharing, group insurance, welfare or other benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary except to the extent otherwise expressly provided in writing in such other plan or an agreement thereunder.
12.9 Expenses. The expenses of administering the Plan shall be borne by the Company and its Subsidiaries.
12.10 Titles and Headings. The titles and headings of the Sections in the Plan are for convenience of reference only and, in the event of any conflict, the text of the Plan, rather than such titles or headings, shall control.
12.11 Fractional Shares. No fractional Shares shall be issued and the Committee shall determine, in its discretion, whether cash shall be given in lieu of fractional Shares or whether such fractional Shares shall be eliminated by rounding up or down as appropriate.
12.12 Limitations Applicable to Section 16 Persons. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Plan, and any Award granted or awarded to any Participant who is then subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, shall be subject to any additional limitations set forth in any applicable exemptive rule under Section 16 of the Exchange Act (including any amendment to Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act) that are requirements for the application of such exemptive rule. To the extent permitted by the Applicable Laws, the Plan and Awards granted or awarded hereunder shall be deemed amended to the extent necessary to conform to such applicable exemptive rule.
12.13 Government and Other Regulations. The obligation of the Company to make payment of awards in Shares or otherwise shall be subject to all Applicable Laws, and to such approvals by government agencies as may be required. The Company shall be under no obligation to register any of the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan under the Securities Act or any other similar law in any applicable jurisdiction. If the Shares paid pursuant to the Plan may in certain circumstances be exempt from registration pursuant to the Securities Act or other Applicable Laws, the Company may restrict the transfer of such Shares in such manner as it deems advisable to ensure the availability of any such exemption.
12.14 Governing Law. The Plan and all Award Agreements shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the laws of the Cayman Islands.
12.15 Section 409A. To the extent that the Committee determines that any Award granted under the Plan is or may become subject to Section 409A of the Code, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award shall incorporate the terms and conditions required by Section 409A of the Code. To the extent applicable, the Plan and the Award Agreements shall be interpreted in accordance with Section 409A of the Code and the U.S. Department of Treasury regulations and other interpretative guidance issued thereunder, including without limitation any such regulation or other guidance that may be issued after the Effective Date. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in the event that following the Effective Date the Committee determines that any Award may be subject to Section 409A of the Code and related Department of Treasury guidance (including such Department of Treasury guidance as may be issued after the Effective Date), the Committee may adopt such amendments to the Plan and the applicable Award agreement or adopt other policies and procedures (including amendments, policies and procedures with retroactive effect), or take any other actions, that the Committee determines are necessary or appropriate to (a) exempt the Award from Section 409A of the Code and/or preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided with respect to the Award, or (b) comply with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and related U.S. Department of Treasury guidance.
12.
12.16 Appendices. The Committee may approve such supplements, amendments or appendices to the Plan as it may consider necessary or appropriate for purposes of compliance with Applicable Laws or otherwise and such supplements, amendments or appendices shall be considered a part of the Plan; provided, however, that no such supplements shall increase the share limitation contained in Section 3.1 of the Plan without the approval of the Board.
13.
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION
RESTRICTED SHARE UNIT AWARD AGREEMENT
Name of Grantee: Staff ID/PRC personal ID: [●] Address: |
Plan:2020 Restricted Share Plan Grant: [●] restricted share units Grant Date: [●] Vesting Commencement Date: [●] Expiration Date: [●] |
1. Grant. Effective on the Grant Date, you have been granted the number of restricted share units (the RSU) designated above, each evidencing the right to receive one (1) ordinary share (Share) of Legend Biotech Corporation (the Company) upon vesting, in accordance with the provisions of the 2020 Restricted Share Plan of the Company (the Plan) and subject to the restrictions, terms and conditions set forth herein. All terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Plan.
2. Vesting Schedule. Subject to the terms in this Agreement, the RSUs will vest in accordance with the following schedule:
Vesting: | You will receive a benefit with respect to an RSU only if it vests. The Liquidity Event Requirement and the Service-Based Requirement must be satisfied on or before the applicable Expiration Date specified above in order for an RSU to vest. An RSU shall actually vest (and therefore become a Vested RSU) on the first date upon which both of the Service-Based Requirement and the Liquidity Event Requirement are satisfied with respect to that particular RSU. | |
Liquidity Event Requirement: |
The Liquidity Event Requirement will be satisfied as to any then-outstanding RSUs on the first to occur of: (1) a Corporate Transaction; or (2) the effective date of a registration statement for an initial public offering of the Companys Shares. | |
Service-Based Requirement: |
The Service-Based Requirement will be satisfied in installments as to the RSUs as follows: One third (1/3) of the RSUs shall vest on the first anniversary of the Company Vesting Date that next follows the Vesting Commencement Date, and one- twelfth (1/12th) of the RSUs shall vest on each quarterly Company Vesting Date thereafter, assuming you have not had a Termination of Service (as defined below) prior to such date. For the avoidance of doubt, once you have had a Termination of Service, no additional RSUs shall be eligible to become Vested RSUs, and any RSUs which are not Vested RSUs as of the date of such Termination of Service shall be forfeited to the Company and you shall have no further rights with respect to such RSUs.
Company Vesting Date means each [February 20, May 20, August 20, and November 20]. |
3. Distribution after Vesting.
(a) The issuance of shares in respect of the RSUs is intended to comply with Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) and will be construed and administered in such a manner.
14.
Subject to the satisfaction of the Withholding Obligation set forth in Section 9 of this Agreement, in the event an RSU vests, the Company shall issue to you one (1) Share for each RSU that vests on the applicable vesting date. Each issuance date determined by this paragraph is referred to as an Original Issuance Date.
(b) If the Original Issuance Date falls on a date that is not a business day, delivery shall instead occur on the next following business day. In addition, if:
(i) the Original Issuance Date does not occur (1) during an open window period applicable to you, as determined by the Company in accordance with the Companys then-effective policy on trading in Company securities, or (2) on a date when you are otherwise permitted to sell Shares on an established stock exchange or stock market (including but not limited to under a previously established written trading plan that meets the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act and was entered into in compliance with the Companys policies (a 10b5-1 Arrangement)), and
(ii) either (1) a Withholding Obligation does not apply, or (2) the Company decides, prior to the Original Issuance Date, (A) not to satisfy the Withholding Obligation by withholding Shares from the Shares otherwise due, on the Original Issuance Date, to you under this award, and (B) not to permit you to enter into a same day sale commitment with a broker-dealer pursuant to Section 9 of this Agreement (including but not limited to a commitment under a 10b5-1 Arrangement) and (C) not to permit you to pay your Withholding Obligation in cash,
then the Shares that would otherwise be issued to you on the Original Issuance Date will not be delivered on such Original Issuance Date and will instead be delivered on the first business day when you are not prohibited from selling Shares in the open public market, but in no event later than December 31 of the calendar year in which the Original Issuance Date occurs (that is, the last day of your taxable year in which the Original Issuance Date occurs), or, if and only if permitted in a manner that complies with Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(b)(4), no later than the date that is the 15th day of the third calendar month of the applicable year following the year in which the Shares under this Award are no longer subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.409A-1(d).
4. Register of Members and Share Certificate. The unvested portion of the RSUs will not be registered on the Companys Register of Members. With respect to any vested portion of the RSUs that will be distributed in whole Shares, the Company will issue the corresponding number of Shares to you and enter the your name into the Register of Members subject to Section 6. After the Company has entered your name into the Register of Members with respect to any Shares issued to you, it may, but is not obligated to, issue one or more share certificates, registered in your name and bearing such legend as the Company deems necessary and appropriate, evidencing such Shares issued.
5. Termination of Service. In the event your employment or service for the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates to which you are providing services or by which you are employed as of the Grant Date (each a Service Recipient) is terminated for any reason, whether such termination is occasioned by you, by the Service Recipient, with or without cause, or by mutual agreement (Termination of Service), your right to any unvested portion of the RSUs will terminate, and such unvested portion of the RSUs will cease to vest, as of the earlier of: (i) the date that you give or are provided with written notice of such termination, or (ii) if you are an employee of a Service Recipient, the date from which you are no longer actively employed and physically present on the premises of the Service Recipient, regardless of any notice period or period of pay in lieu of such notice required under any applicable statute or the common law.
6. Additional Conditions to Issuance of Shares. The Company shall not be required to issue Shares hereunder prior to fulfillment of all the following conditions: (a) the listing of such Shares or
15.
depositary shares representing such Shares on a stock exchange on which such class of stock is then listed; (b) the completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares or depositary shares representing such Shares under any U.S. state or federal law or under the rulings or regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or any other governmental regulatory body, which the Committee shall, in its absolute discretion, deem necessary or advisable; (c) the obtaining of any approval or other clearance from any U.S., Cayman Islands or Chinese governmental agency, which the Committee shall, in its absolute discretion, determine to be necessary or advisable; and (d) the lapse of such reasonable period of time following any vesting date as the Committee may establish from time to time for reasons of administrative convenience. Furthermore, the Company will not be required to issue Shares hereunder prior to the expiration of the lock-up period in connection with the Companys initial public offering. In addition, you agree that the Company may also impose other conditions or administrative measures to ensure or facilitate the compliance with any applicable law to which you or the Company is subject.
7. Limited Rights. Neither you nor any person claiming under or through you will have any of the rights or privileges of a shareholder of the Company in respect of any Shares deliverable hereunder unless and until such Shares have been issued and registered on the Register of Members of the Company under your name. Subject to Section 8 below, after such issuance and registration, you will have all the rights of a shareholder of the Company with respect to voting of such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.
8. Award Is Not Transferable. Except pursuant to the written consent of the Committee, this award and the rights and privileges conferred hereby shall not be transferred, assigned or otherwise disposed of in any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise). Upon any attempt to transfer, assign or otherwise dispose of this award or any right or privilege conferred hereby, this award and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.
In the event of granting written consents for any transfer, the Committee will have the fullest discretion permitted by applicable law in deciding the extent to which, and stipulating terms and conditions under which, such transfer of this award may be allowed (including, but not limited to, the transfer of part or all of the RSUs). In the event of a transfer of part or all of the RSUs held by you as consented to by the Committee, you hereby acknowledge and agree that you have the obligation to ensure that the transferee will be subject to and comply with the same terms, conditions, requirements and restrictions imposed on you by the Company in connection with the RSUs granted hereunder.
9. Withholding Obligation. On each vesting date, and on or before the time you receive a distribution of the Shares in respect of your RSUs, and at any other time as reasonably requested by the Company in accordance with applicable tax laws, you hereby authorize any required withholding from the Shares issuable to you and/or otherwise agree to make adequate provision, including in cash, for any sums required to satisfy the federal, state, local and foreign tax withholding obligations of the Company or any Affiliate that arise in connection with your Award (the Withholding Obligation). By accepting this Award, you acknowledge and agree that the Company may, in its sole discretion, satisfy all or any portion of the Withholding Obligation relating to your RSUs by any of the following means or by a combination of such means: (i) causing you to pay any portion of the Withholding Obligation in cash; (ii) withholding from any compensation otherwise payable to you by the Company; (iii) withholding Shares from the Shares issued or otherwise issuable to you in connection with the Award with a Fair Market Value (measured as of the date Shares are issued pursuant to Section 3) equal to the amount of such Withholding Obligation; provided, however, that the number of such Shares so withheld will not exceed the amount necessary to satisfy the Withholding Obligation using the maximum statutory withholding rates for federal, state, local and foreign tax purposes, including payroll taxes, that are applicable to supplemental taxable income; and provided, further, that to the extent necessary to qualify for an exemption from application of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act, if applicable, such share withholding procedure will be subject to the express prior approval of the Board or the Companys Compensation Committee; and/or (iv) permitting or requiring you to enter into a same day sale commitment, if applicable, with a broker-dealer that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (a FINRA Dealer), pursuant to this authorization and without further consent, whereby you irrevocably elect to sell a portion of the shares to be delivered
16.
in connection with your Restricted Stock Units to satisfy the Withholding Obligation and whereby the FINRA Dealer irrevocably commits to forward the proceeds necessary to satisfy the Withholding Obligation directly to the Company and/or its Affiliates. Unless the Withholding Obligation is satisfied, the Company shall have no obligation to deliver to you any Shares or any other consideration pursuant to this Award. In the event the Withholding Obligation arises prior to the delivery to you of Shares or it is determined after the delivery of Shares to you that the amount of the Withholding Obligation was greater than the amount withheld by the Company, you agree to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any failure by the Company to withhold the proper amount.
10. Personal Data. You acknowledge and consent to the collection, use, processing and transfer of personal data as described in this paragraph. The Company, its affiliates and your employer hold certain personal information, including your name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any shares awarded, cancelled, purchased, vested, unvested or outstanding in your favor, for the purpose of managing and administering the Plan (the Data). The Company and its affiliates will transfer Data to any third parties assisting the Company in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. These recipients may be located in China or elsewhere such as the European Economic Area or the United States. You authorize them to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other forms, for the purposes of implementing, administering and managing your participation in the Plan, including any requisite transfer of such Data as may be required for the administration of the Plan and/or the subsequent holding of shares on your behalf to a broker or other third party with whom you may elect to deposit any shares acquired pursuant to the Plan. You may, at any time, review the Data, require any necessary amendments thereto or withdraw the consent herein in writing by contacting the Company; however, withdrawing the consent may affect your ability to participate in the Plan.
11. Voluntary Participation. Your participation in the Plan is voluntary. The value of the RSUs is an extraordinary item of compensation outside the scope of your employment contract, if any. As such, the RSUs are not part of normal or expected compensation for purposes of calculating any severance, resignation, redundancy, end of service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pensions or retirement benefits or similar payments unless specifically and otherwise provided. Rather, the awarding of the RSUs under the Plan represents a mere investment opportunity.
12. Adjustments. You hereby acknowledge and agree that, in the event of any dividend, share split, combination or exchange of Shares, amalgamation, arrangement or consolidation, spin-off, recapitalization or other distribution (other than normal cash dividends) of Company assets to its shareholders, or any other change affecting the number of Shares or the price of a Share, the Committee shall make such proportionate adjustments, if any, as the Committee in its discretion may deem appropriate to reflect such change with respect to (a) the aggregate number and type of Shares that may be issued under the Plan (including, but not limited to adjustments of the limitations in Section 3.1 of the Plan); (b) the terms and conditions of any outstanding Awards (including, without limitation, any applicable performance targets or criteria with respect thereto); and (c) the grant or exercise price per Share for any outstanding Awards under the Plan.
13. Discretionary Plan. This RSU award is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of the Plan. You acknowledge and agree that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be amended, cancelled or terminated by the Company, in its sole discretion, at any time. The grant of this RSU award under the Plan is a one-time benefit and does not create any contractual or other right to receive an award of RSUs or benefits in lieu of the award in the future. Future awards of RSUs, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company, including, but not limited to, the timing of the award, the number of RSUs awarded, and vesting provisions. By execution of this Agreement, you consent to the provisions of the Plan and this Agreement.
14. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Cayman Islands.
(Signature page to follow)
17.
LEGEND BIOTECH CORPORATION |
|
Name: |
Title: |
ACKNOWLEDGED AND AGREED BY: |
(Grantee) |
|
Name: |
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form S-8) pertaining to the Share Option Scheme and the 2020 Restricted Shares Plan of Legend Biotech Corporation of our report dated April 20, 2020, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Legend Biotech Corporation included in its Registration Statement (Form F-1 No. 333-238232) and related Prospectus of Legend Biotech Corporation dated June 5, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/s/ Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP |
Shanghai, the Peoples Republic of China |
June 23, 2020 |
D!
M\@'Z @,"# (4 AT")@(O C@"00)+ E0"70)G G$">@*$ HX"F *B JP"M@+!
M LL"U0+@ NL"]0, PL#%@,A RT#. -# T\#6@-F W(#?@.* Y8#H@.N [H#
MQP/3 ^ #[ /Y! 8$$P0@!"T$.P1(!%4$8P1Q!'X$C 2:!*@$M@3$!-,$X03P
M!/X%#044%]@8&!A8&)P8W!D@&
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M',P<]1T>'4<=:AZ4'KX>Z1\3'SX?:1^4'[\?ZB 5($$@
M;""8(,0@\"$<(4@A=2&A( &YXS'DJ>8EYYWI&
M>J5[!'MC>\)\(7R!?.%]07VA?@%^8G["?R-_A'_E@$> J($*@6N!S8(P@I*"
M](-7@[J$'82 A..%1X6KA@Z& CQ/_ (1+6/\ H#ZM_P"
M4W_Q-+_PB.L?] C5O_ &;_XFO;(O^#EOXVNO/@OX6_A::A_\ETX?\'*_QM/_
M #)OPM_\!-0_^2Z/[8H]'^ I9!BUT7WH\1_X1'6/^@1JW_@#-_\ $TG_ B6
ML?\ 0'U;_P IO\ XFO;_P#B)7^-@_YDWX6_^ FH?_)= _X.5_C83_R)GPN_
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M%]E]Z/!/^$1U@_\ ,'U;_P IO\ XFC_ (1'6/\ H$:K_P" ,W_Q->^I_P '
M(OQJ8?\ (F_"_P#\!;__ .2J/^(D/XUY_P"1-^%^/^O6_P#_ )*H_MBET_(7
M^KV,[+[T>!?\(CK'_0(U7_P!F_\ B:7_ (1#6?\ H#ZM_P" ,W_Q->_)_P '
M(/QH8?\ (F_#'_P%O_\ Y*I__$1]\:?^A/\ A?\ ^ M__P#)5']L4>K_ #_
M %=QG9?>CY]_X1#6?^@/JW_@#-_\31_PB.L?] C5?_ &;_XFOH+_ (B/OC1_
MT)_PQ_"UO_\ Y*HC_P"#CSXTLW/@_P"&/_@+?_\ R56;SRA>U_P8?ZNXSLOO
M1\^_\(CK'_0(U7_P!F_^)I?^$1UG_H#ZM_X!3?\ Q-?0G_$1Q\:/^A/^&/\
MX"W_ /\ )5*G_!QQ\9V/_(G_ R_\!;_ /\ DJJCGE!_\,P_U=QG9?>CYY_X
M1'6?^@/JW_@%-_\ $T?\(CK'_0(U7_P!F_\ B:^B/^(C3XSG_F3_ (9?^ M_
M_P#)5.7_ (.,OC,W3P?\,O\ P%O_ /Y*J?[QS4D@VQ''I4N71&L6[#?N/CCIGI4VRFQJK#)J0=*K4
M4I-#=N#2[:N^'?#VH>+_ !)INCZ39W.I:MK%U%8V-G;H9)KNXE=8XHD4*Y)(8H])O+-HKJ9
MIB%BV+_&'8@*5R"> \1>%Y9(-8TVQTV2>ZTQTE:)UF102A6160@]U([5I?$/]BKXO\ P9\'
M7GB+Q=\,/'7AK0;%XTN-1U+1YK>V@,CK&@9V4 ;G95&>I8#O52C+END#K0OR
M\ROZGFL:_(,T]$W$]:2KEQX>U"T\.V>L26=S'I6H7,]E;7;(1#<30+"\T:MT
M+(MQ 6'82IZUS[CYM2IN:-CM.*
MGIT=NNR/T,_:X&B_#;X\_M5>/-$\6>)O%'BFU\ :=H&M> HK$65C86FIZ)86
M?]IRS-<.;ZTMU*22)';HT