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Stockholder Rights Plan
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Equity [Abstract]  
Stockholder Rights Plan
Stockholder Rights Plan
We have a stockholder rights plan, or the Rights Plan, established under the terms of a rights agreement dated December 21, 2006, as amended, with Computershare Trust Company N.A., as Rights Agent, or the Rights Agreement. Our board of directors adopted the Rights Plan to protect our stockholders from coercive takeover practices or takeover bids that are inconsistent with their best interests.
On March 22, 2013, our board of directors approved an amendment to the Rights Agreement in an effort to protect our NOL carryforwards. Our stockholders ratified, on an advisory basis, the March 22, 2013 amendment to our Rights Agreement at our 2013 annual meeting of stockholders. On February 11, 2015, our board of directors approved another amendment to the Rights Agreement. The primary purpose of the foregoing amendments is to protect the value of the Company's NOLs and related tax benefits. The Rights Agreement, as amended, provides that if any person becomes the beneficial owner of 4.9% or more of our common stock, stockholders other than the 4.9% triggering stockholder will have the right to purchase additional shares of our common stock at half the market price, thereby diluting the triggering stockholder; provided that stockholders whose beneficial ownership exceeded 4.9% of our common stock outstanding on February 11, 2015 will not be deemed to have triggered the Rights Agreement, as amended, so long as they do not thereafter acquire additional common stock other than in certain specified exempt transactions.
The Company’s ability to use its NOLs could be substantially reduced if the Company experiences an “ownership change,” as defined under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). The amendment adopted on February 11, 2015 maintains previously adopted protections and modifies, until March 22, 2016 (or such earlier time that the Board determines that no Tax Benefits (as defined in the Rights Agreement) may be carried forward or that the Rights Agreement is no longer necessary for the protection of Tax Benefits) (the “Special Period”), the definition of when a Person (as defined in the Rights Agreement) will be deemed the “Beneficial Owner” of, and to “Beneficially Own,” securities under the Rights Agreement to align with the definition of ownership under Section 382 of the Code. Under the revised definition, during the Special Period, only acquisitions that would result in ownership of more than 4.9% of the Company’s then-outstanding shares of common stock, as determined pursuant to Section 382 of the Code, would cause a stockholder to be deemed an “Acquiring Person,” subject to certain specified exempt transactions. Upon the expiration of the Special Period, the triggering threshold level under the Rights Plan will revert to the 15% level in effect prior to the amendment on March 22, 2013, and the definition of “Beneficial Owner” and “Beneficially Own” will revert to a definition that does not track Section 382 of the Code.
The Rights Agreement also provides that Berkshire Hathaway (and certain of its affiliates) will not trigger the rights unless Berkshire Hathaway and its affiliates acquire beneficial ownership of more than 50% of our voting stock on a fully diluted basis.
The rights issued pursuant to the Rights Agreement will expire on January 2, 2017. However, our board of directors has the power to accelerate or extend the expiration date of the rights. In addition, a board committee composed solely of independent directors reviews the Rights Agreement at least once every three years to determine whether to modify the Rights Plan in light of all relevant factors. This review was most recently conducted in November 2012. The next review is required by the end of 2015.
On May 9, 2013, we filed an amendment to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or the Protective Amendment, that restricts certain transfers of our common stock. The Protective Amendment is intended to protect the tax benefits of our NOL carryforwards. See Note 17 for a description of our NOL carryforwards. Subject to certain limited exceptions, the Protective Amendment's transfer restrictions would restrict any person from transferring our common stock (or any interest in our common stock) if the transfer would result in a stockholder (or several stockholders, in the aggregate, who hold their stock as a “group” under Section 382 of the Code) owning 4.9% or more of our common stock. Any direct or indirect transfer attempted in violation of the Protective Amendment would be void as of the date of the prohibited transfer as to the purported transferee, and the purported transferee would not be recognized as the owner of the shares attempted to be owned in violation of the Protective Amendment for any purpose, including for purposes of voting and receiving dividends or other distributions in respect of that common stock, or in the case of options, receiving our common stock in respect of their exercise. The Protective Amendment is effective until the earlier of (i) May 9, 2016, (ii) the repeal of Section 382 of the Code if our board of directors determines that the Protective Amendment is no longer necessary for the preservation of tax benefits, (iii) the first day of a taxable year as to which our board of directors determines that no tax benefits may be carried forward, or (iv) such other date as determined by our board of directors pursuant to the Protective Amendment.