Form: 20-F

Annual and transition report of foreign private issuers [Sections 13 or 15(d)]

Exhibit 2.4

 

DESCRIPTION OF SKYLINE BUILDERS GROUP HOLDING LIMITED’S SECURITIES

 

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12

 

OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED

 

The following description of the securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, of Skyline Builders Group Holding Limited (“we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company”) is a summary of the rights of our issued share capital and certain provisions of our memorandum and articles of association. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our memorandum and articles of association previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as to the applicable provisions of the corporate law of the Cayman Islands. Defined terms used but not defined herein have the meaning given to them in our Annual Report on Form 20-F to which this description is an exhibit.

 

We are an exempted company with limited liability incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and our affairs are governed by our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as amended from time to time, the Companies Act and the common law of the Cayman Islands.

 

The share capital of the Company consists of Ordinary Shares. As of the date hereof, our authorized share capital is US$50,000 divided into 5,000,000,000 Ordinary Shares of par value US$0.00001 each, comprising of (i) 4,950,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of nominal or par value of US$0.00001 each, and (ii) 50,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares of nominal or par value US$0.00001 each. As of the date of this report, 28,230,000 Class A Ordinary Shares and 1,995,000 Class B Ordinary Shares were issued and outstanding.

 

The following are summaries of material provisions of our second amended and restated and restated memorandum and articles of association (each the “amended memorandum” and the “amended articles”) and the Companies Act insofar as they relate to the material terms of our Ordinary Shares.

 

Our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association

 

Objects of our Company. Under our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the objects of our Company are unrestricted and we have the full power and authority to carry out any object not prohibited by the laws of the Cayman Islands.

 

Ordinary Shares. Our authorized share capital is US$50,000 divided into 5,000,000,000 Ordinary Shares of par value US$0.00001 each, comprising of (i) 4,950,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of nominal or par value of US$0.00001 each, and (ii) 50,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares of nominal or par value US$0.00001 each. All of our outstanding Ordinary Shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the Ordinary Shares are issued in registered form.

 

Conversion. Class B Ordinary Shares cannot be converted into Class A Ordinary Shares under any circumstances and Class A Ordinary Shares cannot be converted into Class B Ordinary Shares under any circumstances.

 

Dividends. The holders of our Ordinary Shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors out of our funds which are lawfully available for that purpose. In addition, our Shareholders may declare dividends by ordinary resolution, but no dividend shall exceed the amount recommended by our directors. Under the laws of the Cayman Islands, our Company may pay a dividend out of either profit or the credit standing in our Company’s share premium account, provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if this would result in our Company being unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business immediately following the date on which the distribution or dividend is paid.

 

 

 

Voting Rights. Holders of Class A Ordinary Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares shall, at all times, vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote by the members at any general meeting of the Company.

 

Holders of our Ordinary Shares may vote on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, except as may otherwise be required by law. Subject to any rights or restrictions as to voting attached to any shares, on a poll every shareholder present in person or by proxy (or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative or proxy) shall have one vote for each Class A Ordinary Share and 20 votes for each Class B Ordinary Share of which he or the person represented by proxy is the holder.

 

Voting at any meeting of shareholders is by a poll. A poll shall be taken in such manner as the chairman of the meeting directs. He may appoint scrutineers (who need not be shareholders) and fix a place and time for declaring the result of the poll. If, through the aid of technology, the meeting is held as a virtual meeting or in more than one place, the chairman may appoint scrutineers virtually and in more than one place; but if he considers that the poll cannot be effectively monitored at that meeting, the chairman shall adjourn the holding of the poll to a date, place and time when that can occur.

 

Any ordinary resolution is a resolution passed by a simple majority of the votes by the shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or by proxy at a general meeting of our Company and includes a written resolution signed by the required majority of shareholders according to the amended articles. Any special resolution is a resolution of a general meeting or a resolution of a meeting of the holders of any class of ordinary shares in a class meeting duly constituted in accordance with the amended articles in each case passed by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the votes by the shareholders as being entitled to do so vote in person or by proxy at that meeting. The expression includes a unanimous written resolution signed by all of the shareholders entitled to vote at such meeting.

 

A special resolution will be required for important matters such as amending our memorandum and articles of association or changing the name of the Company.

 

There are no limitations on non-residents or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on the Ordinary Shares imposed by foreign law or by the second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or other constituent document of our company. However, no person will be entitled to vote at any general meeting or at any separate meeting of the holders of the Ordinary Shares unless the person is registered as of the record date for such meeting and unless all calls or other sums presently payable by the person in respect of Ordinary Shares in the Company have been paid.

 

General Meetings of Shareholders. As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. Our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we may (but are not obliged to, unless required by the Nasdaq Listing Rules), in each year hold a general meeting as an annual general meeting, which, if held, shall be convened by the board of directors, in accordance with the amended articles. Each general meeting, other than an annual general meeting, shall be an extraordinary general meeting.

 

Advance notice of at least five clear days is required for the convening of our annual general shareholders’ meeting (if any) and any other general meeting of our Shareholders. A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders consists of at least one holder of Shares being not less than an aggregate of one-third of all votes attaching to all Shares in issue and entitled to vote in person or by proxy or, if a corporation or other non-natural person, by its duly authorized representative.

 

A majority of our directors may call general meetings and they shall on a shareholders’ requisition forthwith proceed to convene an extraordinary general meeting of our Company. A shareholders’ requisition is a request of one or more shareholders holding as at the date of deposit of the request in aggregate not less than ten percent of the voting rights (on a one vote per share basis) in the share capital of the Company. The requisition must state the objects of the meeting and must be signed by or on behalf of each requisitioner and delivered in accordance with the notice provisions of our second amended and restated articles of association. If our directors do not within 21 clear days from the receipt of the requisition duly proceed to convene a general meeting, the requisitioners, or any of them may themselves convene a general meeting, but any meeting so convened must be called no later than three months after the expiration of the said 21 calendar day period.

 

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Winding Up; Liquidation. If we are wound up the shareholders may, subject to the amended articles and any other sanction required by the Companies Act, pass a special resolution allowing the liquidator to do either or both of the following:

 

(a)to divide in specie among the shareholders the whole or any part of the assets of the Company and, for that purpose, to value any assets and to determine how the division shall be carried out as between the shareholders or different classes of shareholders; and/or

 

(b)to vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees for the benefit of shareholders and those liable to contribute to the winding up.

 

Calls on Ordinary Shares and Forfeiture of Ordinary Shares. Subject to the terms of the allotment, our directors may from time to time make calls upon our shareholders in respect of any moneys unpaid on their shares in a notice served to such shareholders at least 14 clear days in advance specifying the time and place for payment. Any Ordinary Shares that have been called upon and remain unpaid are subject to forfeiture.

 

Redemption, Repurchase and Surrender of Shares. Subject to the terms of the Companies Act and to any rights for the time being conferred on the shareholders holding a particular class of shares, we may by our directors: (i) issue shares that are to be redeemed or liable to be redeemed, at the option of us or the shareholders holding those redeemable shares, on the terms and in the manner our directors determine before the issue of those shares; (ii) with the consent by special resolution of the shareholders holding shares of a particular class, vary the rights attaching to that class of shares so as to provide that those shares are to be redeemed or are liable to be redeemed at the option of us on the terms and in the manner which the directors determine at the time of such variation; and (iii) purchase all or any of our own shares of any class including any redeemable shares on the terms and in the manner which the directors determine at the time of such purchase. . Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of our Company’s profits or out of the proceeds of a new issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital (including share premium account and capital redemption reserve) if our Company can, immediately following such payment, pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares issued and outstanding or (c) if the company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our Company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.

 

Transfer of Ordinary Shares.

 

Provided that such transfer complies with applicable Nasdaq Listing Rules, our shareholders may freely transfer shares to another person by completing an instrument of transfer in a common form or in a form prescribed by the Nasdaq Listing Rules or in any other form approved by our directors, executed where the shares are fully paid, by or on behalf of that shareholder; and where the shares are partly paid, by or on behalf of that shareholder and the transferee.

 

Where the shares of any class in question are not listed on any stock exchange or subject to the rules of any stock exchange, our directors may in their absolute discretion decline to register any transfer of such shares which are not fully paid up or on which our Company has a lien.

 

Our board of directors may also decline to register any transfer of any share unless:

 

the instrument of transfer is lodged with us, accompanied by the certificate for the shares to which it relates and such other evidence as our board of directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer;

 

the instrument of transfer is in respect of only one class of shares;

 

the instrument of transfer is properly stamped, if required;

 

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the shares transferred are fully paid up and free of any lien in favor of the Company;

 

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; and

 

a fee of such maximum sum as the Nasdaq Capital Market may determine to be payable or such lesser sum as our directors may from time to time require is paid to us in respect thereof.

 

If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within one month after the date on which the instrument of transfer was lodged, send to each of the transferor and the transferee notice of such refusal.

 

The registration of transfers may, after compliance with any notice required of Nasdaq and on 14 clear days’ notice being given by advertisement in such one or more newspapers or by electronic means, be suspended and the register closed at such times and for such periods as our board of directors may from time to time determine; provided, however, that the registration of transfers shall not be suspended nor the register closed for more than 30 clear days in any year.

 

Variations of Rights of Shares. If at any time our share capital is divided into different classes of shares, unless the terms on which a class of shares was issued state otherwise, the rights attached to any such class may only be varied with: (a) the consent in writing of the holders of two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or (b) with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class. The rights conferred upon the holders of the shares of any class issued shall not, unless otherwise expressly provided by the terms of issue of the shares of that class, be deemed to be varied by the creation, allotment or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with them.

 

Inspection of Books and Records. Holders of our Ordinary Shares have no general right under our amended articles to inspect or obtain copies of our list of shareholders or our corporate records. However, we will provide our shareholders with annual audited financial statements. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”

 

Issuance of Additional Shares. Our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize our Board of Directors to issue additional Ordinary Shares from time to time as our Board of Directors shall determine, to the extent of available authorized but unissued shares.

 

Issuance of additional Ordinary Shares may dilute the voting power of holders of Ordinary Shares.

 

Anti-Takeover Provisions. Some provisions of our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable. Our authorized, but unissued Ordinary Shares are available for future issuance without shareholders’ approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise addition capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Ordinary Shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

Exempted Company. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:

 

does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies;

 

is not required to open its register of members for inspection;

 

does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

may not issue negotiable or bearer shares, but may issue shares with no par value;

 

may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 20 years in the first instance);

 

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may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

 

may register as a limited duration company; and

 

may register as a segregated portfolio company.

 

Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company.

 

Nomination and Removal of Directors and Filling Vacancies on Board. At any time or from time to time, the Board shall have the power to appoint any person as a Director either to fill a casual vacancy on the Board or as an additional Director to the existing Board subject to any maximum number of Directors, if any, as may be determined by the members in general meeting.

 

Each Director shall hold office for the term, if any, fixed by the terms of his appointment or until his office is vacated pursuant to the second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

 

A Director is not required to hold any shares in the company by way of qualification nor is there any specified upper or lower age limit for Directors either for accession to or retirement from the Board.

 

A Director may be removed by an ordinary resolution of the company before the expiration of his term of office (if any).

 

The office of a Director shall be vacated if he:

 

(i)is prohibited by the law of the Cayman Islands from acting as a director; or

 

(ii)is made bankrupt or makes an arrangement or composition with his creditors generally; or

 

(iii)resigns his office by notice to the Company; or

 

(iv)only held office as a director for a fixed term and such term expires; or

 

(v)in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner by whom he is being treated he becomes physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director; or

 

(vi)is given notice by the majority of the other directors (not being less than two in number) to vacate office (without prejudice to any claim for damages for breach of any agreement relating to the provision of the services of such director); or

 

(vii)is made subject to any law relating to mental health or incompetence, whether by court order or otherwise; or

 

(viii)without the consent of the other directors, he is absent from meetings of directors for a continuous period of six months.

 

From time to time the Board may appoint one or more of its body to be managing director, joint managing director or deputy managing director or to hold any other employment or executive office with the company for such period and upon such terms as the Board may determine, and the Board may revoke or terminate any of such appointments. The Board may also delegate any of its powers to committees consisting of such Director(s) or other person(s) as the Board thinks fit, and from time to time it may also revoke such delegation or revoke the appointment of and discharge any such committees either wholly or in part, and either as to persons or purposes, but every committee so formed shall, in the exercise of the powers so delegated, conform to any regulations that may from time to time be imposed upon it by the Board.

 

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Anti-Money Laundering — Cayman Islands

 

If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or is involved with terrorism or terrorist property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of their business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) a nominated officer (appointed in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (Revised), if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) to the Financial Reporting Authority or a police constable or a nominated officer (pursuant to the Terrorism Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (Revised), if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and terrorist property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.

 

By subscribing for shares, the subscriber consents to the disclosure of any information about them to regulators and others upon request in connection with money laundering and similar matters both in the Cayman Islands and in other jurisdictions.

 

In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.

 

We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”) or any other applicable law. Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed verification of identity might not be required where:

 

(a)the subscriber makes the payment for their investment from an account held in the subscriber’s name at a recognized financial institution; or

 

(b)the subscriber is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based or incorporated in, or formed under the law of, a recognized jurisdiction; or

 

(c)the application is made through an intermediary which is regulated by a recognized regulatory authority and is based in or incorporated in, or formed under the law of a recognized jurisdiction and an assurance is provided in relation to the procedures undertaken on the underlying investors.

 

For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations by reference to those jurisdictions recognized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as having equivalent anti-money laundering regulations.

 

In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.

 

We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our Directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.

 

If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority (“FRA”) of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the FRA, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.

 

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Data Protection in the Cayman Islands — Privacy Notice

 

This privacy notice explains the manner in which the Company collects, processes and maintains personal data about investors of the company pursuant to the Data Protection Act (Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time and any regulations, codes of practice or orders promulgated pursuant thereto (“DPA”).

 

The Company is committed to processing personal data in accordance with the DPA. In its use of personal data, the Company will be characterized under the DPA as a “data controller”, while certain of the Company’s service providers, affiliates and delegates may act as “data processors” under the DPA. These service providers may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to the Company.

 

This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that, by virtue of making an investment in the company, the Company and certain of the Company’s service providers may collect, record, store, transfer and otherwise process personal data by which individuals may be directly or indirectly identified.

 

Your personal data will be processed fairly and for lawful purposes, including (a) where the processing is necessary for the Company to perform a contract to which you are a party or for taking pre-contractual steps at your request (b) where the processing is necessary for compliance with any legal, tax or regulatory obligation to which the Company is subject or (c) where the processing is for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by the Company or by a service provider to whom the data are disclosed. As a data controller, we will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you.

 

We anticipate that we will share your personal data with the Company’s service providers for the purposes set out in this privacy notice. We may also share relevant personal data where it is lawful to do so and necessary to comply with our contractual obligations or your instructions or where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with any regulatory reporting obligations. In exceptional circumstances, we will share your personal data with regulatory, prosecuting and other governmental agencies or departments, and parties to litigation (whether pending or threatened), in any country or territory including to any other person where we have a public or legal duty to do so (e.g. to assist with detecting and preventing fraud, tax evasion and financial crime or compliance with a court order).

 

Your personal data shall not be held by the Company for longer than necessary with regard to the purposes of the data processing.

 

We will not sell your personal data. Any transfer of personal data outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA. Where necessary, we will ensure that separate and appropriate legal agreements are put in place with the recipient of that data.

 

The Company will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.

 

If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation to your investment into the Company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should inform such individuals of the content.

 

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You have certain rights under the DPA, including (a) the right to be informed as to how we collect and use your personal data (and this privacy notice fulfills the Company’s obligation in this respect); (b) the right to obtain a copy of your personal data; (c) the right to require us to stop direct marketing; (d) the right to have inaccurate or incomplete personal data corrected; (e) the right to withdraw your consent and require us to stop processing or restrict the processing, or not begin the processing of your personal data; (f) the right to be notified of a data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial); (g) the right to obtain information as to any countries or territories outside the Cayman Islands to which we, whether directly or indirectly, transfer, intend to transfer or wish to transfer your personal data, general measures we take to ensure the security of personal data and any information available to us as to the source of your personal data; (h) the right to complain to the Office of the Ombudsman of the Cayman Islands; and (i) the right to require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances.

 

If you consider that your personal data has not been handled correctly, or you are not satisfied with the Company’s responses to any requests you have made regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Cayman Islands’ Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be contacted by accessing their website here: ombudsman.ky.

 

Differences in Corporate Law

 

The Companies Act is modeled, to a large extent, after the older Companies Acts of England but does not follow recent English statutory enactments and, accordingly, there are significant differences between the Companies Act and the current Companies Act of England. In addition, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of some of the significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the State of Delaware.

 

Mergers and Similar Arrangements. The Companies Act permits merger and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies provided that the laws of the foreign jurisdiction permit such merger or consolidation. For these purposes, a “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company, and a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company.

 

In order to effect a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. A merger between a Cayman Islands parent company and its Cayman Islands subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman Islands subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman Islands subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose, a subsidiary is a company of which at least ninety percent (90%) of the issued shares entitled to vote are owned by the parent company.

 

The plan of merger or consolidation must be filed with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a list of the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger and consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Dissenting shareholders have the right to be paid the fair value of their shares if they follow the required procedures under the Companies Act subject to certain exceptions. The fair value of the shares will be determined by the Cayman Islands court if it cannot be agreed among the parties. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation effected in compliance with these statutory procedures. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.

 

Save in certain limited circumstances, a shareholder of a Cayman Islands constituent company who dissents from the merger or consolidation is entitled to payment of the fair value of his or her shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) upon dissenting to the merger or consolidation, provided the dissenting shareholder complies strictly with the procedures set out in the Companies Act. The exercise of dissenter rights will preclude the exercise by the dissenting shareholder of any other rights to which he or she might otherwise be entitled by virtue of holding shares, save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful.

 

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In addition, there are statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies, provided that the arrangement is approved by seventy-five per cent in value of the members or class of members or creditors,, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:

 

the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met;

 

the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the statutory majority are acting bona fide without coercion of the minority to promote interests adverse to those of the class;

 

the arrangement is such that may be reasonably approved by an intelligent and honest person of that class acting in respect of his or her interest; and

 

the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act.

 

The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition that may facilitate the “squeeze out” of dissentient minority shareholders upon a takeover offer. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of not less than 90.0% of the shares within four months after the making of the offer, the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four month period, give notice to require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands by a dissenting shareholder within one month from the date on which the notice was given, but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer that has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.

 

If an arrangement and reconstruction is thus approved, the dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.

 

Shareholders’ Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company, and as a general rule, a derivative action may not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands court can be expected to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) so that a non-controlling shareholder may be permitted to commence a class action against or derivative actions in the name of the company to challenge actions where:

 

a company acts or proposes to act illegally or ultra vires and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders;

 

the act complained of, although not ultra vires, could only be effected duly if authorized by more than a simple majority vote that has not been obtained; and

 

those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.”

 

In the case of a company (not being a bank) having its share capital divided into shares, the Grand Court may, on the application of members holding not less than one fifth of the shares of the company in issue, appoint an inspector to examine the affairs of the company and to report thereon in such manner as the Grand Court shall direct.

 

Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability. Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and 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 the consequences of committing a crime, or against the indemnified person’s own fraud or dishonesty.

 

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Our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that to the extent permitted by law, we shall indemnify each existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary and other officer of us (including an investment adviser or an administrator or liquidator) and their personal representatives against:

 

(a)all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by the existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer in or about the conduct of our business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of the existing or former director’s (including alternate director’s), secretary’s or officer’s duties, powers, authorities or discretions; and

 

(b)without limitation to paragraph (a), all costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by the existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings (whether threatened, pending or completed) concerning us or our affairs in any court or tribunal, whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere.

 

No such existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer, however, shall be indemnified in respect of any matter arising out of his own dishonesty.

 

To the extent permitted by the Companies Act, we may make a payment, or agree to make a payment, whether by way of advance, loan or otherwise, for any legal costs incurred by an existing or former director (including alternate director), secretary or officer of the Company in respect of any matter identified in above on condition that the director (including alternate director), secretary or officer must repay the amount paid by us to the extent that we are ultimately found not liable to indemnify the director (including alternate director), secretary or officer for those legal costs. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Directors’ Fiduciary Duties. Under Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director acts in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.

 

Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. Cayman Islands law and our second amended and restated articles of association provide that our Shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.

 

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Under Cayman Islands law, the fiduciary duties owed by a director and officer include (a) a duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole, (b) a duty to exercise their powers for the purposes for which they were conferred and not for a collateral purpose, (c) a duty to avoid improperly fettering the exercise of future discretion, (d) a duty to avoid any conflict of interest between the director’s duty to the company and the director’s personal interests, and (e) a duty to exercise independent judgment. In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.

 

Shareholder Action by Written Consent. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. The Companies Act and our second amended and restated articles of association provide that shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.

 

Shareholder Proposals. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. An extraordinary general meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling extraordinary general meetings.

 

The Companies Act does not provide shareholders with any rights to requisition a general meeting, or to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our second amended and restated articles of association allow our Shareholders holding in aggregate not less than ten percent of all votes attaching to the issued and outstanding shares of our Company entitled to vote at general meetings to requisition an extraordinary general meeting of our Shareholders, in which case our board is obliged to convene an extraordinary general meeting and to put the resolutions so requisitioned to a vote at such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders’ meeting, our second amended and restated articles of association do not provide our Shareholders with any other right to put proposals before annual general meetings or extraordinary general meetings. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we may but are not obliged by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings.

 

Cumulative Voting. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the Companies Act but our second amended and restated articles of association do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our Shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.

 

Removal of Directors. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our second amended and restated articles of association, directors may be removed with or without cause, by an ordinary resolution of our Shareholders. In addition, a director’s office shall be vacated if the director (i) becomes bankrupt or makes any arrangement or composition with his creditors; (ii) is found to be or becomes of unsound mind or dies; (iii) resigns his or her office by notice in writing to the company; (iv) without special leave of absence from our board, is absent from meetings of our board for a continuous period of six months; or (v) is removed from office pursuant to any other provisions of our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.

 

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Transactions with Interested Shareholders. The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting share within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.

 

The Cayman Islands has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, it does provide that such transactions must be entered into bona fide in the best interests of the company and for a proper corporate purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.

 

Dissolution; Winding up. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.

 

Under the Companies Act, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands, by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so. Under the Companies Act and our second amended and restated articles of association, our Company may be dissolved, liquidated or wound up by a special resolution of our shareholders.

 

Variation of Rights of Shares. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Companies Act and our second amended and restated articles of association, if our share capital is divided into more than one class of shares, we may vary the rights attached to any class with the written consent of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of that class or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate general meeting of the holders of the shares of that class. 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 varied by the creation, allotment or issue of further shares ranking pari passu with them.

 

Amendment of Governing Documents. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. As permitted by the Companies Act, our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution of our shareholders.

 

Rights of Non-resident or Foreign Shareholders. There are no limitations imposed by our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares. In addition, there are no provisions in our second amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the ownership threshold above which shareholder ownership must be disclosed.

 

 

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