COMPLEX
SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENT-VALUATION BY APPRAISAL, CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, FAMILY
TRANSFERS
State of
_________________
County of
_______________
SHAREHOLDER
AGREEMENT
THIS AGREEMENT is
made and entered into this _____ day of _______________, by and between
________________________________________ (Name
of Corporation), a
_____________________ (State)
Corporation, whose principal offices are located at
_____________________________________________ (Address),
and the individuals and entities whose names and addresses are listed on
Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part hereof, all of whom are shareholders
of the Corporation.
W I T N E S S E T
H:
WHEREAS, the
present distribution of shares of the Corporation is as follows:
Name Shares
_________________________________________ _____________
_________________________________________ _____________
_________________________________________ _____________
WHEREAS, the parties have agreed that to promote
the good conduct of the Corporation and avoid the difficulties that might
result from the passing of shares to outsiders, it is desirable to make this
Agreement concerning the conduct of the Corporation and restrictions upon the
transfer of its shares;
NOW, THEREFORE, in
consideration of the promises herein made to one another, and for other good
and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby
acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
1. (a)
The Corporation shall have _____ (number) directors; and each
shareholder shall, so long as he owns shares in the Corporation, have the right
to serve as a director of the Corporation or to designate some responsible
person to serve as his nominee.
(b) The
officers of the Corporation shall be the following shareholders, each of whom
shall continue to serve as long as he owns shares:
President ___________________________
Vice President ___________________________
Treasurer ___________________________
Secretary ___________________________
(c) The Corporation shall employ shareholders
and pay salaries to such shareholders as follows:
Name and Address
of Shareholders Salary Amount
___________________________________ $_________________
___________________________________ $_________________
___________________________________ $_________________
___________________________________ $_________________
The directors of
the Corporation may increase salaries of shareholder/employees from time to
time, provided, however that the compensation paid to each shareholder or
employee during each calendar year for his services shall be equal to the
compensation paid to each of the other shareholders during such calendar year
unless otherwise unanimously agreed by the shareholders or by a written consent
signed by all the directors of the Corporation and inserted in the corporate
minute book.
2. (a)
The Corporation will not, without the unanimous consent of all the
shareholders, do any of the following: (i) issue additional shares of any class
or any securities convertible into shares of any class; (ii) merge or
participate in a share exchange with any other Corporation; or (iii) sell,
lease, mortgage, or otherwise transfer all or substantially all of the assets
of the Corporation for any consideration other than cash. (b) In the event the
shareholders agree to issue additional shares or securities convertible into
shares, then each of the shareholders shall have the right to purchase any such
securities so offered at a future date in proportion to his then respective
interest in the Corporation at the time of such offer.
3. Each shareholder's shares may be transferred
during the shareholder's lifetime or by testamentary or intestate transfer to
any related party of the shareholder, provided, however, that no further
transfer of such shares shall be made by such transferee except back to the
shareholder who originally owned them or to a related party of such shareholder
who originally owned them, or except in accordance with the provisions made
hereinbelow and provided further that whenever the Corporation shall have an
option or a duty to repurchase the shares of any shareholder, such option or
duty shall include all shares transferred by any such shareholder to a related
party. A related party shall mean a
spouse, issue, spouse's issue, or ancestor of the shareholder, except that any
spouse living separate and apart from the other spouse, with the intention by
either to cease their matrimonial relationship, is not a related party, and
provided further, that a trust for the sole benefit of one or more persons who
is a related party shall be treated as a related party.
4. No shares shall be voluntarily sold,
pledged, hypothecated, or otherwise transferred or permitted to be transferred
in any manner or by any means whatsoever except as provided in Paragraph 3
above or as follows:
Any shareholder
intending to transfer any shares except as permitted in Paragraph 3 above, shall
first offer such shares for sale at the Purchase Value as hereinafter defined
to the Corporation for a period of thirty (30) days, and then, to the extent
such offer is rejected or not accepted by the Corporation within that period,
such shares have been offered for sale at the Purchase Value for a period of
ten (10) days to all other shareholders in proportion to the number of such
shares held by them. Each such offer
shall be in writing and shall specify the number of shares being offered, the
name and address of each person to whom such shares are proposed to be
transferred, and the price per share and other terms upon which each such
transfer is intended to be made; and each such offer may be accepted by the
offeree in whole or in part at any time during the continuance of the
offer. If any shares are not purchased
pursuant to the aforesaid offers, the Offeror shall for a period of ninety (90)
days thereafter be free to transfer such shares to the person or persons so
named at the price per share and upon the other terms so named; provided that
any such transferee of those shares shall thereafter be bound by all of the
provisions of this Agreement.
5. (a)
Upon the happening of any of the events enumerated below, the
Corporation shall purchase at Purchase Value as hereinafter defined all of the
shares of the shareholder so affected: (i) If any shareholder employed by the
Corporation under Paragraph 1(c) shall terminate his employment for any cause
or reason, including, but not limited to, loss of any license or certificate
required for his conduct of the business or disability lasting more than six
(6) months; or (ii) If any shareholder shall be adjudged incompetent or a
general guardian or guardian of his estate shall be appointed for him by any court;
or (iii) If any shareholder makes any assignment for the benefit of creditors
or applies for the appointment of a trustee, a liquidator, or a receiver, or
commences any proceeding related to himself under any bankruptcy or arrangement
of similar law; or if any such application is filed or proceedings commenced
against the shareholder and the shareholder consents thereto or an order is
entered allowing such application and remains in effect for sixty (60) days; or
(iv) If the shares of any shareholder are purported to be transferred
involuntarily, including, without limitation, any purported transfer by or
pursuant to bankruptcy, attachment, divorce, equitable distribution, or
operation of law; or (v) If any shareholder
shall die.
(b) This duty to purchase or retire shall apply
to all, but not less than all of the shares, and shall be exercised by the
Corporation by serving written notice upon such shareholder or such
shareholder's legal representative within thirty (30) days after the
Corporation receives notice of the occurrence of such event or the
qualification of such legal representative, whichever is later.
(7) The Purchase Value to be paid for any shares
offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement shall mean the value
determined by appraisal as follows:
Within fourteen (14) days after the event giving rise to an option or
duty of redemption, such shareholder and the Corporation (acting pursuant to
resolutions adopted by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of
the Corporation exclusive of the shares held by the offering shareholder) shall
each appoint a disinterested appraiser and those two appraisers shall, within
ten (10) days after their appointment, agree upon and appoint a third
disinterested appraiser; provided, however, that if the first two appraisers
are unable to agree upon a third appraiser, such third appraiser shall be
appointed by the Clerk of _______________________________________ (court, i.e.,
District, Superior) Court of ______________________ County, _________________ (State).
The three appraisers thus appointed shall, within thirty (30) days after
the last appointment, appraise the value of the shares of the Corporation and
deliver their appraisal to the directors and shareholders of the Corporation.
8. (a)
Whenever under this Agreement the Corporation or the shareholders
exercise any option or right to redeem or purchase shares of any shareholder,
the Purchase Value shall be paid to the shareholder whose shares have been
redeemed or purchased in cash within thirty (30) days after notice to the
affected shareholder.
(b) Whenever under this Agreement the
Corporation or the shareholders exercise any option or right to redeem or
purchase shares of any shareholder, the Purchase Value shall be paid immediately upon the receipt by the
Corporation of the proceeds of any insurance on the life of a deceased
shareholder owned by and payable to the Corporation, to the extent of such
proceeds.
9. (a)
If, under the terms of this Agreement, the shares of the shareholders
are purchased or retired, such shareholder, or the legal representative of such
shareholder, shall execute and deliver all necessary documents that may be
reasonably required for accomplishing a complete transfer of such shares for
the purpose of the purchase transaction.
(b) Every transferee of restricted shares that
are transferred in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement shall be
deemed a shareholder and be bound by all of the provisions of this Agreement. Any purported or attempted transfer of
restricted shares that does not comply with the provisions of this Agreement
shall be null and void and the purported transferee shall not be deemed to be a
shareholder of the Corporation and shall not be entitled to receive a stock
certificate or any dividends or other distributions on or with respect to such
restricted shares. For the purposes of
this Agreement, a purported transfer of shares that causes such shares to be subject
to an option under Paragraph 4 shall be deemed to comply with the provisions of
this Agreement only after the expiration of such option.
10. This Agreement shall terminate and all
rights and obligations hereunder shall cease upon the happening of any one of
the following events:
(a) The adjudication of the Corporation as
bankrupt, the execution by it of any assignment for the benefit of creditors,
or the appointment of a receiver for the Corporation;
(b) The voluntary or involuntary dissolution of
the Corporation;
(c) By a written Agreement signed by all the
shareholders to terminate this Agreement.
11. If the Corporation reasonably determines
that any proposed transferee is not eligible as a shareholder of a Subchapter S
Corporation or that such transfer would cause the Corporation to lose its
qualification as a Subchapter S Corporation, then the Corporation may so notify
the shareholder of that determination and thereby forbid the consummation of
the transfer. Nothing in this
paragraph, however, shall preclude the Corporation's and the shareholders'
rights of refusal under this Agreement.
12. The certificates for shares subject hereto
shall be surrendered to the Corporation and endorsed as follows:
"The shares
represented by this certificate are subject to and are transferable only on
compliance with a Shareholders Agreement dated the _____ day of ______________,
among shareholders, a copy of which is on file in the office of the Secretary
of the Corporation."
13. Whenever under this Agreement notice is
required to be given, it shall be given in writing served in person or by
registered mail, return receipt requested, and it shall be deemed to have been
given upon personal delivery or on the date notice is posted.
14. This Agreement embodies the entire
representations, Agreements and conditions in relation to the subject matter
hereof and no representations, understandings or Agreements, oral or otherwise,
in relation thereto exist between the parties except as herein expressly set
forth. The Agreement may not be amended
or terminated orally but only as expressly provided herein or by an instrument
in writing duly executed by the parties hereto.
15. This Agreement and the various rights and
obligations arising hereunder shall inure only to the benefit of and be binding
upon the parties hereto and their respective heirs, successors and assigns.
16. The invalidity or unenforceability of any
term or provision of this Agreement or the non-application of such term or
provision to any person or circumstance shall not impair or affect the
remainder of this Agreement, and its application to other persons and
circumstances and the remaining terms and provisions hereof shall not be
invalidated but shall remain in full force and effect.
17. Whenever in this Agreement any pronoun is
used in reference to any shareholder, purchaser or other person or entity,
natural or otherwise, the singular shall include the plural, and the masculine
shall include the feminine or the neuter, as required by context.
18. This Agreement shall be governed by and
construed in accordance with the laws of the State of ____________________.
IN WITNESS
WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this Agreement the date and place
first above mentioned.
______________________________________
(Name of Corporation)
By: _________________________________
______________________________________
President
__________________________________(SEAL)
_______________________________________
Shareholder