Item 1.01. |
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement |
Shareholder Rights Agreement
On June 22, 2023, Eagle Bulk Shipping Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Rights Agreement (the “Rights Agreement”) with Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a national banking corporation, as rights agent. In connection therewith, the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) declared a dividend of one preferred share purchase right (“Right”) for each outstanding share of the Company’s common stock, par value US$.01 per share (the “Common Stock”). The dividend is payable on July 3, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on such date (the “Record Date”). In addition, one Right will automatically attach to each share of Common Stock issued between the Record Date and the Distribution Date (as defined below).
The Board adopted the Rights Agreement to protect the Company and its shareholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics. In general terms, the Rights Agreement works by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group (including a group of persons that are acting in concert with each other) that acquires 15% or more of the outstanding Common Stock, including through derivatives agreements, without the approval of the Board (an “Acquiring Person”). The Rights Agreement should not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the Board.
The following is a general description of the terms of the Rights, the Preferred Shares (as defined below) and the Rights Agreement. This description is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the Certificate of Designations of the Preferred Shares and the Rights Agreement, which are included as Exhibits 3.1 and 4.1, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and incorporated herein by reference.
The Rights. The Board authorized the issuance of one Right with respect to each share of Common Stock outstanding on the Record Date. The Rights will initially trade with, and will be inseparable from, the Common Stock. The Rights will accompany any new shares of Common Stock issued after the Record Date until the earlier of the Distribution Date, the redemption date or the expiration date of the Rights, as described below.
Exercise Price. Each Right will allow its holder to purchase from the Company one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, par value US$.01 per share (“Preferred Shares”), for US$180.00, subject to adjustment under certain conditions (the “Purchase Price”), once the Rights become exercisable.
Exercisability. The Rights will not be exercisable until:
|
• |
|
10 business days after the public announcement that a person or group has become an “Acquiring Person” by obtaining beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the outstanding Common Stock, or, if earlier; |
|
• |
|
10 business days (or a later date determined by the Board before any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person) after a person or group Commences (as defined in the Rights Agreement) a tender or exchange offer which, if completed, would result in that person or group becoming an Acquiring Person. |
The date when the Rights become exercisable is referred to as the “Distribution Date.” Until the Distribution Date, the Company’s Common Stock certificates or, in the case of uncertificated shares, notations in the book-entry account system, will evidence the Rights. Until the Distribution Date (or earlier redemption, exchange, termination or expiration of the Rights), the surrender for transfer of any certificates