EXHIBIT 10.19
BARE ESCENTUALS,
INC.
INDEMNIFICATION
AGREEMENT
This Indemnification Agreement
(“ Agreement ”) is made as of
___________, 2006 by and between Bare Escentuals, Inc., a Delaware
corporation (the “ Company ”), and
________________ (“ Indemnitee
”).
RECITALS
WHEREAS, highly competent persons
have become more reluctant to serve corporations as directors,
officers or in other capacities unless they are provided with
adequate protection through insurance or adequate indemnification
against inordinate risks of claims and actions against them arising
out of their service to and activities on behalf of the
corporation;
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of
the Company (the “ Board ”) has
determined that, in order to attract and retain qualified
individuals, the Company will attempt to maintain on an ongoing
basis, at its sole expense, liability insurance to protect persons
serving the Company and its subsidiaries from certain
liabilities. Although the furnishing of such insurance has
been a customary and widespread practice among United States-based
corporations and other business enterprises, the Company believes
that, given current market conditions and trends, such insurance
may be available to it in the future only at higher premiums and
with more exclusions. At the same time, directors, officers
and other persons in service to corporations or business
enterprises are being increasingly subjected to expensive and
time-consuming litigation relating to, among other things, matters
that traditionally would have been brought only against the Company
or business enterprise itself. The certificate of
incorporation of the Company require indemnification of the
officers and directors of the Company. Indemnitee also may be
entitled to indemnification pursuant to the General Corporation Law
of the State of Delaware (“ DGCL
”). The certificate of incorporation and the DGCL
expressly provide that the indemnification provisions set forth
therein are not exclusive, and thereby contemplate that contracts
may be entered into between the Company and members of the Board,
officers and other persons with respect to
indemnification;
WHEREAS, the uncertainties relating
to such insurance and to indemnification have increased the
difficulty of attracting and retaining such persons;
WHEREAS, the Board has determined
that the increased difficulty in attracting and retaining such
persons is detrimental to the best interests of the Company’s
stockholders and that the Company should act to assure such persons
that there will be increased certainty of such protection in the
future;
WHEREAS, it is reasonable, prudent
and necessary for the Company contractually to obligate itself to
indemnify, and to advance expenses on behalf of, such persons to
the fullest extent permitted by applicable law so that they will
serve or continue to serve the Company free from undue concern that
they will not be so indemnified;
WHEREAS, this Agreement is a
supplement to and in furtherance of the certificate of
incorporation and bylaws of the Company and any resolutions adopted
pursuant thereto and shall not be deemed a substitute therefor, nor
to diminish or abrogate any rights of Indemnitee thereunder;
and
WHEREAS, Indemnitee does not regard
the protection available under the Company’s certificate of
incorporation, bylaws and insurance as adequate in the present
circumstances, and may not be willing to serve as an officer or
director without adequate protection, and the Company desires
Indemnitee to serve in such capacity. Indemnitee is willing
to serve, continue to serve and to take on additional service for
or on behalf of the Company on the condition that he or she be so
indemnified.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of
the premises and the covenants contained herein, the Company and
Indemnitee do hereby covenant and agree as follows:
1.
SERVICES TO THE COMPANY.
Indemnitee
will serve or continue to serve as an officer, director or key
employee of the Company for so long as Indemnitee is duly elected
or appointed or until Indemnitee tenders his or her
resignation.
2.
DEFINITIONS. As used in this
Agreement:
(a)
“ Affiliate ” means a Person that
directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries,
controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, the
Person specified.
(b)
“ Beneficial
Owner ” shall have the
meaning given to such term in Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange
Act; provided , however , that Beneficial Owner shall
exclude any Person otherwise becoming a Beneficial Owner by reason
of the stockholders of the Company approving a merger of the
Company with another entity.
(c)
A “ Change in
Control ” shall be deemed to
occur upon the earliest to occur after the date of this Agreement
of any of the following events:
(i)
Acquisition of Stock by Third Party . Any Person (as
defined below) other than a group comprised of Affiliates of both
JH Partners, LLC and Berkshire Partners, LLC is or becomes the
Beneficial Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the
Company representing 50.1% or more of the combined voting power of
the Company’s then outstanding securities;
(ii)
Change in Board of Directors . During any period of
two (2) consecutive years (not including any period prior to the
execution of this Agreement), individuals who at the beginning of
such period constitute the Board, and any new director (other than
a director designated by a person who has entered into an agreement
with the Company to effect a transaction described in Sections
2(b)(i), 2(b)(iii) or 2(b)(iv)) whose election by the Board or
nomination for election by the Company’s stockholders was
approved by a vote of at least two-thirds of the directors then
still in office who either were directors at the beginning of the
period or whose election or nomination for election was previously
so approved, cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority
of the members of the Board;
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(iii)
Corporate Transactions . The effective date of a
merger or consolidation of the Company with any other entity, other
than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting
securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior to such
merger or consolidation continuing to represent (either by
remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities
of the surviving entity) more than 50.1% of the combined voting
power of the voting securities of the surviving entity outstanding
immediately after such merger or consolidation and with the power
to elect at least a majority of the board of directors or other
governing body of such surviving entity; or
(iv)
Liquidation . The approval by the stockholders of the
Company of a complete liquidation of the Company or an agreement or
series of agreements for the sale or disposition by the Company of
all or substantially all of the Company’s assets.
(d)
“ Corporate
Status ” describes the status
of a person who is or was a director, officer, trustee, general
partner, managing member, fiduciary, employee or agent of the
Company or of any other Enterprise (as defined below) which such
person is or was serving at the request of the Company.
(e)
“ Disinterested
Director ” means a director of
the Company who is not and was not a party to the Proceeding in
respect of which indemnification is sought by
Indemnitee.
(f)
“ Enterprise ” shall mean the
Company and any other corporation, limited liability company,
partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other
enterprise of which Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of
the Company as a director, officer, trustee, general partner,
managing member, fiduciary, employee or agent.
(g)
“ Exchange
Act ” shall mean the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(h)
“ Expenses ” shall include all
reasonable attorneys’ fees, retainers, court costs,
transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses,
duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges,
postage, delivery service fees and all other disbursements or
expenses of the type customarily incurred in connection with
prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend,
investigating, being or preparing to be a witness in, or otherwise
participating in, a Proceeding. Expenses also shall include
Expenses incurred in connection with any appeal resulting from any
Proceeding, including, without limitation, the premium, security
for and other costs relating to any cost bond, supersedeas bond or
other appeal bond or its equivalent. Expenses, however, shall
not include amounts paid in settlement by Indemnitee or the amount
of judgments or fines against Indemnitee.
(i)
“ Independent
Counsel ” means a law firm, or
a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of
corporation law and neither presently is, nor in the past five
years has been, retained to represent: (i) the Company or
Indemnitee in any matter material to either such party (other than
with respect to matters concerning Indemnitee under this Agreement,
or of other indemnitees under similar indemnification agreements),
or (ii) any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim
for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing,
the term “ Independent Counsel ” shall not include any
person who, under the
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applicable
standards of professional conduct then prevailing, would have a
conflict of interest in representing either the Company or
Indemnitee in an action to determine Indemnitee’s rights
under this Agreement. The Company agrees to pay the
reasonable fees and expenses of the Independent Counsel referred to
above and to fully indemnify such counsel against any and all
Expenses, claims, liabilities and damages arising out of or
relating to this Agreement or its engagement pursuant
hereto.
(j)
“ Person
” shall
have the meaning set forth in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the
Exchange Act; provided , however , that the term
Person shall exclude (i) the Company, (ii) any trustee or other
fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the
Company and (iii) any corporation owned, directly or
indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the
same proportions as their ownership of stock of the
Company.
(k)
The term “ Proceeding ” shall include any
threatened, pending or completed action, suit, arbitration,
alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation, inquiry,
administrative hearing or any other actual, threatened or completed
proceeding, whether brought in the right of the Company or
otherwise and whether of a civil, criminal, administrative or
investigative nature, in which Indemnitee was, is or will be
involved as a party or otherwise by reason of the fact that
Indemnitee is or was a director or officer of the Company, by
reason of any action taken (or failure to act) by him or her or of
any action (or failure to act) on his or her part while acting as a
director or officer of the Company, or by reason of the fact that
he or she is or was serving at the request of the Company as a
director, officer, trustee, general partner, manager, member,
fiduciary, employee or agent of any other Enterprise, in each case
whether or not serving in such capacity at the time any liability
or expense is incurred for which indemnification, reimbursement or
advancement of expenses can be provided under this
Agreement.
(l)
References to “ other enterprise ” shall include
employee benefit plans; references to “
fines ” shall include any
excise tax assessed against Indemnitee with respect to his or her
administration of any employee benefit plan; references to
“ serving at the
request of the Company ” shall include any
service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company
which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director,
officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit
plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in
good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in
the best interests of the participants and beneficiaries of an
employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner
“ not opposed to the
best interests of the Company ” as referred to in
this Agreement.
3.
INDEMNITY IN THIRD-PARTY
PROCEEDINGS. The Company shall
indemnify Indemnitee in accordance with the provisions of this
Section 3 if Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be made, a party to
or a participant (as a witness or otherwise) in any Proceeding,
other than a Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to
procure a judgment in its favor. Pursuant to this Section 3,
Indemnitee shall be indemnified against all Expenses, judgments,
fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement (including all
interest, assessments and other charges paid or payable in
connection with or in respect of such Expenses, judgments, fines,
penalties and amounts paid in settlement) actually and reasonably
incurred by Indemnitee or on his or her behalf in connection with
such Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if
Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the best
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interests of the
Company and, in the case of a criminal proceeding, he or she had no
reasonable cause to believe that his or her conduct was
unlawful.
4.
INDEMNITY IN PROCEEDINGS BY OR IN
THE RIGHT OF THE COMPANY. The Company
shall indemnify Indemnitee in accordance with the provisions of
this Section 4 if Indemnitee is, or is threatened to be made, a
party to or a participant (as a witness or otherwise) in any
Proceeding by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment
in its favor. Pursuant to this Section 4, Indemnitee shall be
indemnified against all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred
by Indemnitee or on his or her behalf in connection with such
Proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, if Indemnitee
acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed
to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company.
No indemnification for Expenses shall be made under this Section 4
in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which Indemnitee
shall have been finally adjudged by a court to be liable to the
Company, unless and only to the extent that any court in which the
Proceeding was brought or the Delaware Court of Chancery shall
determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of
liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case,
Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to
indemnification.
5.
INDEMNIFICATION FOR EXPENSES OF A
PARTY WHO IS WHOLLY OR PARTLY SUCCESSFUL. Notwithstanding any
other provisions of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee
is a party to (or a participant in) and is successful, on the
merits or otherwise, in any Proceeding or in defense of any claim,
issue or matter therein, in whole or in part, the Company shall
indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably
incurred by him or her in connection therewith. If Indemnitee
is not wholly successful in such Proceeding but is successful, on
the merits or otherwise, as to one or more but less than all
claims, issues or matters in such Proceeding, the Company shall
indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses actually and reasonably
incurred by him or her or on his or her behalf in connection with
each successfully resolved claim, issue or matter. If
Indemnitee is not wholly successful in such Proceeding, the Company
also shall indemnify Indemnitee against all Expenses reasonably
incurred in connection with a claim, issue or matter related to any
claim, issue or matter on which Indemnitee was successful.
For purposes of this Section and without limitation, the
termination of any claim, issue or matter in such a Proceeding by
dismissal, with or without prejudice, shall be deemed to be a
successful result as to such claim, issue or matter.
6.
INDEMNIFICATION FOR EXPENSES OF A
WITNESS. Notwithstanding any
other provision of this Agreement, to the extent that Indemnitee
is, by reason of his Corporate Status, a witness in any Proceeding
to which Indemnitee is not a party, he shall be indemnified against
all Expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him or her or on
his or her behalf in connection therewith.
7.
ADDITIONAL INDEMNIFICATION
.
(a)
Notwithstanding any limitation in Sections 3, 4 or 5, the Company
shall indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by law
if Indemnitee is a party to or threatened to be made a party to any
Proceeding (including a Proceeding by or in the right of the
Company to procure a judgment in its favor) against all Expenses,
judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement
(including all interest, assessments and other charges paid
or
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payable in
connection with or in respect of such Expenses, judgments, fines,
penalties and amounts paid in settlement) actually and reasonably
incurred by Indemnitee in connection with the Proceeding. No
indemnity shall be made under this Section 7(a) on account of
Indemnitee’s conduct which constitutes a breach of
Indemnitee’s duty of loyalty to the Company or its
stockholders or is an act or omission not in good faith or which
involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of the
law.
(b)
For purposes of Section 7(a), the meaning of the phrase
“ to the fullest
extent permitted by law ” shall include, but
not be limited to:
(i)
to the fullest extent permitted by the provision of the DGCL that
authorizes or contemplates additional indemnification by agreement,
or the corresponding provision of any amendment to or replacement
of the DGCL; and
(ii)
to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by any amendments to
or replacements of the DGCL adopted after the date of this
Agreement that increase the extent to which a corporation may
indemnify its officers and directors.
8.
EXCLUSIONS.
Notwithstanding
any other provision in this Agreement, the Company shall not be
obligated under this Agreement to make any indemnity in connection
with any claim made against Indemnitee:
(a)
for which payment has actually been received by or on behalf of
Indemnitee under any insurance policy or other indemnity provision,
except with respect to any excess beyond the amount actually
received under any insurance policy or other indemnity
provision;
(b)
for an accounting of profits made from the purchase and sale (or
sale and purchase) by Indemnitee of securities of the Company
within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act or similar
provisions of state statutory law or common law; or
(c)
except as otherwise provided in Sections 13(d)-(f) hereof, prior to
a Change in Control, in connection with any Proceeding (or any part
of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee, including any
Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by Indemnitee
against the Company
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