SHAREHOLDERS’
AGREEMENT
THIS SHAREHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT
(the “ Agreement
”) is made and entered into on April 2, 2009 by and among
Kraft Elektronikai Zrt , a Hungarian corporation (the
“ Company ”), and the shareholders of the
Company (each a “ Shareholder ” and collectively
the “ Shareholders ”) who are listed (together
with their Affiliates) on Schedule A attached hereto, and
any other person(s) or entity(ies) who may hereafter become a party
to this Agreement. The Company and the Shareholders are
hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to as the “
Parties .”
RECITALS:
WHEREAS , the Shareholders are the owners of 100% of the
common shares and equity of the Company (the “ Share
Capital ”), as set forth on Schedule B ;
and
WHEREAS , the Company and the Shareholders wish to enter
into this Agreement to document their agreement and understanding
regarding certain restrictions and controls on the Company and the
Share Capital; and
WHEREAS, except with respect to the Restated Stock
Exchange Agreement and any document executed pursuant thereto, this
Agreement and the terms and covenants contained herein shall
supersede and take precedence over similar terms and covenants set
forth in any and all other agreements between the Company and its
Shareholders, including, without limitation, any stock purchase
agreement or founders stock purchase agreement (collectively, the
“ Prior Agreements ”).
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing recitals and
the mutual covenants and agreements contained herein, and for other
good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which
are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto, intending to be
legally bound, hereby agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1 - CERTAIN
DEFINITIONS
Section
1.1 Capitalized
terms not otherwise defined in this Section 1.1 or elsewhere in
this Agreement shall have such definition as set forth in the
Restated Stock Exchange Agreement. In addition, as used
in this Agreement the following terms shall have the following
respective meanings:
(a) “
Affiliate ” means, with (a) with respect to Solar
Thin, a corporation or other entity controlled by Solar Thin
through the direct or indirect ownership of a majority of the
voting stock, and (b) with respect to any one or more of New
Palace, Istvan Krafcsik or Attila Horvath or their Permitted
Transferees, (i) any corporation or other entity that any of them
control jointly or separately through the direct or indirect
ownership of a majority of the voting stock or through any written
agreement, (ii) the spouses, brother, sister or children of such
Persons or (iii) trusts set up solely for the benefit of such
Persons or their spouses, brothers, sisters and/or
children.
(b) “
Company Liquidity Event ” shall mean any one of the
following events:
(i) a
Change of Control of the Buyer, for consideration payable in whole
or in substantial part in cash, or
(ii) an
initial public offering of the share capital of the Buyer,
or
(iii) the
merger of the Buyer with or into an inactive corporation that is
publicly traded on a United States or European securities exchange
(a “ Shell Corporation ”) or the exchange of
100% of the share capital of the Buyer for a controlling interest
in a Shell Corporation, in either case, coupled with a simultaneous
cash financing of not less than United States Five Million Dollars
(USD $5,000,000), or
(iv) the
distribution or dividend of 100% of the share capital of the Buyer
owned by the Parent to the stockholders of the Parent, as a result
of which the Buyer shall become a corporation that is publicly
traded on a United States securities exchange, coupled with a
simultaneous cash financing for the Buyer of not less than United
States Five Million Dollars (USD $5,000,000).
(c) "
Connected Person " means any company controlled by or
affiliated with Solar Thin Films, Inc. ("STF") the parent of the
Company and any Person employed by STF or any company controlled by
or affiliated with STF.
(d)
“ Articles of Incorporation ”
means the articles of incorporation or memorandum of association
representing the formation documents of the Company.
(e)
"Excess Cash" means, at the end of any financial year of the
Company and its Subsidiaries, the aggregate amount of cash and
marketable securities that are retained by the Company and its
Subsidiaries which is in excess of the aggregate
amount of funds required for all operating expenses, business
expansion and working capital needs of the Company and its
Subsidiaries for the next succeeding financial year, including,
without limitation, the purchase or lease of capital equipment,
research and development, hiring of personnel, and any and all
other related expenditures that are anticipated in good faith by
the Board of Directors of the Company to be required by the Company
and its Subsidiaries.
(f) “
Gross Profit Margin ” means the net selling price of
the applicable PV Equipment, less “cost of good
sold,” as that term is defined under United States generally
accepted accounting principles (“ US GAAP
”).
(g) “
New Palace ” means New Palace Investments Ltd., a
Cypress corporation wholly-owned by Istvan Krafcsik and Attila
Horvath.
(h) “
Offerees ” means each of (i) the Company, (ii) each of
the Shareholders, excluding any Shareholder who has caused or
initiated the event that results in the offer of the Shares to the
Offerees hereunder (the “ Shareholder Offerees
”) and (iii) any other person, firm or corporation designated
by the Company or the Shareholder Offerees who is acceptable to all
other Shareholder Offerees (a “ Designated Person
”).
(i) “
Permitted Transfer ” shall have the meaning set forth
in Section 2.1(c) of this Agreement..
(j) “
PV ” means photovoltaic.
(k) “
PV Equipment ” means the machinery, equipment,
software and computer hardware required to be installed at a PV
Facility to enable a Person to manufacture and produce PV
Modules.
(l) “
PV Facility ” means a turn-key manufacturing facility
including PV Equipment, converters, land and building to enable a
Person to produce PV Modules.
(m) “
PV Modules ” means PV solar panels or modules capable
of producing solar power that are comprised of PV cells made from
amorphous silicon (“ aSi ”) or utilizing
a-Si technologies.
(n) “
Qualified Appraisers ” means any recognized investment
bank or business appraisal company selected by the Board of
Directors of the Company who has not previously rendered financial
or business appraisal services to Solar Thin or who is otherwise
acceptable to Istvan Krafcsik.
(o) “
Restated Stock Exchange Agreement ” means that certain
Amended and Restated Stock Exchange Agreement, dated as of April 2,
2009, by and among the Company, Solar Thin Films, Inc., BudaSolar
Technologies Co., Ltd., New Palace, Ltd., Krafcsik Horvath Holding
Ltd., Istvan Krafcsik and Attila Horvath.
(p) “
Shares ” means and includes all shares of Share
Capital now owned or hereafter acquired by any
Shareholder. For purposes of this Agreement, all of the
Shares of Share Capital that a Shareholder has a right to acquire
from the Company upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any of
the securities of the Company then owned by such Shareholder shall
be deemed Shares then owned by such Shareholder; provided,
however , that for purposes of this Agreement any
“Buyer Preference Shares” that may be issued pursuant
to Section 2.2 of the Restated Stock Exchange Agreement
shall not be deemed to be Shares of Share Capital.
(q) “
Share Capital ” means and includes all issued and
outstanding common shares and equity of the Company and all other
securities of the Company which may be issued in exchange for or in
respect of shares of Share Capital (whether by way of stock split,
stock dividend, combination, reclassification, reorganization, or
otherwise) ; provided, however , that for purposes of
this Agreement any “Buyer Preference Shares” that may
be issued pursuant to Section 2.2 of the Restated Stock
Exchange Agreement shall not be deemed to be Shares of Share
Capital..
(r)
“ Solar Thin ” means Solar Thin Films, Inc., a
Delaware corporation and one of the Shareholders.
(s) "
Triggering Date ” shall mean (i) for Section 2.2(a),
the date of the selling Shareholder’s death; (ii) for Section
2.3, the date of the occurrence of an event of insolvency; and
(iii) for Section 2.4, the date that the Offer (as defined in
Section 2.4(a)) is delivered to the Offerees.
ARTICLE 2 -
TRANSFERS
Section
2.1
General Restriction Against Transfer; Permitted
Transfers .
(a) Each
Shareholder covenants and agrees that, except as specifically set
forth in this Article 2 and subject at all times to Section 2.1(b)
below, neither such Shareholder nor such Shareholder’s heirs,
executors, legal representatives or successors or assigns shall
sell, donate, assign as collateral, pledge, hypothecate, mortgage,
encumber, allow to be encumbered, transfer or otherwise dispose of
in any manner whatsoever (each, a “ Transfer ”)
any Shares.
(b) Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary, express or implied, contained in this
Article 2, except for (i) a “Permitted Transfer” (as
hereinafter defined), (ii) a Transfer contemplated by Section 2.2
or Section 2.3 below, or (iii) a Company Liquidity Event, no
Shareholder shall directly or indirectly effect or seek to effect
any Transfer or his or its Shares or enter into any agreement or
other commitment to Transfer his or its Shares at any time on or
before April 2, 2014. The provisions of the foregoing
sentence may be amended or revoked only by unanimous agreement of
all of the Shareholders. Any attempt to Transfer or to agree to
Transfer any Shares in contravention of the provisions of this
Agreement shall be void and shall have no
effect. Compliance with the provisions of this Agreement
shall be a condition precedent to the recording or documentation of
any Transfer of any Shares in the books and records of the
Company.
(c) Notwithstanding
any of the restrictions on Transfer of the Shares contained in this
Agreement, Transfers of any Shares of the Shareholders to any
Affiliate, shall be permitted (each a “ Permitted
Transfer ”); provided, however , that (i) any
Shares so Transferred shall continue to be subject to the
restrictions of this Agreement, (ii) such Transfer does not violate
any of the provisions of this Agreement, (iii) no Shareholder shall
effect or permit any Transfer of his or its Shares to Zoltan Kiss
or any Affiliate of Zoltan Kiss, and (iv) such Transfer shall not
be effective until the transferee executes and delivers an
agreement in the form supplied by the Company whereby such
transferee agrees to become a party to this Agreement and to be
bound by each of the terms and conditions of this
Agreement.
(d) Each
Shareholder hereby agrees that, during the period of duration
specified by the Company and any underwriter, investment banker or
nominated advisor of Share Capital or other securities of the
Company following the effective date of a registration statement of
the Company filed under the United Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, or the listing of any Share Capital of the Company on any
European Union securities exchange, if any, such Shareholder shall
not, to the extent requested by the Company and such underwriter,
investment banker or nominated advisor, Transfer any securities of
the Company held by it at any time during a period of up to twelve
(12) months following the effective date of such registration
statement or listing of Share Capital on any European Union
securities exchange (as the case may be). In order to
enforce the foregoing covenant, the Company may impose
stop-transfer instructions with respect to the Shares of each such
Shareholder until the end of such period.
Section
2.2
Effect of Death .
(a) Upon
the death of a Shareholder, that Shareholder’s legal
inheritor may, but shall not be required to, at any time following
forty-five (45) days after his or its legal appointment, offer to
sell to the Offerees, and the Offerees may, but shall not be
required to, purchase all or any portion of such Shares.
(b) Any
proposed sale or sale under this Section 2.2 shall be made in
accordance with Section 2.5, Section 2.6, Section 2.7 and Section
2.8.
Section
2.3
Sale Upon Insolvency . Each
Shareholder agrees that upon the occurrence of any of the following
events, unless excluded by law: (i) a
Shareholder’s adjudication as a bankrupt; (ii) institution by
or against a Shareholder of a petition for arrangement or any other
type of insolvency proceeding under any bankruptcy law or
otherwise; (iii) a Shareholder’s making of a general
assignment for the benefit of such Shareholder’s creditors,
(iv) the appointment of a receiver or trustee in bankruptcy of such
Shareholder for any of a Shareholder’s assets; or (v) the
taking, making or institution of any like or similar act or
proceeding involving a Shareholder, provided that such event,
adjudication, institution, making, appointment or similar act or
proceeding is not cured or rescinded within ninety (90) days (the
“ Cure Period ”), then, at the end of the Cure
Period, such Shareholder or such Shareholder’s successor or
successors in interest shall offer to sell to the Offerees, and the
Offerees may, but shall not be required to, purchase all, but not
less than all, of such Shareholder’s Shares and such sale
shall be made in accordance with Section 2.5, Section 2.6, Section
2.7 and Section 2.8.
Section
2.4
Right of First Refusal .
(a) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Agreement, if at any time on or after
April 2, 2014 any Shareholder desires to sell for cash or cash
equivalents all or any portion of his its Shares pursuant to a bona
fide offer from a third party who is not an Affiliate (for the
purposes of this Section 2.4, the “ Proposed
Transferee ”), such selling Shareholder shall submit a
written offer (the “ Offer ”) to sell such
Shares (the “ Offered Shares ”) to the Company
and the Shareholder Offerees on terms and conditions, including
price, not less favorable to the Company and the Shareholder
Offerees than those on which the selling Shareholder proposes to
sell such Offered Shares to the Proposed Transferee. The
Offer shall disclose the identity of the Proposed Transferee, the
Offered Shares proposed to be sold, the total number of Shares
owned by the selling Shareholder, the terms and conditions,
including price, of the proposed sale, and any other material facts
relating to the proposed sale. The Company may appoint a
third party or a Shareholder to exercise the right to purchase the
Offered Shares by delivering written notice to the selling
Shareholder.
(b) The
Company or the Shareholder Offerees may purchase some but not all
of the Offered Shares unless the Proposed Transferee advises that
he or it would not purchase less than all of the Offered Shares, in
which event the Company and the Shareholder Offerees may only
purchase all of the Offered Shares. Any sale proposed or
made under this Section 2.4 shall be made in accordance with
Section 2.5, Section 2.6 and Section 2.8.
(c) The
Shareholders’ right of refusal provided in this Section 2.4
shall not apply with respect to:
(i) the
occurrence of any Company Liquidity Event, or
(ii) any
redemption of Shares or Transfer of Shares by a Shareholder in a
transaction approved by the unanimous vote or consent of all of the
Shareholders of the Company;
(iii) any
Permitted Transfer.
Section
2.5
Option Period; Effecting Election .
(a)
Option Period . For each proposed
purchase of Shares by the Offerees made pursuant to Section 2.2,
Section 2.3 or Section 2.4, the Company and/or a Designated Person
shall have the first option to purchase all or any portion of such
Shares. The Company and/or such Designated Person shall
have one hundred and eighty (180) days (the “ Company
Option Period ”) from the effective Triggering Date to
consummate such a sale. If the Company and/or the
Designated Person does not consummate any such sale within the
Company Option Period, the Shareholder Offerees shall then have an
additional ninety (90) days, beginning on the day following the
expiration of the Company Option Period (the “ Shareholder
Offerees’ Option Period ”) during which they may
consummate the purchase of the applicable Shares. The
Company Option Period and the Shareholder Offerees’ Option
Period are collectively referred to herein as the “ Option
Periods .” If any such Share purchase is not
consummated either by the Company, the Designated Person or the
Shareholder Offerees within the applicable Option Period, the
Shares may be sold to a third party or otherwise transferred, as
applicable, by the Shareholder or his legal representative, as
applicable. Any purchase made by the Company and the
Shareholder Offerees under this Agreement shall result in all of
the applicable Shares being purchased, but the Company, the
Designated Person (if any) and the Shareholder Offerees may divide
the Shares purchased between themselves in any proportions that
they desire in their sole discretion; provided,
however , that each Shareholder Offeree shall have the
right to purchase at least that Shareholder Offeree’s pro
rata share of the Shares available for purchase by all of the
Shareholder Offerees. This pro rata share shall be
calculated for each Shareholder Offeree based on each Shareholder
Offeree’s ownership of Shares (as a percentage of all of the
Shares owned by all of the Shareholder Offerees). If a
Shareholder Offeree declines to purchase his pro rata share, the
other Shareholder Offerees may purchase any such remaining Shares
based on their pro rata share of these remaining Shares (excluding
any shares owned by the Shareholder Offeree who declined to
purchase his pro rata share in the initial Shareholder Offeree
purchase).
(b)
Effecting Election . Election by the
Company, a Designated Person or the Shareholder Offerees to
purchase Shares offered for sale pursuant to this Agreement shall
be effected by sending written notice of such election to such
offering Shareholder or such offering Shareholder’s
representative (as applicable) prior to the expiration of the
applicable Option Period.
Section
2.6
Effect of Failure to Elect to Purchase All Shares
.
(a) If
the Offerees do not elect to purchase all of the Shares offered for
sale by an offering Shareholder (or its legal inheritor or
representative) pursuant to Section 2.2 or Section 2.3, all of the
offering Shareholder’s Shares shall continue to be owned by
such Shareholder (or his legal representative, as
applicable). Such Shares may be transferred as
contemplated by the Shareholder (or legal representative), but such
Shares will at all times continue to be subject to the restrictions
of this Agreement and no such Transfer will be effective until each
proposed transferee executes and delivers a counterpart of this
Agreement.
(b) If
the Offerees do not elect to purchase all of the Shares offered for
sale by an offering Shareholder pursuant to Section 2.4 ,
all, but not less than all, of the offering Shareholder’s
Shares may be transferred to the bona fide offeror pursuant to the
terms of the bona fide offer within sixty (60) days following the
expiration of the Shareholder Offerees’ Option Period;
provided, however , that any Shares so transferred shall
continue to be subject to the restrictions of this Agreement and
such Transfer shall not be effective until the transferee executes
and delivers a counterpart of this Agreement. If all of
the offering Shareholder’s Shares are not transferred within
such 60-day period, such Shares shall again become subject to the
restrictions contained in this Agreement and shall not be
transferred except in accordance with the terms and conditions of
this Agreement.
Section
2.7
Purchase Price . Except as provided in Section
2.4 of this Agreement, the “ Purchase Price
” per share of the Shares proposed for Transfer or
Transferred shall be determined as of the last equity offering of
the Company and being equal to the price per share pursuant to the
last equity offering, provided such equity offering of the Company
was consummated within a six (6) month period of the proposed
Transfer and with parties who are not Affiliates of the Company or
any Shareholder, or in absence of an equity offering within the
said six (6) month period, by the written concurrence of a
Qualified Appraiser. The Qualified Appraiser shall be
chosen within five (5) business days after the Triggering Date. The
Company shall pay the costs and expenses of the Qualified
Appraiser. The Qualified Appraiser shall develop a fair
market value determination of the Company’s value in
accordance with generally accepted appraisal standards, including,
without limitation, consolidated historical revenues and earnings
(if any), firm and anticipated additional contracts and orders,
consolidated cash flow, Shareholders equity and comparable prices
and values for other businesses in the PV Equipment industry (the
“ Appraisal ”). The fair market value
of the Company set forth in the Appraisal shall be the basis for
the final and binding Purchase Price for the Shares proposed for
Transfer or Transferred. The Qualified Appraiser must be
firm or individual with previous background and experience in the
valuation and appraisal of corporations, which are similar in size,
industry and financial condition to the Company. The
Qualified Appraiser shall deliver a written report of its Appraisal
to all parties (which Appraisal shall include the Appraiser’s
determination of the Purchase Price, along with a sufficiently
detailed description of the methodologies, assumptions and
procedures used) within sixty (60) days after the designation of
the Qualified Appraiser. However, the Purchase Price to
be determined under this Section 2.7 shall not be less than the
price offered on a firm basis for all of the Shares proposed to be
Transferred by a bona fide third party buyer who is not an
Affiliate of the Company or of any Shareholder.
Section
2.8
Closing; Payment .
(a) The
closing (" Closing ") of any sale of a Shareholder’s
Shares to an Offeree pursuant to Section 2.2 or Section 2.3 shall
take place at the office of the Company at any point prior to the
expiration of the applicable Option Period or in the event of a
sale under Section 2.4, on the sixtieth (60
th ) business day following the date the Offer was
made. The certificate or certificates representing the
Shares to be purchased by the Offerees, properly endorsed for
transfer or with an executed stock power attached, shall be
delivered at the Closing free and clear of all liens, security
interests, pledges, charges or other encumbrances of any nature
whatsoever, except for the rights of the Offerees set forth in this
Agreement, against the payment of the purchase price therefore,
unless otherwise agreed by the Parties of the Purchase and accepted
by the other Shareholders and the company in written form.
.
(b) The
Purchase Price for any purchase of Shares by the Company under this
Agreement shall be made exclusively in cash, unless otherwise
agreed to by the Shareholder or his legal inheritor.
(c) Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Section 2.8, if an Offeree is
purchasing the Shares pursuant to Section 2.4 and is paying the
purchase price set forth in the bona fide offer, the purchase price
shall be paid in accordance with the terms and conditions contained
in the bona fide offer.
Section
2.9
Failure to Deliver Shares . If a
Shareholder (for the purposes of this Section 2.9, an “
Obligated Shareholder ”) becomes obligated to sell any
Shares to any Offeree hereunder, as determined by a final
nonappealable order from a court of competent jurisdiction, and
fails to deliver such Shares in accordance with the terms of this
Agreement, the Offeree may, at its option, in addition to all other
remedies it may have, send to the Obligated Shareholder the
Purchase Price for such Shares. Upon receipt of a final
nonappealable order from a court of competent jurisdiction, the
Company, upon written notice to the Obligated Shareholder shall (i)
cancel on its books the certificate or certificates representing
the Shares to be sold and (ii) shall issue, in lieu thereof; in the
name of the Offeree, a new certificate or certificates representing
such Shares, and all of the Obligated Shareholder’s rights in
and to such Shares shall immediately terminate.
Section
2.10
Tag-Along Rights .
(a) If
at any time after April 2, 2014, any of the Shareholders, whether
alone or together by agreement, contract or understanding (for the
purposes of this Section 2.10, each a “ Selling Party
”) wishes to sell any Shares owned by it in a single
transaction or series of related transactions equaling forty-nine
percent (49%) or more of all of the Share Capital of the Company
then issued and outstanding (on a fully-diluted basis counting all
issued options, warrants and convertible securities) to any third
party (other than to a permitted transferee of such Selling Party
in connection with a Permitted Transfer or any other Shareholder
(see Section 2.12)) (for the purposes of this Section 2.10, the
“ Purchaser ”), and the Selling Party has
complied with all of the other requirements of this Agreement, the
Selling Party shall cause a written notice of the offer by the
Purchaser to purchase such Shares (a “ Tag-Along
Notice ”) to be delivered to each of the other
Shareholders (each a “ Tag-Along Shareholder ”),
setting forth the price per Share to be paid by the Purchaser, the
identity of the Purchaser and the other principal terms and
conditions of the Purchaser’s offer to purchase such Shares,
and each Shareholder shall have the right to offer for sale to the
Purchaser, as a condition of such sale by the Selling Party, the
same proportion of the Shares then held by such Shareholder as the
proposed sale represents with respect to the total number of Shares
that the Selling Party owns or has the right to acquire pursuant to
outstanding options, warrants or convertible securities, at the
same price per Share and on the same terms and conditions as
involved in such sale by the Selling Party. Each
Shareholder shall notify the Selling Party of its intention to sell
its Shares pursuant to this Section 2.10 as soon as practicable
after receipt of the Tag-Along Notice, but in no event later than
thirty (30) days after receipt thereof.
(b) In
the event that any Shareholder elects to sell its pro rata portion
to the Purchaser, the Tag-Along Shareholders shall not be obligated
to execute and deliver any document which (A) requires such
Tag-Along Shareholder to make representations or warrants regarding
any aspect whatsoever of the business or prospects of the Company
and/or its Subsidiaries, (B) would subject such Tag-Along
Shareholder to restrictive covenants, or (C) requires such
Tag-Along Shareholder to be obligated for any indemnification or
other obligations other than (so long as the Selling Party(s) do at
least the same) (1) the obligation to join on a pro-rata basis (but
not on a joint and several basis), based on its respective share of
the aggregate proceeds paid by the Purchaser (but only up to the
amount of net proceeds actually received by such Tag-Along
Shareholder in the sale), in any indemnification that the Selling
Party(s) have agreed to, and (2) any such obligations that relate
specifically to a particular Shareholder such as indemnification
with respect to representations and warranties given by a
Shareholder regarding such Shareholder’s title to and
ownership of Shares.
(c) The
Selling Party and each other Shareholder intending to sell Shares
hereunder shall sell to the Purchaser all, or at the option of the
Purchaser, any part of the Shares proposed to be sold by them at
not less than the price per Share and upon other terms and
conditions, if any, not more favorable to the Purchaser than those
set forth in the Tag-Along Notice; provided, however , that
any purchase of less than all of such Shares by the Purchaser shall
be made from the Selling Party and each other Shareholder intending
to sell Shares hereunder pro rata based upon the number of Shares
then held by the Selling Party and each such other Shareholder
electing to sell to the Purchaser (calculated on a fully diluted
basis).
ARTICLE 3 - CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE AND AGREEMENTS
Section
3.1
Major Decisions, Competing Business Ventures and Affiliated
Sales .
(a)
Actions of the Board of Directors and Shareholders; Major
Decisions. The business of the Company and its Subsidiaries
shall be conducted and managed in the following manner:
(i) Except
for Major Decisions (as hereinafter defined) and the provisions of
Section 3.1(a)(ii) below, the operation of the business of the
Company and its Subsidiaries shall be managed by the Board of
Directors of the Company who shall act in accordance with the Rules
on Procedures of the Board of Directors annexed hereto as
Schedule C (the “ Rules of Procedure
”).
(ii) The
hiring or removal of any “Executive Officer” (as
defined) shall be determined by a majority of the members of the
Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting of the Board
of Directors called in person or by telephonic conference call in
accordance with the Rules of Procedure. As in this
Agreement, the term “ Executive Officer ” shall
mean and include the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the
Chief Technology Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the
Company and its Subsidiaries.
(iii) The
events listed on Schedule A hereto are deemed to be “
Major Decisions ” for the
Company. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
Agreement, the Company’s Articles of Incorporation or the
Rules of Procedure, except as otherwise prohibited by applicable
law, for so long as this Agreement shall remain in force and
effect:
(A) if
such Major Decision which, under the laws of Hungary, is an action
that requires the approval, consent or action by the Board of
Directors of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, the
unanimous affirmative vote, consent or approval of
all of persons designated by each of Solar Thin and New Palace
Investments Ltd. to serve as the members of such Boards of
Directors shall be required to approve, adopt or ratify such Major
Decision, and
(B) if
such Major Decision which, under the laws of Hungary, is an action
that requires the approval, consent or action by the Shareholders
of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, the
unanimous affirmative vote, consent or approval of
each of Solar Thin and New Palace Investments Ltd. or their
designees who are listed on Schedule B hereto shall be
required to approve, adopt or ratify such Major
Decision. The only Shareholders empowered to vote on
Major Decisions are Solar Thin and New Palace Investments Ltd. or
their designees who are listed on Schedule B
hereto.
(iv) In
connection with a Major Decision, in the event that a member of the
Board of Directors or either of Solar Thin or New Palace or their
designees who are listed on Schedule B hereto fail or refuse
to affirmatively vote or consent in connection with any one or more
Major Decisions at any regular or special meeting of the Board of
Directors or Shareholders scheduled to be held not earlier than ten
(10) business days (as recognized in Hungary) after the date
written or electronic mail notice of such meeting of the Board of
Directors or Shareholders is given as per Schedule B hereto
to all directors and each of Solar Thin and New Palace, then such
Shareholder shall be deemed not to have accepted and
to have voted against implementation of such Major
Decision.
(v) Each
of Solar Thin and New Palace has the right at any time by written
notice to the other Shareholder, to (A) remove or replace its
representative listed on Schedule B to vote on Major
Decisions pursuant to prior written notification to the Company and
to the other Shareholders, or (B) to change the addresses for
notices set forth on Schedule A .
(vi) In
case the right to accept such purchase order was not delegated to
the Chief Executive Officer, the acceptance of purchase orders for
PV Equipment shall constitute a Major Decision of the Board, and
shall be implemented pursuant to the procedures for accepting such
purchase orders are set forth in paragraph 7 of the Rules of
Procedure, including completing the Factory Sale Form constituting
Exhibit 2 to this Agreement (the “ Factory Sale
Form ”). Except only for purchase orders of a
size or commitment by the Company that constitute a Major Decision
of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer is expressly authorized
to negotiate, accept and execute all other purchase
orders.
(b)
Competing Business Ventures by Solar Thin Films.
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, the Restated
Stock Exchange Agreement or in the respective employment agreements
dated of even date herewith between the Company and István
Krafcsik and Attila Horváth (the “ Executive
Employment Agreements ”), in the event
that Solar Thin shall, at any time or from time to time,
seek to acquire or establish, directly, through any Subsidiary
(other than the Company) or in connection with joint ventures with
Persons who are not Affiliates of Solar Thin, one or more PV
Facilities to manufacture PV Equipment that produce PV Modules (a
“ Competing Business Venture ”), Solar Thin
shall first comply with the following procedures:
(i) Solar
Thin shall present full details of the business opportunity
relating to the Competing Business Venture to the board of
directors of the Company;
(ii) if
and to the extent that capital or other funding for the business
opportunity relating to the Competing Business Venture shall be
required, if available in the Company, the Company shall provide
such capital or funding; and
(iii) if
the Company is unable provide such capital or funding, the same
shall be provided by the Shareholders in proportion to their
individual ownership of the Shares.
Subject to the
foregoing procedures, if New Palace, acting through Istvan Krafcsik
in accordance with Schedule B hereto, shall
determine, pursuant to a Major Decision, that the Company shall not
proceed with or invest in such Competing Business Venture, then and
in such event, Solar Thin may engage in such Competing Business
Venture directly itself, through any Subsidiary (other than the
Company) or in connection with joint ventures with Persons who are
not Affiliates of Solar Thin; provided, that
:
(A) the
Company and the Person established to engage in such Competing
Business Venture shall enter into a non-exclusive technology
transfer and license agreement with the Company pursuant to which
the Company will provide certain mutually agreed upon technology,
personnel expertise, know-how, installation, start-up services and
other intellectual property to such Person, all upon such arms
length terms and conditions as shall be comparable to any similar
arrangement entered into with any Person who is not Affiliated with
Solar Thin; and
(B) if
such Competing Business Venture shall consist of a joint venture or
similar arrangement with any Person who is not an Affiliate of
Solar Thin or its Subsidiaries:
(1) at
or immediately following the closing of such Competing Business
Venture, Solar Thin shall assign directly to István Krafcsik
and Attila Horváth or New Palace, a percentage of the 100%
of the equity or earnings and profits of the joint venture or other
entity established to engage in such Competing Business Venture
that is owned or made available to Solar Thin (the “
Available Solar Thin Equity ”) which shall be equal to
the same percentage by which the Share Capital of István
Krafcsik and Attila Horváth or New Palace then owned in the
Company bears to 100% of the outstanding Share Capital of the
Company (the “ Minority Shareholders’ Equity
”); and
(2) The
Minority Shareholders Equity in any Competing Business Venture
shall be convertible at any time, at the option of István
Krafcsik and Attila Horváth or New Palace (as applicable)
shares of common stock of Solar Thin at a conversion price equal to
100% of the average of the closing prices of Solar Thin’s
common stock for the 20 trading days immediately prior to the date
notice of conversion is given.
For the
avoidance of doubt, if (i) the Available Solar Thin Equity in such
Competing Business Venture shall be 40% of 100% of the equity or
earnings and profits of the joint venture or other entity
established to engage in such Competing Business Venture, and (ii)
István Krafcsik and Attila Horváth or New Palace then
own 49% of the Share Capital of the Company, then and in such
event, the Minority Shareholders’ Equity in such Competing
Business Venture shall be 19.6% of 100% of the equity or earnings
and profits of the joint venture or other entity established to
engage in such Competing Business Venture.
(c)
Competing Business Ventures by István Krafcsik and Attila
Horváth or New Palace . Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained in this Agreement, the Restated Stock Exchange
Agreement or in the Executive Employment Agreements, during the
term of this Agreement and for so long as István Krafcsik
and Attila Horváth are employed on a full-time basis as
senior executive officers of the Company and its Subsidiaries under
the Executive Employment Agreements or otherwise:
(i) In
the event that István Krafcsik and Attila Horváth
propose that the Company or its Subsidiaries enter into any one or
more agreement to furnish PV Equipment with a customer that would
obligate either the Company, any Subsidiary of the Company or Solar
Thin to directly or indirectly “buy-back,” repurchase,
or otherwise act as a distributor or manufacturer’s
representative to sell and market for resale any portion of the PV
Modules produced by such customer using the PV Equipment being sold
to such customer, such agreement or arrangement (a “ PV
Module Distribution Arrangement ”) is a Major Decision.
In the event that Solar Thin or its representatives on the Board of
Directors do not agree to directly or otherwise permit the Company
or any Subsidiary of the Company to enter into such PV Module
Distribution Arrangement, then the Parties shall mutually undertake
to find a third Person who is not an Affiliate to assume all or
part of the financial obligations in connection with such PV Module
Distribution Arrangement, form an entity and enter into a joint
venture or related partnership or profit sharing arrangement with
such Person (the “ Module Distribution Joint Venture
”). In such event, as between Solar Thin, on one
hand, and New Palace and its Affiliates, on the other hand, the
equity in any such Module Distribution Joint Venture shall be in
the same proportion as the Parties then ownership of the Shares in
the Company at such time such Module Distribution Joint Venture
shall be entered into. If, for any reason, Solar Thin elects not to
participate in such Module Distribution Joint Venture, then, and
only in such event, New Palace and/or Istvan Krafcsik
and Attila Horvath may directly participate in such Module
Distribution Joint Venture; provided, that such participation shall
not interfere in any material respect with their duties and
obligations to the Company under this Agreement and the Executive
Employment Agreements.
(ii) In
addition to their rights described in Section 3.1(c)(i) above, New
Palace, István Krafcsik or Attila Horváth shall also
be entitled to make “passive” investments in any Person
who is not an Affiliate and who manufactures PV Modules, so long as
such Person is not engaged in any business which is in direct
competition with the business then being conducted by the Company,
its Subsidiaries or Solar Thin; provided, however,
that (A) Solar Thin shall first be offered an opportunity to
participate in such investment (to the extent of its percentage
ownership of the share capital of the Company at the time of the
investment in the equity that is made available to all Parties
hereto or their Affiliates), and (B) neither István Krafcsik
nor Attila Horváth shall render any employment, consulting
or other services to such Person or its subsidiaries.
(d)
Affiliated Equipment Purchasers.
In the
event that Solar Thin or any Subsidiary or Affiliate of Solar Thin
(other than the Company or its Subsidiaries) in which Solar Thin or
such Subsidiary or Affiliate shall own not less than thirty-three
and one-third percent (33-1/3%) of the equity or earnings and
profits, shall engage in the sale of PV Modules, such Person(s) (an
“ Affiliated Equipment Purchaser ”) shall use
the Company as its preferred vendor and supplier, and offer the
Company an opportunity to quote and bid upon purchase orders and
contracts for all PV Equipment to be purchased by such Affiliated
Equipment Purchaser. In such connection, if the Company
(i) offers terms and conditions for the sale of such quantities or
lines of PV Equipment that are, in the aggregate, as favorable as
those proposed by any competitor to the Company for the same type
and quantity or lines of PV Equipment, and (ii) in the reasonable
good faith judgment of such Affiliated Equipment Purchaser, the
Company then has the physical and financial resources to meet the
proposed delivery schedule(s), then Solar Thin shall cause (if an
owner of more than 50% of such Affiliated Equipment Purchaser), or
shall use its best efforts (if an owner of less than 50% of such
Affiliated Equipment Purchaser) to cause, such purchase order and
contract to be awarded to the Company. In connection
with the above, such Affiliated Equipment Purchaser shall have the
right to purchase PV Equipment from the Company at the
lower of either (A) the price bid by the Company in
accordance with clause (i) above, and accepted by the Affiliated
Equipment Purchase in accordance with clause (ii) above, or (B) at
a price equal to 80% of the Gross Profit Margin that is then being
received by the Company for sales of similar quantities of PV
Equipment to Persons who are not Affiliates (“ Comparable
Sales ”); provided, that such Gross Profit Margin shall
not be less than the sum of (x) cost of goods sold (as determined
in accordance with US GAAP), plus (y) 25%. In addition,
unless otherwise agreed as a Major Decision, not more than thirty
percent (30%) of the Company’s annual production of PV
Equipment will be delivered to such Affiliated Equipment Purchasers
at the prices and terms and conditions set forth herein.