Unassociated Document
UNITED
STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON,
D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE
14A
(Rule
14a-101)
Information
Required in Proxy Statement
Schedule
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Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the
Securities
Exchange Act of 1934
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Definitive
Proxy Statement
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Definitive
Additional Materials
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Soliciting
Material Pursuant to §
240.14a-l
1(c) or §
240.14a-12
|
Idaho
General Mines, Inc.
(Name
of
Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
N/A
(Name
of
Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement if other than the Registrant)
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of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
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Idaho
General Mines, Inc.
1726
Cole Blvd, Suite 115
Lakewood,
CO 80401
Notice
of Annual Meeting of Shareholders
To
be Held on October 4, 2007
Dear
Shareholder:
We
are
pleased to invite you to attend our Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Idaho
General Mines, Inc. (the “Company”), which will be held at 9:00 am, local
Colorado time on October 4, 2007, at 1726 Cole Blvd, Suite 115, Lakewood,
Colorado 80401. The meeting will be held:
·
|
to
elect seven members to the Board of Directors to serve until the
next
annual meeting of shareholders and until their respective successors
are
elected and qualified;
|
·
|
to
approve the reincorporation of the Company into the State of Delaware
through a merger with a newly formed, wholly-owned Delaware
subsidiary;
|
·
|
to
approve an amendment to the Idaho General Mines, Inc. 2006 Equity
Incentive Plan;
|
·
|
to
approve an amendment to accelerate the termination date of the
Shareholder
Rights Plan; and
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·
|
to
transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting
or
any adjournment thereof.
|
Only
shareholders of record on the books of the Company at the close of business
on
August 20, 2007, the record date fixed by the Board of Directors, are entitled
to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting and at any postponements or
adjournments thereof.
It
is
important that your shares be represented at the meeting whether or not you
are
personally able to attend. We therefore urge you to complete, date and sign
the
accompanying proxy and mail it in the enclosed postage-paid envelope as promptly
as possible. Your proxy is revocable, either in writing or by voting in person
at the Annual Meeting, at any time prior to its exercise. Thank you for your
timely response.
We
look
forward to seeing you at the Annual Meeting on October 4, 2007.
Sincerely,
Bruce
D.
Hansen
Chief
Executive Officer
Idaho
General Mines, Inc.
1726
Cole Blvd, Suite 115
Lakewood,
CO 80401
PROXY
STATEMENT
Relating
to
Annual
Meeting of Shareholders
To
be held on October 4, 2007
INTRODUCTION
This
proxy statement is being furnished by the Board of Directors (the “Board of
Directors” or the “Board”) of Idaho General Mines, Inc. (the “Company”) to
holders of shares of the Company’s $0.001 par value common stock in connection
with the solicitation by the Board of Directors of proxies to be voted at the
Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company to be held on October 4, 2007
at
9:00 am, local Colorado time, at 1726 Cole Blvd, Suite 115, Colorado 80401,
and
any postponements or adjournments thereof, for purposes set forth in the
accompanying Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders. This proxy statement
and
the accompanying proxy card are first being mailed to the shareholders on or
about August 31, 2007.
A
proxy
card is enclosed for your use.
You
are requested on behalf of the Board of Directors to sign, date, and return
the
proxy card in the accompanying envelope,
which
is postage-paid if mailed in the United States. Your execution of the enclosed
proxy will not affect your right as a shareholder to attend the Annual Meeting
and to vote in person. Any shareholder giving a proxy has the right to revoke
it
at any time by either (i) providing the Company a later-dated proxy prior to
the
Annual Meeting or presenting a later-dated proxy at the Annual Meeting, (ii)
providing the Secretary of the Company a written revocation prior to the Annual
Meeting, or (iii) attending the Annual Meeting and voting in
person.
PURPOSE
OF THE ANNUAL MEETING
At
the
Annual Meeting, shareholders entitled to vote will be asked to consider and
take
action on the following matters:
·
|
To
elect seven members to the Board of Directors to serve until the
next
annual meeting of shareholders and until their respective successors
are
elected and qualified;
|
·
|
To
approve the reincorporation of the Company into the State of Delaware
through a merger with a newly formed, wholly-owned Delaware
subsidiary;
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·
|
To
approve an amendment to the Idaho General Mines, Inc. 2006 Equity
Incentive Plan;
|
·
|
To
approve an amendment to accelerate the termination date of the
Shareholder
Rights Plan; and
|
·
|
To
transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting
or
any adjournment thereof.
|
As
your vote is important, it is requested that you complete and sign the enclosed
proxy card and mail it promptly in the postage paid return envelope provided.
Shares
cannot be voted at the meeting unless the owner is present to vote or is
represented by proxy.
VOTING
AT ANNUAL MEETING
Record
Date; Quorum.
The
Board of Directors of the Company has fixed the close of business on August
20,
2007 as the record date for the purpose of determining shareholders of the
Company entitled to notice of and to vote at the Annual Meeting. At the close
of
business on that date, the Company had [ • ] issued and outstanding shares of
common stock. A majority of such shares will constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business at the Annual Meeting. Proxies that are submitted but
are not voted for or against (whether by abstentions, broker non-votes, or
otherwise) will be treated as present for all matters considered at the meeting,
and will be counted for purposes of a quorum.
Solicitation
of Proxies.
The
accompanying proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors of the
Company and the entire cost of solicitation will be borne by the Company.
Following the original mailing of the proxies and soliciting materials,
directors, officers and employees of the Company may, but do not presently
intend to, solicit proxies by mail, telephone, telegraph, or personal
interviews. The Company may request brokers, custodians, nominees, and other
record holders to forward copies of the proxies and soliciting materials to
persons for whom they hold shares of the Company and to request authority for
the exercise of proxies. In such cases the Company will reimburse such holders
for their reasonable expenses. The Company may utilize the services of a proxy
solicitation firm.
Revocation
of Proxy. Any
proxy
delivered in the accompanying form may be revoked by the person executing the
proxy by:
|
·
|
providing
written notice to that effect to the Secretary of the Company at
any time
before the authority thereby granted is
exercised;
|
|
·
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providing
a duly executed proxy bearing a later date at the Annual Meeting
or to the
Company prior to the Annual Meeting; or
|
|
·
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attending
the Annual Meeting and voting in
person.
|
How
Proxies will be Voted.
Assuming
a quorum is present, proxies received by the Board of Directors in the
accompanying form will be voted at the Annual Meeting as specified therein
by
the person giving the proxy. All shares represented by valid proxy will be
voted
at the discretion of the proxy holders on any other matters that may properly
come before the meeting. However, the Board of Directors does not know of any
matters to be considered at the meeting other than those specified in the Notice
of Annual Meeting.
Required
Votes. With
respect to the election of directors, the seven candidates receiving the highest
number of votes will be elected. However, if any candidate does not receive
a
favorable vote by a majority of the votes cast in the election, under the
Corporate Governance Guidelines adopted by the Board, he or she must submit
their resignation from the Board of Directors. See Proposal 1 for further
discussion of the majority voting provisions of the Corporate Governance
Guidelines. With respect to the approval of the Company’s reincorporation,
amendment to the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, and amendment to the Shareholder
Rights Agreement to accelerate the termination date of the Shareholder Rights
Agreement, the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast is
required.
Effect
of Abstentions and Broker Non-Votes. Abstentions
occur when shareholders abstain from voting for the nominees for director or
abstain from voting on other proposals. Brokers and other intermediaries,
holding shares in street name for their customers, are generally required to
vote the shares in the manner directed by their customers. If their customers
do
not give any direction, brokers may vote the shares on routine matters, such
as
the election of directors, but not on non-routine matters. The absence of a
vote
on a non-routine matter is referred to as a broker non-vote. Any shares
represented at the Annual Meeting but not voted (whether by abstention, broker
non-vote or otherwise) will have no impact in the election of directors, except
to the extent that the failure to vote for an individual results in another
individual receiving a larger proportion of votes. Any shares represented at
the
Annual Meeting but not voted (whether by abstention, broker non-vote or
otherwise) with respect to the proposal to approve the Company’s
reincorporation, amendment to the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan and approve an
amendment to the Shareholder Rights Agreement to accelerate the termination
date
of the Shareholder Rights Agreement
will
have the no effect on a vote for such proposal.
Voting
Power.
Shareholders of the common stock of the Company are entitled to one vote for
each share held. There is no cumulative voting for directors.
PROPOSAL
1: ELECTION OF DIRECTORS
The
Board
of Directors currently consists of nine members but will be reduced to seven
following the Annual Meeting. The Company’s directors are to be elected at each
annual meeting of shareholders. At this Annual Meeting, seven directors
are to be elected to serve until the next annual meeting of shareholders and
until their successors are elected and qualified. The nominees for election
as
directors at this Annual Meeting set forth in the table below are all
recommended by the Board of Directors of the Company.
In
the
event that any of the nominees for director should become unable to serve if
elected, it is intended that shares represented by proxies which are executed
and returned will be voted for such substitute nominee(s) as may be recommended
by the Company’s existing Board of Directors.
The
seven nominees
receiving the highest number of votes cast at the Annual Meeting will be elected
as the Company’s directors to serve until the next annual meeting of
shareholders or until their successors are elected and qualified. Pursuant
to
the Corporate Governance Guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors, if a
nominee for director does not receive the vote of at least a majority of the
votes cast at any meeting for the election of directors at which a quorum is
present and in which the number of nominees does not exceed the number of
directors to be elected, no successor has been elected at such meeting and
the
director is required to promptly tender his or her resignation to the Board
of
Directors. For purposes of the policy, a majority of votes cast means that
the number of shares voted “for” a director’s election exceeds the number of
votes cast “against” that director's election. The Corporate Governance
and Nominating Committee will consider the resignation and make a recommendation
to the Board as to whether to accept or reject the tendered resignation, or
whether other action should be taken. The Board will act on the tendered
resignation, taking into account the recommendation of the Corporate Governance
and Nominating Committee, within 90 days from the date of the certification
of
the election results, and publicly disclose its decision promptly
thereafter. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee, in making
its recommendation, and the Board in making its decision, may each consider
any
factors or other information that it considers appropriate and relevant.
The director who tenders his or her resignation will not participate in the
recommendation of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee or the
decision of the Board with respect to his or her resignation. If no
director receives a majority of shares cast in an uncontested election, then
the
incumbent directors will nominate a new slate of directors and hold a special
meeting for the purpose of electing those nominees within 180 days after
certification of the shareholder vote.
THE
BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” THE 7 NOMINEES
DIRECTORS
AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
The
following table provides the names, positions, ages and principal occupations
of
our current directors, and those who are nominated for election as a director
at
the Annual Meeting, and our executive officers:
|
|
|
|
Name
and Position with The Company
|
Age
|
Director/Officer
Since
|
Principal
Occupation
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Russell
Executive
Director and Chairman of the Board
(Retiring)
|
73
|
Director
since January 1967 to present; Officer since April 1984
|
Executive
Director and Chairman of the Board
|
|
|
|
|
Bruce
D. Hansen
Chief
Executive Officer and Director
(Nominee)
|
49
|
Chief
Executive Officer and Director since January 2007
|
Chief
Executive Officer and Director
|
|
|
|
|
John
B. Benjamin (1)(2)
Director
(Retiring)
|
77
|
Director
since February 1974
|
Retired
mining professional
|
|
|
|
|
Gene
W. Pierson (2)
Director
(Nominee)
|
69
|
Director
since March 2002
|
Mining
consultant
|
|
|
|
|
Norman
A. Radford (1)(2)(3)
Director
(Nominee)
|
74
|
Director
since 2002
|
Retired
mining professional
|
|
|
|
|
R.
David Russell
Director
(Nominee)
|
49
|
Director
since 2002
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Gold Corporation, a TSX/AMEX
listed
gold mining company
|
|
|
|
|
Richard
F. Nanna (2)(3)
Director
(Nominee)
|
57
|
Director
since November 2003
|
Vice
President Exploration for Apollo Gold Corporation, a TSX/AMEX listed
gold
mining company
|
|
|
|
|
Ricardo
M. Campoy (1)(2)(3)
Director
(Nominee)
|
56
|
Director
since August 2006
|
International
natural resources banker
|
|
|
|
|
Mark
A. Lettes (1)(2)(3)
Director
(Nominee)
|
58
|
Director
since April 2007
|
Retired
from Apex Silver
|
|
|
|
|
David
A. Chaput
Chief
Financial Officer
|
49
|
Officer
since April 2007
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
|
|
|
Michael
K. Branstetter
Secretary,
Treasurer and Legal Counsel
|
53
|
Officer
since November 1992
|
Attorney
with the firm of Hull & Branstetter Chartered
|
_____________________
(1)
Member of Audit and Finance Committee. Mr. Lettes is chairman of this
committee.
(2)
Member of Nominating Committee. Mr. Nanna is chairman of this
committee.
(3)
Member of Compensation Committee. Mr. Campoy is chairman of this
committee.
We
have
no knowledge of any arrangements, including any pledge by any person of our
securities, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a change
in our control. We are not, to the best of our knowledge, directly or indirectly
owned or controlled by another corporation or foreign government.
The
term
of office of the directors is for one year and until their successors are
elected. Officers are appointed annually by the Board of Directors and
serve at the pleasure of the Board.
Robert
L. Russell,
a
professional engineer, has been a director of the Company since 1967 and our
President and Treasurer from 1979 to 1980, our President and Chief Executive
Officer from 1984 to January 2007 and our Executive Director since January
2007.
Mr. Russell held positions with Exxon Minerals from 1976 to 1984 and
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, Inc. where he served as Vice President of
Mining from 1988 to 1995. Mr. Russell was Executive Vice President and
General Manager of Freeport’s Indonesian operations. From 1995 to 1998, Mr.
Russell was employed by Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, most recently as
General Manager of the Nchanga Division. Mr. Russell is a director of
Mines Management, Inc.
Bruce
D. Hansen
has been
our Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company since January 2007.
From September 2005 until he joined us in January 2007, Mr. Hansen served as
Senior Vice President, Operations Services and Development at Newmont Mining
Corporation. Prior to that, Mr. Hansen served as Senior Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer at Newmont Mining Corporation from July 1999 to
September 2005. Mr. Hansen also served as the Vice President of Project
Development for Newmont and previously was the Senior Vice President of
Corporate Development for Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation. Mr. Hansen is
also
a director of Energy Fuels Inc.
John
B. Benjamin has
been
a director of the Company since 1974. Mr. Benjamin has been retired since
1989. Prior to that time, Mr. Benjamin was employed from 1987 to 1989 by
Dames & Moore, a Denver, Colorado based engineering company as a field
sampling and air/water monitoring coordinator assistant for The Bunker Hill
Superfund Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study. Before joining
Dames & Moore, Mr. Benjamin was employed by the Bunker Hill Company for
approximately 27 years.
Gene
W. Pierson,
a
mining engineer, has been a director of the Company since 2002. Since 1999,
Mr.
Pierson has been a self-employed consultant for mining companies in mineral
economics and management. From 1981 to 1999, Mr. Pierson was employed by
Hecla Mining Company as a senior analyst performing research and analytical
work
with management, engineering, metallurgical, geology, accounting and financial
staff.
Norman
A. Radford,
a
mining engineer, has been a director of the Company since 2002. Mr.
Radford graduated from the University of Idaho with a Bachelor of Science
degree. From 1982 to 1985, Mr. Radford was employed by Coeur d’Alene Mines
Corporation as a consulting geologist providing full time consulting services
to
the chairman of the board. From 1965 to 1982, Mr. Radford was employed by
The Bunker Hill Company as a senior mine geologist. Mr. Radford has been
semi-retired since 1985 and has run a jewelry store since that
year.
R.
David Russell has
been
the President & CEO/director of the Canadian gold company Apollo Gold
Corporation (“Apollo Gold”) since 2002, which is listed on the TSX and on AMEX
and has been a director of the Company since 2002. In 1999, Mr. Russell
founded Nevoro Gold Corporation which was subsequently merged with Apollo Gold.
From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Russell was Vice President and Chief Operating
Officer for Getchell Gold Corporation (“Getchell”), a Nevada gold producer.
Prior to working for Getchell, Mr. Russell was General Manager, US
operations, for LAC Minerals Ltd. and, after their acquisition, Barrick Gold
Corporation. Mr. Russell is the son of our Executive Director, Robert L
Russell.
Richard
F. Nanna
is Vice
President Exploration for Apollo Gold and has been a director of the Company
since 2003. Mr. Nanna was Vice President of Exploration in Nevada for
Getchell from 1994 to 1999.
Ricardo
M. Campoy has
been
a director of the Company since August 2006. Mr.
Campoy has worked as an international natural resources banker for twenty-six
years, having served in executive finance positions at various firms, including
as Head of Mining & Metals of WestLB AG and as Member/Senior Advisor of
McFarland Dewey & Co., LLC. Prior to Mr. Campoy’s work in finance, he
was employed as a mining engineer. Mr. Campoy is currently in private practice
as a financial and corporate advisor to the natural resources
industry.
Mark
A. Lettes
has been
a director of the Company since April 2007. Mr. Lettes served as Chief Financial
Officer of Apex Silver Mines from June 1998 to June 2006, and was responsible
for financing of Apex’s large-scale San Cristobal silver and zinc mine in
Bolivia. Prior to joining Apex, Mr. Lettes held senior financial positions
with
Cyprus Amax, Amax, Inc., and Amax Gold. Mr. Lettes serves on the Board of
Directors of Yukon Zinc Corporation.
David
A. Chaput
has been
our Chief Financial Officer since April 2007. Mr. Chaput has more than 26 years
of financial and operational experience in the metals and mining
industries. Mr. Chaput was with The Doe Run Resources Corporation until
September 2006, where he served as Chief Financial Officer since May 2004,
as
Vice President, Finance since September 2001 and as Treasurer since February
1993. From June 1987 through January 1993, Mr. Chaput served as Manager of
Credit and Financial Services of The Doe Run Resources Corporation.
Michael
K. Branstetter
has been
our Secretary and Treasurer since November 1992, and acts as our corporate
counsel. Mr. Branstetter is the principal of Hull & Branstetter
Chartered, a law firm in Idaho.
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS, BOARD COMMITTEES AND DIRECTOR
INDEPENDENCE
During
the year ended December 31, 2006, there were six meetings of the Board of
Directors. Each of the incumbent directors who were on the Board of Directors
during 2006 attended at least 75% of the total number of meetings of the Board
of Directors and the total number of meetings held by the committees of the
Board of Directors on which he served. In 2007, the Company adopted a policy
requiring members of the Board of Directors to attend the Company’s annual
meeting of shareholders. All of our then-sitting directors attended our annual
meeting of shareholders held on December 13, 2006.
Our
Board
of Directors has three standing committees: Audit and Finance Committee,
Compensation Committee, and Nominating Committee. Each committee is described
more fully below.
Shareholders
may communicate with the Board of Directors by sending an email or a letter
to
Idaho General Mines, Inc. Board of Directors, c/o Corporate Secretary,
1726
Cole
Blvd, Suite 115 Lakewood, CO 80401, info@idahogeneralmines.com.
The
Corporate Secretary will receive the correspondence and forward it to the
Chairman of the applicable Board of Directors Committee or to any individual
director or directors to whom the communication is directed.
Audit
and Finance Committee.
Our
Audit
and Finance Committee members are: Mark A. Lettes (Chairman), Norman A. Radford,
Ricardo M. Campoy, and John Benjamin, all being independent directors in
accordance with the listing standards of the American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”).
The Audit and Finance Committee held six meetings in 2006. The Audit and Finance
Committee recommends a firm of independent certified public accountants to
audit
the annual financial statements; discusses and approves in advance the scope
of
the audit with the auditors; reviews with the independent auditors their
independence, the financial statements, and their audit report; reviews
management’s administration of the system of internal accounting controls; and
reviews our procedures relating to business ethics. Our Board of Directors
has approved a written Audit and Finance Committee charter, a copy of which
was
filed as an appendix to our Proxy Statement for the 2006 annual meeting of
shareholders. Mark A. Lettes is deemed the committee’s financial
expert.
Compensation
Committee.
Our
Compensation Committee is composed of Ricardo M. Campoy (Chairman), Mark A.
Lettes, Norman A. Radford and Richard F. Nanna. The Compensation Committee
held
two meetings in 2006. The primary purposes of the Compensation Committee are:
(i) to assist the Board of Directors in discharging its responsibilities
in respect of compensation of our executive officers, including setting salary
and annual bonus levels for our senior executive officers as well as overseeing
the senior staff bonus plans, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors;
(ii) to review and evaluate compensation information for inclusion in our
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission; (iii) to provide
recommendations to the Board of Directors in connection with directors’
compensation; and (iv) to provide recommendations to the Board of Directors
in
connection with succession planning for our senior management. Our Board of
Directors has approved a written Compensation Committee charter.
Nominating
Committee.
Our
Nominating Committee members are: Richard Nanna (Chairman), Gene W. Pierson,
Mark Lettes, Ricardo Campoy, Norm Radford, and John Benjamin. The Nominating
Committee held two meetings in 2006. The responsibilities of the Nominating
Committee include (i) developing policies on the size and composition of the
Board for election or re-election and reviewing and developing the Board’s
criteria for selecting new directors, including standards for director
independence and competence; (ii) reviewing possible candidates for Board
membership consistent with the Board’s criteria for selecting new directors;
(iii) conducting an annual performance evaluation of the individual directors
and of the Board as a whole; (iv) annually recommending a slate of nominees
to
the Board with respect to nominations for the Board at the annual meeting of
our
shareholders; (v) making recommendations to the Board relating to the
composition of Board committees; (vi) advising the Board on committee member
qualifications, committee member appointments and removals, committee structure
and operations (including authority to delegate to subcommittees), and committee
reporting to the Board; and (vii) maintaining an orientation program for new
directors and a continuing education program for all directors.
Our
Board
of Directors has approved a written Nominating Committee charter. The functions
of the Nominating Committee are described in the Nominating Committee Charter
and include, among other things, identifying individuals qualified to become
members of the Board and selecting or recommending to the Board the nominees
to
stand for election as directors.
Our
shareholders may recommend director nominees, and the Nominating Committee
will
consider nominees recommended by shareholders. To date, we have not received
any
recommendations from our shareholders requesting that the Board or any of its
committees consider a nominee for inclusion among the Board’s slate of nominees
in this proxy statement. A shareholder wishing to submit a director nominee
recommendation should comply with the provisions of our bylaws and the
provisions set forth in this proxy statement under the heading “Shareholder
Proposals and Recommendations for Director Nominees for the 2008 Annual
Meeting.” We anticipate that nominees recommended by shareholders will be
evaluated in the same manner as nominees recommended by anyone else, although
the Nominating Committee may prefer nominees who are personally known to the
existing directors and whose reputations are highly regarded. The Nominating
Committee will consider all relevant qualifications as well as the needs of
the
company in terms of compliance with SEC rules.
While
the
selection of qualified directors is a complex, subjective process that requires
consideration of many intangible factors, the Nominating Committee and the
Board
takes into account the following criteria, among others, in considering
directors and candidates for the Board:
|
· |
judgment,
experience, skills and personal character of the
candidate; and
|
|
· |
the
needs of the Board.
|
The
Nominating Committee conducts a process of making a preliminary assessment
of
each proposed nominee based upon the resume and biographical information, an
indication of the individual’s willingness to serve and other background
information. This information is evaluated against the criteria set forth above
and our specific needs at that time. Based upon a preliminary assessment of
the
candidate(s), those who appear best suited to meet our needs may be invited
to
participate in a series of interviews, which are used as a further means of
evaluating potential candidates. On the basis of information learned during
this
process, the Nominating Committee determines which nominee(s) to recommend
to
the Board to submit for election at the next annual meeting. The Nominating
Committee uses the same process for evaluating all nominees, regardless of
the
original source of the nomination.
Independent
Directors
Of
the
nine persons who currently make up our Board of Directors, the Board has
determined that Messrs. Benjamin, Pierson, Radford, Nanna, Lettes, and Campoy
are independent directors under the listing standards of AMEX.
Section
16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance
Section 16(a)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 requires our officers, directors, and
any
person who beneficially owns more than 10% of our common stock to file reports
of ownership and changes in ownership with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Executive officers, directors, and more than 10% shareholders are
required by regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms
which they file. During 2006, certain of our directors and executive officers
who own our stock filed Forms 3 or Forms 4 with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The information on these filings reflects the current ownership
position of all such individuals. To the best of our knowledge, during 2006
all
such filings by our officers and directors were made timely, except that due
to
an administrative error in each instance, Forms 4 were not filed in a timely
manner for the following officers and directors: John B. Benjamin (1); Robert
Llee Chapman (2); Richard F. Nanna (1); Gene W. Pierson (2); Norman A. Radford
(1); Robert David Russell (1); and Robert L. Russell (1).
Code
of Ethics
We
have
adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics for our Chief Executive Officer and our
senior financial officers. A copy of our Code of Conduct and Ethics can be
obtained at no cost, by telephone at (303) 928-8599 or by mail at: Idaho General
Mines, Inc., 1726 Cole Blvd, Suite 115 Lakewood, CO 80401, attention: Investor
Relations. We believe our Code of Conduct and Ethics is reasonably designed
to
deter wrongdoing and promote honest and ethical conduct; provide full, fair,
accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in public reports; comply with
applicable laws; ensure prompt internal reporting of code violations; and
provide accountability for adherence to the code.
AUDIT
COMMITTEE REPORT
The
Board
of Directors has appointed the members of the Audit and Finance Committee.
The
Audit and Finance Committee is governed by a charter that the Board of Directors
approved and adopted and which will be reviewed and reassessed annually by
the
Audit and Finance Committee. The Audit and Finance Committee is comprised of
four independent directors.
The
Board
of Directors has charged the Audit and Finance Committee with a number of
responsibilities, including review of the adequacy of the Company’s financial
reporting, accounting systems, and internal controls. The Company’s independent
auditors report directly and are ultimately accountable to the Audit and Finance
Committee.
Management
is responsible for the preparation and integrity of the Company’s financial
statements. The independent registered public accounting firm is responsible
for
performing an independent audit of the Company’s consolidated financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and for
issuing a report thereon. The Audit and Finance Committee has independently
met
and held discussions with management and the independent registered public
accounting firm.
In
the
discharge of its responsibilities, the Audit and Finance Committee has reviewed
and discussed with management and the independent auditors the Company’s audited
financial statements for fiscal year 2006. In addition, the Audit and Finance
Committee has discussed with the independent auditors matters such as the
quality (in addition to acceptability), clarity, consistency, and completeness
of the Company’s financial reporting, as required by Statement on Auditing
Standards No. 61, Communication
with Audit Committees,
as
amended by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 90, Audit
Committee Communications.
The
Audit
and Finance Committee has received from the independent auditors written
disclosures and a letter concerning the independent auditors’ independence from
the Company, as required by Independence Standards Board Standard No. 1,
Independence
Discussions with Audit Committees.
The
Audit and Finance Committee also received from the independent auditors a letter
indicating there were no material issues raised by the independent auditors’
most recent internal quality control review, or by any inquiry or investigation
by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years.
These disclosures have been reviewed by the Committee and discussed with the
independent auditors.
Based
on
these reviews and discussions, the Audit and Finance Committee recommended
to
the Board that the audited financial statements be included in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006 as filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
|
AUDIT
AND FINANCE COMMITTEE
Mark
A. Lettes, Chairman
John
B. Benjamin
Norman
A. Radford
Ricardo
M. Campoy
|
CERTAIN
RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Our
Audit
and Finance Committee reviews
any transaction involving the Company and a related party at least once a year
or upon any significant change in the transaction or relationship. For these
purposes, a “related party transaction” includes any transaction required to be
disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K.
On
August
16, 2006, the Company entered into an employment agreement effective August
14,
2006 with Andrew J. Russell, a son of our Chairman of the Board, for services
as
Director of Projects and Operations. Under this agreement, Andrew J. Russell
was
paid $150,000 per year and was granted a stock option to purchase 60,000 shares
at $2.10 per share, the closing price of the Company’s stock on August 15, 2006.
In
January 2007, the Company amended and restated its employment agreement with
Mr.
Andrew Russell. Under the amended and restated employment agreement, the Company
paid Mr. Russell $200,000 per year and granted him a stock option to purchase
140,000 shares at $2.78 per share, the closing price of the Company’s stock on
January 30, 2007. Further, the Company issued an additional 90,000 shares of
nonvested common stock at $2.78 that will vest based on certain performance
based milestones.
EXECUTIVE
COMPENSATION
Compensation
Discussion and Analysis
Introduction
The
Compensation Committee (the “Committee”) of our Board of Directors sets total
compensation for our executive officers, including the Chief Executive Officer,
the Chief Financial Officer and the Executive Vice President of Business
Strategies, Development and Investor Relations. These are our “Named Executive
Officers” who are identified in the tables below.
We
are in
the early stages of exploring and developing molybdenum dominant projects,
including the Mt. Hope and Hall-Tonopah molybdenum deposits in Nevada. We do
not
have any operations and have relatively few employees. Because of our size
and
early stage of development, the Company does not have a broad-based, detailed
executive compensation program. Instead, we have a simple executive compensation
program that is intended to provide appropriate compensation for our executive
officers. The program currently has only three major components: salary, annual
bonus and equity-based incentives, such as stock options and restricted stock
awards. The program’s overall objective is to enable us to obtain and retain the
services of skilled executives. The compensation program seeks to enhance
shareholder value by aligning the financial interests of our executive officers
with those of our shareholders. For example, our equity-based compensation
program is designed to retain the individual executive officer and to align
his
long-term financial interests with those of our shareholders. We also have
designed our compensation program to motivate and reward executives whose
knowledge, skills and performance are critical to our success.
The
compensation program reflects the fact that we operate with a small team of
executives. Our executives are each charged with a variety of responsibilities
that encompass both our strategic objectives and our day-to-day activities.
Compensation depends to a significant extent on the achievement of annual and
long-term performance goals.
The
compensation packages for our executive officers are designed to promote
teamwork as well as individual initiative and achievement. We have entered
into
employment agreements with each of our executive officers, which are described
below. We believe that these employment agreements are necessary to grow the
company and to increase our shareholder value. Each employment agreement sets
the compensation for the individual executive officer. In establishing the
agreement with each executive officer, the Committee takes into account many
factors, including the individual’s prior business experience, historical
compensation levels, work performance, and retention considerations and our
business need for the executive’s skills. The Committee also considered input
from third party compensation consultants, external market data, and the
individual experience of the Committee members.
Elements
of Compensation
Our
compensation program has three principal elements: salary, annual bonus, and
equity-based incentives. The remaining compensation, paid through employee
benefits, is not significant in amount or as a percentage of any executive’s
compensation. Each of these components is discussed further below.
Base
Salary.
We
recognize that paying a reasonable base salary is necessary in order for us
to
obtain and retain the services of skilled executives. We establish our
executives’ salaries on consideration of, among other things, the scope of their
responsibilities, taking into account competitive market compensation for
similar positions, seniority of the individual, and our ability to replace
the
individual, as well as the median of the range of salaries for executives in
similar positions with similar responsibilities at comparable companies. Base
salaries are reviewed annually by the Committee and our Board and may be
adjusted pursuant to this annual review. An adjustment to a salary may be made,
for example, to align that salary with market levels, taking into account the
individual’s responsibilities, performance and experience. The salaries of our
executive officers were well below the median through 2006, reflecting the
underfunding of a startup company. However, salaries were adjusted in 2007
to
reflect salaries paid to individuals in operating companies with similar
positions and responsibilities.
Discretionary
Performance Bonus.
Our
Board has the authority to award discretionary bonuses to our executive officers
based upon their performance and efforts. We believe it is reasonable and
necessary to compensate our executive officers with bonus payments for achieving
financial, operational and strategic goals. Bonus amounts are intended to reward
both achievement of company goals and individual performance. Annual bonuses
have traditionally been paid to executive officers to recognize specific
accomplishments and overall performance.
Long-Term
Equity Incentive Program.
We
focus on creating long-term value for our shareholders by aligning the financial
interests of our executive officers with those of our shareholders, since the
price of our stock is the principal factor in shareholder value over time.
We
believe that stock-based incentives through stock options and restricted stock
awards ensure that our executive officers have a continuing stake in our
long-term success. We have issued stock options to our executive officers under
our 2003 Stock Option Plan (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the “2003
Plan”) and 2006 Equity Incentive Plan (sometimes hereinafter referred to as the
“2006 Plan” and the 2003 Plan and 2006 Plan, together are sometimes hereinafter
referred to as the “Plans”) and outside of any formal plan. Stock option awards
are principally given at the start of employment with vesting complete by the
end of the officer’s second anniversary of employment.
The
Board
adopted the Plans to give us greater ability to attract, retain, and motivate
our officers and key employees and is intended to provide us with the ability
to
provide incentives that are more directly linked to the success of our business
and increases in shareholder value. Our
Board
determined that options issuable pursuant to the 2003 Plan will be utilized
solely for the purpose of granting incentive stock options, or ISOs, for
employees. Subject to the terms and conditions of the 2003 Plan, the Committee
determines the recipients, grant dates, the numbers and types of stock options
to be granted and the terms and conditions of the stock options, including
the
option term, vesting schedule and exercise price.
Our
2006
Plan provides for the grant of ISOs, nonqualified stock options, restricted
stock awards, restricted stock units and stock appreciation rights, which may
be
granted to our employees (including officers), directors and consultants, to
retain the services of participants, to secure and retain the services of new
members of this group and to provide incentives for such persons to exert
maximum efforts for the success of the company. Each award is subject to an
agreement between the company and the recipient of the grant reflecting the
terms and conditions of the award. Subject to the terms of the 2006 Plan, the
Committee determines recipients, grant dates, the numbers and types of stock
awards to be granted and the terms and conditions of the stock awards, including
the period of their exercisability and vesting. The Committee also determines
the exercise price of options granted, the purchase price for restricted stock
and restricted stock units, and, if applicable, the strike price for stock
appreciation rights.
Employee
Benefits.
Our
executive officers participate in the same employee benefit programs (health
and
dental insurance) as other employees, and on the same basis with our other
employees.
Timing
of Compensation Decisions
Salary
adjustments and bonus awards have typically been made at the Committee and
Board
meetings held in January. Adjustments to salary and bonus awards are based
on
the individual executive officer’s performance in the prior fiscal year and are
awarded in January.
Individual
Executive Officers
Each
executive officer is considered individually in the compensation setting
process. In setting cash compensation, the primary factors are the scope of
the
executive officer’s duties and responsibilities, the executive officer’s
performance of those duties and responsibilities, the executive officer’s
experience level and tenure with us, and a general evaluation of the competition
in the market for skilled executives with the executive officer’s experience.
Long-term equity incentives are focused largely on retention of our executive
officers and matching the financial interests of our executive officers with
those of our shareholders.
Summary
Compensation Table
The
following table sets forth, for the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005,
compensation awarded to, earned by or paid to our Chief Executive Officer,
Chief
Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Business Development
(collectively, the “Named Executive Officers”).
SUMMARY
COMPENSATION TABLE
FOR
THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006
Name
and Principal Position
|
|
Year
|
|
Salary ($)
|
|
Bonus ($)
|
|
Stock
Awards
($)
|
|
Option
Awards
($)
|
|
All
Other
Compensation
($)
|
|
Total
($)
|
|
Robert
L. Russell,
|
|
|
2006
|
|
$
|
220,750
|
|
$
|
225,000
|
4 |
|
-
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
526,770
|
|
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer1
|
|
|
2005
|
|
$
|
61,500
|
|
$
|
346,154
|
5 |
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
407,654
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henry
A. Miller,
|
|
|
2006
|
|
$
|
212,128
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
817,507
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
1,029,635
|
|
Senior
Counsel and Chief
Financial
Officer2
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Dumont,
|
|
|
2006
|
|
$
|
166,000
|
|
$
|
135,000
|
4 |
|
-
|
|
$
|
43,754
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
344,754
|
|
Executive
Vice President
of
Business
|
|
|
2005
|
|
$
|
90,000
|
|
$
|
197,368
|
5 |
|
-
|
|
$
|
94,821
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
382,189
|
|
Development,
interim
Chief
Financial Officer3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
____________________
1
As
of
January 30, 2007, Mr. Russell no longer serves as President and Chief Executive
Officer, but rather as Executive Director and Chairman of the
Board.
2
Mr.
Miller served as Senior Counsel and Chief Financial Officer until December
13,
2006, and his employment terminated on January 30, 2007.
3
As
of
July 13, 2007, Mr. Dumont resigned his positions with the Company.
4
Bonus
amount earned for the year ended December 31, 2006 was paid in February
2007.
5
Bonus
amount earned for the year ended December 31, 2005 was paid in April
2006.
6
Does not
include payments and stock based awards made in 2007 for services rendered
in
2006 because such payments were not awards under a non-equity incentive plan
within the meaning of Item 402 of Regulation S-K.
Grant
of Plan-Based Awards
The
following table sets forth information concerning individual grants of
plan-based awards made during the year ended December 31, 2006 to the Named
Executive Officers.
GRANTS
OF PLAN-BASED AWARDS
Name
|
|
Grant
Date
|
|
All
Other
Stock Awards:
Number
of
Shares
or Stock or Units1
(#)
|
|
All
Other
Option Awards:
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Options
(#)
|
|
Exercise or
Base
Price
of
Option
Awards2
($ / Sh)
|
|
Closing
Price on
Grant
Date
($ / Sh)
|
|
Grant
Date Fair Value of Stock and Option Awards3
($)
|
|
Robert
L. Russell,
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer
4
|
|
|
04/05/2006
|
|
|
50,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
2.80
|
|
$
|
2.80
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henry
A. Miller,
Senior
Counsel and
Chief
Financial Officer
5
|
|
|
04/21/2006
|
|
|
600,000
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
3.32
|
|
$
|
3.32
|
|
$
|
817,507
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Dumont,
Executive
Vice
President
of Business Development, interim Chief Financial Officer6
|
|
|
_____
|
|
|
_____
|
|
|
|
|
|
_____
|
|
|
_____
|
|
|
_____
|
|
_______________________
1
Awards
have been made under the Idaho General Mines, Inc. 2003 Stock Plan and outside
of any plan.
2
Exercise
or base price is determined by the closing market price of the stock on the
day
before the grant date.
3
The fair
value is calculated using the Black Scholes value on the grant
date.
4
Stock
option was made to Mr. Russell in his capacity as a director, and vests
immediately upon grant.
5
Stock
option was granted at the start of employment, all of which vested upon Mr.
Miller’s termination of employment on January 30, 2007.
6
As of
July 13, 2007, Mr. Dumont resigned his position with the Company.
Outstanding
Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End
The
following table sets forth information concerning the unexercised options,
stock
that has not vested and equity incentive plan awards for each of the Named
Executive Officers.
OUTSTANDING
EQUITY AWARDS AT FISCAL YEAR-END
|
|
Option
Awards
|
|
Stock
Awards
|
|
Name
|
|
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Exercisable
|
|
Number
of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options
(#)
Unexercisable
|
|
Option
Exercise
Price
($)
|
|
Option
Expiration
Date
|
|
Number of
Shares
or
Units
of
Stock That
Have
Not
Vested
(#)
|
|
Market
Value of
Shares or
Units
of
Stock That
Have
Not
Vested
($)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Russell, President and
Chief
Executive Officer
|
|
|
250,000
50,000
20,000
100,000
50,000
|
|
|
-
-
-
-
-
|
|
$
$
$
$
$
|
0.165
0.44
0.75
0.75
2.80
|
|
|
03/09/2011
09/27/2009
11/11/2009
11/11/2009
04/04/2011
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henry
A. Miller, Senior Counsel
and
Chief Financial Officer
1
|
|
|
200,000
|
|
|
200,000
200,000
|
|
$
$
$
|
3.32
3.32
3.32
|
|
|
04/20/2011
04/20/2012
04/20/2013
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Dumont, Executive
Vice
President of Business
Development,
interim Chief
Financial
Officer2
|
|
|
|
|
|
200,000
|
|
$
|
0.72
|
|
|
01/01/2012
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
_______________________
1 All
of
the unvested options vested upon termination of Mr. Miller’s employment on
January 30, 2007 and all unexercised options expired on April 30,
2007.
2 All
of
the unvested options vested upon termination of Mr. Dumont’s employment on July
13, 2007 and all unexercised options expire on October 12, 2007.
Option
Exercises and Stock Vested
The
following table sets forth information concerning each exercise of stock options
and stock vested for the year ended December 31, 2006 for each of the Named
Executive Officers.
OPTION
EXERCISES AND STOCK VESTED
|
|
Option
Awards
|
|
Stock
Awards
|
|
Name
|
|
Number of Shares
Acquired on Exercise
(#)
|
|
Value Realized
on
Exercise
($)
|
|
Number of Shares
Acquired on Vesting
(#)
|
|
Value Realized
on
Vesting
($)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Russell, President and Chief Executive Officer
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Henry
A. Miller, Senior Counsel and Chief Financial Officer
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Robert
L. Dumont, Executive Vice President of Business Development, interim
Chief
Financial Officer
|
|
|
450,000
|
|
$
|
1,116,000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Potential
Payments Upon Termination or Change-In-Control
Potential
payments upon termination or change in control for Mr. Russell and Mr. Hansen
are set forth in their respective employment agreements, described below. Mr.
Miller’s employment terminated on January 30, 2007. Upon termination, Mr. Miller
was paid two times his annual salary plus an amount to cover taxes, totaling
$543,275.
In
addition, in the event of a change in control as defined in the Plans, all
outstanding options and other awards under the Plans may be assumed, continued
or substituted for by any surviving or acquiring entity. If the surviving or
acquiring entity elects not to assume, continue or substitute for such awards,
the vesting of such awards held by award holders whose service with us or any
of
our affiliates has not terminated will be accelerated and such awards will
be
fully vested and exercisable immediately prior to the consummation of such
transaction, and the stock awards shall automatically terminate upon
consummation of such transaction if not exercised prior to such
event.
Employment
Agreements
The
following is a summary of the employment agreements that were in effect between
us and each of the Named Executive Officers during the last fiscal year. In
January 2007, we entered into amended and restated employment agreements with
two of our Named Executive Officers and with Bruce D. Hansen who was elected
as
our Chief Executive Officer. In June 2007, the Board voided the Amended and
Restated Employment Agreement with Robert L. Russell and the terms of the March
2005 Agreement were confirmed. These agreements are also summarized
below.
Robert
L. Russell
On
March
31, 2005, we entered into an employment agreement with Robert L. Russell to
serve as our President and Chief Executive Officer for a term of three years.
The agreement provides that Mr. Russell will be paid a base salary of $180,000
per year, subject to annual increases at the discretion of the Board. In March
2006, Mr. Russell’s annual base salary was increased to $225,000 as a result of
meeting corporate funding goals. In January 2007, Mr. Russell’s annual base
salary was increased to $350,000. In addition to base salary, Mr. Russell is
eligible to receive a discretionary cash performance bonus in an amount, if
any,
as determined by the Board in its sole discretion. If a change of control
occurs, Mr. Russell is entitled to a bonus of not less than 30% of his base
salary and any unvested stock options or restricted stock will vest immediately.
In addition, upon a change of control Mr. Russell is entitled to an additional
equity award that is equal to the stake that he beneficially owns at the time
of
the change of control. Upon termination without cause, all unvested stock
options vest immediately and Mr. Russell is entitled to thirty-six months’
salary and a bonus that is the greater of 100% of the target bonus for the
year
or any bonus earned for each year in the prior twenty-four month
period.
Bruce
D. Hansen
On
January 30, 2007, we entered into an employment agreement with Bruce D. Hansen
to serve as our Chief Executive Officer for a term of three years. Under this
agreement, Mr. Hansen is paid an annual base salary of $350,000, subject to
annual review and adjustment by the Board. Mr. Hansen is also eligible to
receive a discretionary cash performance bonus in an amount, if any, as
determined by the Board from time to time. In addition, Mr. Hansen was granted
a
stock option to purchase 750,000 shares of stock, of which 500,000 shares vested
upon grant and 250,000 shares vest on the first anniversary of the grant. Mr.
Hansen was also granted a restricted stock award of 250,000 shares, the vesting
of which is tied to the completion of financings by the Company. Upon the
completion of an equity or debt financing that raises capital to commence
production at the Mt. Hope Mine, Mr. Hansen is entitled to a cash payment of
$1,000,000 upon satisfactory completion of the financing. If a change of control
occurs, Mr. Hansen will be entitled to three years of annual base salary and
all
unvested stock options and awards will accelerate as to vesting. If Mr. Hansen
terminates his employment for “Good Reason,” which includes substantial
diminution of Mr. Hansen’s duties, a direction to Mr. Hansen that would violate
local, state or federal law, or a failure by the Company to pay Mr. Hansen’s
base salary, Mr. Hansen is entitled to his annual base salary as of the date
of
termination, together with one year of his base salary.
Director
Compensation
The
following table sets forth information concerning compensation paid for the
year
ended December 31, 2006 to directors who were not employees. Mr. Russell, who
is
an employee, does not receive any separate cash compensation as a director.
His
compensation is fully reflected in the Summary Compensation Table and, as
appropriate, in the other tables above.
DIRECTOR
COMPENSATION
Name
|
|
Fees
Earned or Paid in Cash ($)
|
|
Option
Awards ($)
|
|
All
Other
Compensation
($)
|
|
Total
($)
|
|
John
B. Benjamin
|
|
$
|
6,000
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
87,020
|
|
Ricardo
M. Campoy
|
|
$
|
4,000
|
|
$
|
74,796
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
78,796
|
|
R.
Llee Chapman
|
|
$
|
9,500
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
90,520
|
|
Richard
F. Nanna
|
|
$
|
7,750
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
88,770
|
|
Roy
A Pickren, Jr.
|
|
$
|
3,000
|
|
$
|
74,796
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
77,796
|
|
Gene
W. Pierson
|
|
$
|
6,000
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
87,020
|
|
Norman
A. Radford
|
|
$
|
6,000
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
87,020
|
|
R.
David Russell
|
|
$
|
6,500
|
|
$
|
81,020
|
|
|
-
|
|
$
|
87,520
|
|
In
July
2007, the Compensation Committee and the Board approved a new director
compensation plan under which directors will receive $6,000 per year in cash
compensation, plus a cash payment of $1,000 for each Board meeting they attend
in person or by telephone. Additionally, the Chairman of the Board receives
an
additional cash payment of $2,500 per quarter. Each committee member receives
a
cash payment of $500 per meeting attended in person or by telephone and the
chairman of each committee receives an additional cash payment of $1,000 per
quarter. Directors also receive a bi-annual grant of 40,000 restricted shares
that vest over a two year period. The Chairman of the Board receives an
additional bi-annual grant of an additional 10,000 restricted shares that vest
over a two year period. The director compensation plan was based on an assumed
share price of approximately $8.00 per share and the share compensation will
be
adjusted upward or downward, in the discretion of the Compensation Committed,
if
the Company’s share price is materially below or above $8.00 per share at the
time of an award.
VOTING
SECURITIES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS
The
following table sets forth information as of August 3, 2007 regarding the
ownership of our Common Stock by:
|
·
|
each
person who is known by us to own more than 5% of our shares of common
stock;
|
|
·
|
each
of our named executive officers and directors; and
|
|
·
|
all
of our executive officers and directors as a
group.
|
The
number of shares beneficially owned and the percentage of shares beneficially
owned are based on 56,334,005 shares of common stock outstanding as of August
3,
2007.
For
the
purposes of the information provided below, beneficial ownership is determined
in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and for each person includes shares
that person has the right to acquire within 60 days following August 3,
2007 subject to options, warrants or similar instruments. Except as indicated
in
the footnotes to these tables, and as affected by applicable community property
laws, all persons listed have sole voting and investment power for all shares
shown as beneficially owned by them.
Name(1)
|
|
Number
of Shares
|
|
Percent
of Voting Stock
|
|
Bruce
D. Hansen (2)
|
|
|
850,000
|
|
|
1.5
|
%
|
David
A. Chaput (3)
|
|
|
150,000
|
|
|
*
|
|
Robert
L. Russell (4)
|
|
|
2,556,974
|
|
|
4.5
|
%
|
John
B. Benjamin (5)
|
|
|
343,000
|
|
|
*
|
|
Ricardo
Campoy (6)
|
|
|
214,166
|
|
|
*
|
|
Mark
A. Lettes (7)
|
|
|
33,333
|
|
|
*
|
|
Richard
Nanna (8)
|
|
|
518,003
|
|
|
*
|
|
Gene
W. Pierson (9)
|
|
|
286,000
|
|
|
*
|
|
Norman
A. Radford (10)
|
|
|
243,975
|
|
|
*
|
|
R.
David Russell (11)
|
|
|
1,250,070
|
|
|
2.2
|
%
|
CCM
Master Qualified Fund, Ltd.(12)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coghill
Capital Management, LLC(12)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Clint
D. Coghill (12)
|
|
|
15,910,485
|
|
|
25.8
|
%
|
Citadel
Limited Partnership (13)
|
|
|
3,391,253
|
|
|
6.0
|
%
|
Sprott
Asset Management Inc (14)
|
|
|
4,852,941
|
|
|
8.3
|
%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Directors
and executive officers as a group
(10 persons)(15)
|
|
|
6,445,521
|
|
|
10.7
|
%
|
___________
*
Less
than 1%.
(1)
|
The
address for our directors and officers is 1726 Cole Blvd, Suite 115,
Lakewood, CO 80401.
|
(2)
|
Includes
500,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested options and 250,000
shares in restricted stock grants.
|
(3) |
Includes 150,000 shares issuable upon the exercise
of
vested options. |
(4)
|
This
does not include any shares issuable to Robert Russell in the event
of a
change of control of the Company or upon other events pursuant to
the
terms of Mr. Russell’s employment agreement.
|
(5)
|
Includes
190,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested options.
|
(6)
|
Includes
116,666 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested
options.
|
(7)
|
Includes
33,333 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested
options.
|
(8)
|
Includes
220,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested
options.
|
(9)
|
Includes
220,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested options.
|
(10)
|
Includes
172,500 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested
options.
|
(11)
|
Includes
290,000 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested
options.
|
(12)
|
Based
on a Form 4 filed with the SEC on June 4, 2007.
Includes 5,380,728 shares issuable upon the exercise of a
warrant. The address for these persons is 1 N. Wacker Dr. Ste. 4350,
Chicago, IL 60606. Such persons disclaim beneficial ownership of the
securities except to the extent of their pecuniary interest
therein.
|
(13) |
Based
on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on April 16, 2007. The address
for this Shareholder is 131 S. Dearborn Street, 32nd
Floor, Chicago, Illinois 60603.
|
(14) |
Based
on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on May 10, 2007. The address
for this Shareholder is Suite 2700, South Tower, Royal Bank
Plaza, Toronto, ON M5J 2J1.
|
(15) |
Includes
1,892,499 shares issuable upon the exercise of vested options and
250,000
shares in restricted stock grants.
|
Independent
Accountant
Williams
& Webster, P.S. (“Williams & Webster”) was selected by our Board as the
Company’s independent accountant for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006.
Representatives of Williams & Webster will be present at the Annual Meeting,
will have an opportunity to make statements if they so desire, and will be
available to respond to appropriate questions.
Audit
Fees
The
aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by the Company’s
principal accountant for the audit of the Company’s annual financial statements
for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004 were $27,500,
$21,197 and $19,643, respectively.
Audit-Related
Fees
There
were no fees billed in the last three fiscal years for assurance and related
services by the principal accountant that are reasonably related to the
performance of the audit or review of the Company’s financial statements except
as set forth in the preceding paragraph.
Tax
Fees
There
were no fees billed in the last three fiscal years for professional services
rendered by the principal accountant for tax compliance, tax advice and tax
planning.
All
Other Fees
The
Company incurred no fees from the principal accountant during the last two
fiscal years for products and services other than as set forth
above.
Policy
on Audit Committee Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services of Independent
Auditors
The
Audit
and Finance Committee is responsible for appointing, setting compensation and
overseeing the work of the independent auditors. The Audit and Finance Committee
has established a policy regarding pre-approval of all audit and non-audit
services provided by the independent auditors. On an ongoing basis, management
communicates specific projects and categories of services for which advance
approval of the Audit and Finance Committee is requested. The Audit and Finance
Committee reviews these requests and advises management if the Audit and Finance
Committee approves the engagement of the independent auditors for specific
projects. On a periodic basis, management reports to the Audit and Finance
Committee regarding the actual spending for such projects and services compared
to the approved amounts. The Audit and Finance Committee may also delegate
the
ability to pre-approve audit and permitted non-audit services to a subcommittee
consisting of one or more Audit and Finance Committee members, provided that
any
such pre-approvals are reported on at a subsequent Audit and Finance Committee
meeting.
PROPOSAL
2: APPROVAL OF THE REINCORPORATION OF THE COMPANY
INTO
THE STATE OF DELAWARE.
Introduction
For
the
reasons set forth in “Principal Reasons for the Reincorporation Proposal” below,
the Board of Directors of the Company believes that it is advisable and in
the
best interests of the Company and its stockholders to change the state of
incorporation of the Company from Idaho to Delaware. The Company proposes to
accomplish the reincorporation in Delaware by merging the Company into a newly
formed wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company that is incorporated in Delaware
(the “reincorporation merger”). The name of the Delaware corporation, which will
be the successor to the Company in the reincorporation merger, is General Moly,
Inc. This proxy statement refers to Idaho General Mines, Inc., the Idaho
corporation, as “Idaho General Mines, Inc.” or the “Company” and to General
Moly, Inc., the Delaware corporation, as “General Moly” or the “surviving
corporation.”
General
Moly was incorporated under Delaware law in August 2007 under the name “General
Moly, Inc.” As of the date and time immediately prior to the effective date of
the reincorporation merger, if the reincorporation merger is effected, General
Moly will not have any material assets or liabilities and will not have carried
on any material business.
As
discussed in “Principal Reasons for the Reincorporation Proposal,” management
believes that reincorporation in Delaware is beneficial to the Company because
Delaware corporate law is more comprehensive, widely used and extensively
interpreted than other state corporate laws, including Idaho corporate law.
Further, management believes that Delaware law is better suited than Idaho
law
to protect stockholders’ interests in the event of an unsolicited takeover
attempt. The Company, however, is not aware that any person is currently
attempting to acquire control of the Company, to obtain representation on the
Board of Directors of the Company or take any action that would materially
affect the governance of the Company.
The
Reincorporation Merger
The
reincorporation merger would be effected pursuant to the merger agreement in
substantially the form attached as Exhibit A. Upon completion of the
reincorporation merger, the Company would cease to exist as a corporate entity
and General Moly, which would be the surviving corporation, would continue
to
operate the business of the Company under the name General Moly, Inc. The
discussion of the reincorporation merger set forth below is qualified in its
entirety by reference to the attached merger agreement.
Pursuant
to the merger agreement, each outstanding share of common stock, par value
$.001
per share, of Idaho General Mines, Inc. would be converted automatically into
one share of common stock, par value $.001 per share, of General Moly upon
the
effective date of the reincorporation merger. Each stock certificate
representing issued and outstanding shares of common stock of Idaho General
Mines, Inc. would continue to represent the same number of shares of common
stock of General Moly. If Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly effect
the
reincorporation merger, stockholders of Idaho General Mines, Inc. would not
need
to exchange their existing stock certificates of Idaho General Mines, Inc.
for
stock certificates of General Moly. Stockholders may, however, exchange their
certificates if they choose to do so. Assuming that Idaho General Mines, Inc.
and General Moly effect the reincorporation merger, the surviving corporation
may decide to issue substitute stock certificates in the future to replace
the
current certificates that are outstanding. If the surviving corporation were
to
decide to issue substitute stock certificates, the surviving corporation would
notify its stockholders.
Pursuant
to the merger agreement, Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly agree to
take all actions that Delaware law and Idaho law require for Idaho General
Mines, Inc. and General Moly to effect the reincorporation merger. General
Moly
also agrees, if required, to qualify to do business as a foreign corporation
in
the states in which Idaho General Mines, Inc. is qualified to do business before
Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly effect the reincorporation merger.
The
merger agreement provides that the respective obligations of Idaho General
Mines, Inc. and General Moly under the merger agreement are subject to the
following conditions:
|
·
|
The
stockholders of Idaho General Mines, Inc. have approved, the merger
agreement;
|
|
·
|
No
court or governmental authority, whether by statute, rule, regulation,
executive order, decree, ruling, injunction or other order, has
prohibited, restrained, enjoined or restricted the consummation of
the
reincorporation merger.
|
As
soon
as reasonably practicable after the reincorporation merger, General Moly will
seek to cause the American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”) to quote the common stock of
the surviving corporation under the symbol “GMO”, which is the same symbol as
AMEX currently lists Idaho General Mines, Inc.’s common stock.
If
Idaho
General Mines, Inc. and General Moly effect the reincorporation merger, all
employee benefit plans (including stock option and other equity-based plans)
of
Idaho General Mines, Inc. would be continued by the surviving corporation,
and
each stock option and other equity-based award issued and outstanding pursuant
to such plans would be converted automatically into a stock option or other
equity-based award with respect to the same number of shares of common stock
of
the surviving corporation, upon the same terms and subject to the same
conditions as set forth in the applicable plan under which the award was granted
and in the agreement reflecting the award.
If
the
stockholders of Idaho General Mines, Inc. approve the reincorporation merger,
the Company and General Moly plan to effect the reincorporation merger as soon
as practicable after the 2008 Annual Meeting. The merger agreement provides
that
the Board of Directors of either Idaho General Mines, Inc. or General Moly
may
abandon the reincorporation merger for any reason, notwithstanding shareholder
approval. If the stockholders do not approve the reincorporation merger, Idaho
General Mines, Inc. and General Moly would not consummate the merger and Idaho
General Mines, Inc. would continue to operate as an Idaho corporation.
Under
Idaho law, stockholders of Idaho General Mines, Inc. have appraisal rights
with
respect to the reincorporation proposal. See “Dissenters’ or Appraisal Rights”
below.
Vote
Required for the Reincorporation Proposal
Idaho
law
requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast
by
the holders of common stock of Idaho General Mines, Inc. to approve the merger
agreement pursuant to which Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly would
effect the reincorporation merger. Abstentions and broker non-votes will have
the same effect as votes against the reincorporation proposal. A vote in favor
of the reincorporation proposal is a vote to approve the merger agreement and
therefore the reincorporation merger. A vote in favor of the reincorporation
proposal is also effectively a vote in favor of the Certificate of Incorporation
of General Moly and the Bylaws of General Moly. If the stockholders approve
the
merger agreement and the reincorporation merger becomes effective, the
Certificate of Incorporation of General Moly (“Delaware Certificate”) and the
Bylaws of General Moly (“Delaware Bylaws”) in effect immediately prior to the
effective date of the reincorporation merger would respectively become the
certificate of incorporation and bylaws of the surviving corporation. The forms
of the Delaware Certificate and the Delaware Bylaws are attached as Exhibits
B
and C, respectively.
Principal
Reasons for the Reincorporation Proposal
The
Company was originally incorporated in Idaho on January 24, 1925. The
incorporators chose to incorporate in the State of Idaho because the laws of
Idaho were suitable for the Company’s operations at the time. For many years,
Delaware has followed a policy of encouraging incorporation in Delaware and,
in
furtherance of that policy, has been the leader in adopting, construing and
implementing comprehensive, flexible corporate laws that are responsive to
the
legal and business needs of the corporations organized under Delaware law.
Unlike most states, including Idaho, Delaware has established progressive
principles of corporate governance that the Company could draw upon when making
business and legal decisions. In addition, any direct benefit that Delaware
law
provides to corporations indirectly benefits the stockholders, who are the
owners of the corporations. Because Delaware law is responsive to the needs
of
stockholders, Delaware law also directly benefits stockholders. For these
reasons, the Company has determined that Delaware law would better suit the
current needs of the Company and its stockholders than Idaho law does.
To
take
advantage of Delaware’s flexible and responsive corporate laws, many
corporations choose to incorporate initially in Delaware or choose to
reincorporate in Delaware as Idaho General Mines, Inc. proposes to do. In
general, the Company believes that Delaware provides a more appropriate and
flexible corporate and legal environment in which to operate than currently
exists in the State of Idaho and that the Company and its stockholders would
benefit from such an environment. The Board of Directors of the Company has
considered the following benefits available to Delaware corporations in deciding
to propose reincorporation in Delaware:
|
·
|
the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which is generally
acknowledged to be the most advanced and flexible corporate statute
in the
country;
|
|
·
|
the
responsiveness and efficiency of the Division of Corporations of
the
Secretary of State of Delaware, which uses modern computer technology;
|
|
·
|
the
Delaware General Assembly, which each year considers and adopts statutory
amendments that the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State
Bar
Association proposes in an effort to ensure that the corporate statute
continues to be responsive to the changing needs of businesses;
|
|
·
|
the
Delaware Court of Chancery, which handles complex corporate issues
with a
level of experience and a degree of sophistication and understanding
unmatched by any other court in the country, and the Delaware Supreme
Court, which is highly regarded; and
|
|
·
|
the
well-established body of case law construing Delaware law, which
has
developed over the last century and which provides businesses with
a
greater degree of predictability than most, if not all, other
jurisdictions provide.
|
Additionally,
management believes that, as a Delaware corporation, the Company would be better
able to continue to attract and retain qualified directors and officers than
it
would be able to as an Idaho corporation, in part, because Delaware law provides
more predictability with respect to the issue of liability of directors and
officers than Idaho law does. The increasing frequency of claims against
directors and officers that are litigated has greatly expanded the risks to
directors and officers of exercising their respective duties. The amount of
time
and money required to respond to and litigate such claims can be substantial.
Although Idaho law and Delaware law both permit a corporation to include a
provision in the corporation’s articles or certificate, as the case may be, of
incorporation that in certain circumstances reduces or limits the monetary
liability of directors for breaches of their fiduciary duty of care, Delaware
law, as stated above, provides to directors and officers more predictability
than Idaho does and, therefore, provides directors and officers of a Delaware
corporation a greater degree of comfort as to their risk of liability than
that
afforded under Idaho law.
Idaho
Statutory Provisions
We
are
subject to the Idaho Control Share Acquisition Law, which is designed to protect
minority shareholders in the event that a person acquires or proposes to
acquire, directly or indirectly, by tender offer or otherwise, shares giving
it
at least 20%, at least 33 1/3% or more than 50% of the voting power in the
election of directors. This law applies to a publicly held Idaho corporation
which has at least 50 shareholders unless a provision in the corporation's
bylaws or articles, adopted in accordance with this law, makes an express
election not to be subject to this law. We do not have any such provisions
in
our articles or bylaws.
Under
the
Idaho Control Share Acquisition Law, an acquiring person is required to deliver
to the corporation an information statement disclosing, among other things,
the
identity of the person, the terms of the acquisition or proposed acquisition,
and the financing of this acquisition. An acquiring person cannot vote those
shares acquired in a control share acquisition that exceed one of the cited
thresholds unless a resolution approved by 66 2/3% of the voting power of all
shares entitled to vote thereon, excluding shares held by the acquirer or an
officer or director, approves of such voting power. At the request of the
acquiring person, such a resolution must be put forth before shareholders at
a
special meeting held within 55 days after receipt of the information statement,
provided that the acquiring person undertakes to pay the costs of the special
meeting and delivers to the corporation copies of definitive financing
agreements with responsible entities for any required financing of the
acquisition. If an information statement has not been delivered to the
corporation by the 10th day after the acquirer obtains shares in excess of
one
of the above thresholds, or the shareholders of the corporation have voted
not
to accord voting rights to the acquirer's shares, the corporation may redeem
all, but not less than all, of the acquirer's shares at fair market value.
Shares that are not accorded voting rights pursuant to this law regain their
voting rights when acquired by another person in an acquisition that is not
subject to this law.
We
are
also subject to the Idaho Business Combination Act, which prohibits a publicly
held corporation from engaging in certain business combinations with an
"interested shareholder" for a period of three years after the date of the
transaction in which the person became an interested shareholder unless, among
other things, (i) the corporation's articles of incorporation or bylaws include
a provision, adopted in accordance with this law, that expressly provides that
the corporation is not subject to the statute (we do not have any such
provisions in our articles or bylaws), or (ii) a committee of the corporation's
board of directors approves of the business combination or the acquisition
of
the shares before the date such shares were acquired. After the three year
moratorium period, the corporation may not consummate a business combination
unless, among other things, it is approved by the affirmative vote of the
holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares, other than those
beneficially owned by the interested shareholder or an affiliate or associate
thereof, entitled to vote or the business combination meets certain minimum
price and form of payment requirements. An interested shareholder is defined
to
include, with certain exceptions, any person who is the beneficial owner of
10%
or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation.
Business combinations subject to this law include certain mergers,
consolidations, recapitalizations, and reverse share splits.
The
application of the Idaho Control Share Acquisition Law and the Idaho Business
Combination Law may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a
change of control of the Company.
Anti-Takeover
Implications
Delaware,
like many other states, permits a corporation to include in its certificate
of
incorporation or bylaws or to otherwise adopt measures designed to reduce a
corporation’s vulnerability to unsolicited takeover attempts. The Board of
Directors of the Company, however, is not proposing the reincorporation merger
to prevent a change in control of the Company and is not aware of any present
attempt by any person to acquire control of the Company or to obtain
representation on the Company’s Board of Directors.
With
respect to implementing defensive strategies, Delaware law is preferable to
Idaho law because of the substantial judicial precedent on the legal principles
applicable to defensive strategies. As an Idaho corporation or a Delaware
corporation, the Company could implement some of the same defensive measures.
As
a Delaware corporation, however, the Company would benefit from the
predictability of Delaware law on such matters.
No
Change in the Board Members, Business, Management, or Employee Benefit Plans
The
reincorporation proposal would effect only a change in the legal domicile of
the
Company and certain other changes of a legal nature, the most significant of
which are described in this proxy statement. The proposed reincorporation merger
would NOT result in any change in the business, management, fiscal year, assets
or liabilities, or employee benefit plans. Assuming that Idaho General Mines,
Inc. and General Moly effect the reincorporation merger, the directors and
officers of Idaho General Mines, Inc. immediately prior to the effective date
of
the reincorporation merger would become the directors and officers of the
surviving corporation. All employee benefit plans (including stock option and
other equity-based plans) of Idaho General Mines, Inc. would be continued by
the
surviving corporation, and each stock option and other equity-based award issued
and outstanding pursuant to such plans would automatically be converted into
a
stock option or other equity-based award with respect to the same number of
shares of the surviving corporation, upon the same terms and subject to the
same
conditions as set forth in the applicable plan under which the award was granted
and in the agreement reflecting the award. Approval of the reincorporation
proposal would constitute approval of the assumption of these plans by the
surviving corporation. Assuming Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly
effect the reincorporation merger, the surviving corporation would continue
other employee benefit arrangements of Idaho General Mines, Inc. upon the terms
and subject to the conditions currently in effect.
Adoption
of Staggered Board
The
default rule in Delaware is that each director shall hold office until the
next
annual meeting of stockholders (and until such director’s successor is elected
and qualified) or until such director’s earlier resignation or removal. However,
Delaware law will allow the Company’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws to
provide for staggering the terms of directors by dividing the total number
of
directors into three groups.
General
Moly’s bylaws will divide the Board of Directors of the Company into three
classes, Class I, Class II and Class III. The directors in each class will
hold
office for staggered terms of three years each, after the initial terms of
one
year, two years and three years, respectively. As such, Board Members in Class
I, Class II, and Class III will expire the later of 2008, 2009 and 2010,
respectively, or until his or her successor is elected and qualifies or until
his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal. The Board of
Directors has set the number of the Class I directors at three; Class II at
two;
and Class III at two. The Board will set the following persons for Class I
membership: Gene W. Pierson, Norman A. Radford and Richard Nanna; Class II
membership: R. David Russell and Ricardo Campoy; and Class III membership:
Mark
A. Lettes and Bruce D. Hansen.
Comparison
of Shareholder Rights Before and After the Reincorporation Merger
There
are
significant similarities between the Delaware Certificate and the Company’s
Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (“Idaho Articles”). For example,
both the Delaware Certificate and the Idaho Articles provide for the
authorization of 200,000,000 shares of common stock and 10,000,000 shares of
preferred stock.
Set
forth
below is a description that summarizes some significant differences in the
rights of the stockholders of the Company before and after the reincorporation
merger is effective as a result of the differences between Idaho law, the Idaho
Articles and the Idaho Bylaws, on the one hand, and Delaware law, the Delaware
Certificate and the Delaware Bylaws, on the other hand. The summary of the
differences is significant because if the stockholders of Idaho General Mines,
Inc. approve the reincorporation proposal and the reincorporation merger becomes
effective, the Delaware Certificate and the Delaware Bylaws in effect
immediately prior to the effective date of the reincorporation merger would
become the certificate of incorporation and bylaws of the surviving corporation.
The Delaware Certificate and the Delaware Bylaws are attached as Exhibits B
and
C, respectively. All statements in this proxy statement concerning such
documents are qualified by reference to the complete provisions of the
documents. In addition to the differences described below, the Delaware
Certificate and the Delaware Bylaws include certain technical differences from
the Idaho Articles and Idaho Bylaws to reflect insignificant differences between
Delaware law and Idaho law. The description below is not intended to be relied
upon as a complete description of the differences, and is qualified in its
entirety by reference to Idaho law, Delaware law, the Idaho Articles and Idaho
Bylaws, and the Delaware Certificate and Delaware Bylaws.
Removal
of Directors
The
Idaho
Business Corporation Act (the “IBCA”) provides that the shareholders may remove
one or more directors with or without cause (unless the articles of
incorporation provide that the directors may be removed only for cause) at
a
meeting called for the purpose of removing the director where the meeting notice
stated such purpose. If a director is elected by a voting group of shareholders,
only the shareholders of that voting group may participate in the vote to
remove. If cumulative voting is authorized, a director may not be removed if
the
number of votes sufficient to elect the director under cumulative voting is
voted against the director’s removal. If cumulative voting is not authorized, a
director may be removed only if the number of votes cast to remove the director
exceeds the number of votes cast not to remove. The Idaho
Articles prohibit
cumulative voting.
Delaware
law provides that a director may be removed with or without cause by the holders
of a majority in voting power of the issued and outstanding stock entitled
to
vote, except that (1) members of a classified board of directors may be
removed only for cause, unless the certificate of incorporation provides
otherwise (which the Delaware Certificate does not so provide), and (2) in
the case of a corporation having cumulative voting, directors may not be removed
in certain situations without satisfying certain stockholder approval
requirements.
Unlike
the Idaho Bylaws, the Delaware Bylaws include a provision that allows directors
to only be removed for cause and Delaware law does not provide a statutory
mechanism for removing directors by judicial proceedings.
Filling
Vacancies on the Board of Directors
The
IBCA
provides that, unless the articles of incorporation provide otherwise, a vacancy
on the board of directors may be filled by the shareholders or by the directors
remaining in office. If a vacant office was held by a director elected by a
voting group of shareholders, only the shareholders of that voting group are
entitled to vote to fill the vacancy if it is filled by a vote of the
shareholders. The Idaho
Bylaws require
the board of directors to fill vacancies from among the Company’s shareholders.
The
Delaware Certificate provides that the Board of Directors of General Moly may
fill vacancies on General Moly’ Board of Directors (including vacancies
resulting from an increase in the number of directors). As required by Delaware
law, the Delaware Certificate provides that if a director is elected to fill
a
vacancy, the director would serve a term that expires upon the next election
upon the conclusion for the class for which the director is
appointed.
Amendments
to the Charter and Bylaws
Generally,
an amendment to the articles must be adopted by the board of directors and
approved by shareholders at a meeting called for the purpose in which a quorum
consisting of at least a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the
amendment is present. The articles or the resolution of the board adopting
and
recommending the amendment may require a higher threshold to pass the amendment.
Further,
the IBCA provides that a corporation’s board of directors may amend or repeal
the corporation’s bylaws unless: (i) the articles of incorporation reserve this
power exclusively to the shareholders in whole or part; or (ii) the shareholders
in amending or repealing a particular bylaw provide expressly that the board
of
directors may not amend or repeal that bylaw. The IBCA also provides that a
corporation’s shareholders may amend or repeal the corporation’s bylaws even
though the bylaws may also be amended or repealed by its board of
directors.
Under
Delaware law, unless the certificate of incorporation requires a greater vote,
an amendment to the certificate of incorporation requires (1) the approval
and recommendation of the board of directors, (2) the affirmative vote of a
majority of the outstanding stock entitled to vote on the amendment, and
(3) the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding stock of each
class entitled to vote on the amendment as a class. Further, under Delaware
law,
stockholders have the power to adopt, amend or repeal bylaws by the affirmative
vote of a majority of the outstanding stock entitled to vote at a meeting of
stockholders unless the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws specify
another percentage.
Limitation
or Elimination of Directors’ Personal Liability
The
IBCA
permits the articles of incorporation to provide that no director shall be
personally liable to the corporation or its shareholders for money damages
for
any action taken, or any failure to take any action, as a director; provided,
however, that the liability of a director shall not be eliminated for (i) the
amount of a financial benefit received by a director to which he is not
entitled, (ii) an intentional infliction of harm on the corporation or the
shareholders, (iii) the approval of an unlawful distribution by the corporation
under the IBCA, or (iv) an intentional violation of criminal law. A
party
seeking money damages must also establish that harm suffered by the corporation
was proximately caused by the director’s conduct.
The
Idaho
Article’s provide that a director will not be personally liable to the Company
or its shareholders for monetary damages for conduct as a director except:
(i)
acts or omissions that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation
of
law; (ii) conduct that violates IBCA provisions pertaining to unpermitted
distributions to shareholders or loans to directors; or (iii) any transaction
from which the director will personally receive a benefit in money, property
or
services to which the director is not legally entitled.
The
Delaware Certificate contains a provision limiting the liability of its
directors in accordance with Delaware law. Under Delaware law, if a
corporation’s certificate of incorporation so provides, the personal liability
of a director for breach of fiduciary duty as a director may be eliminated
or
limited. A corporation’s certificate of incorporation, however, may not limit or
eliminate a director’s personal liability (a) for any breach of the
director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (b) for
acts or omissions not in good faith or involving intentional misconduct or
a
knowing violation of law, (c) for the payment of unlawful dividends, stock
repurchases or redemptions, or (d) for any transaction in which the
director received an improper personal benefit.
Shareholder
Voting
Under
Idaho Law, certain extraordinary corporate actions, such as sales of the
corporation’s assets that would leave it without a significant continuing
business activity, dissolutions, mergers, and share exchanges require the
approval of a majority of shareholders voting at a meeting in which a quorum
is
present. A majority of shareholders entitled to vote on the matter constitutes
a
quorum. If any class or series of shares is entitled to vote as a separate
group
on a plan of merger or share exchange, that voting group’s approval is required
at a meeting at which a quorum of that voting group is present. If a corporation
retains a business activity that represented at least 25% of its total assets
at
the end of the most recently completed fiscal year, and 25% of either income
from continuing operations before taxes or revenues from continuing operations
for that fiscal year the corporation will conclusively be deemed to have
retained a significant continuing business activity.
Under
Delaware law, in the absence of a specification in the corporation’s certificate
of incorporation or bylaws, once a quorum is obtained, the affirmative vote
of a
majority of shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to
vote on the subject matter is required for shareholder action; however, under
Delaware law directors are elected by a plurality of votes present in person
or
represented by proxy and entitled to vote on the election of directors. However,
under the Corporate Governance Guidelines adopted by the Board, the Company
has
adopted a majority voting requirement for election of directors. See Proposal
1
above for a description of the majority voting provision.
Delaware
law generally requires that a merger or sale of assets be approved by a vote
of
a majority of the shares outstanding and entitled to vote on the transaction.
However, Delaware law does not require a vote of the stockholders of the
surviving corporation in a merger (unless the corporation provides otherwise
in
its certificate of incorporation, which the Delaware Certificate does not)
if
(a) the merger agreement does not amend the existing certificate of
incorporation, (b) each share of the stock of the surviving corporation
outstanding immediately before the effective date of the merger is an identical
outstanding or treasury share after the merger, and (c) either no shares of
common stock of the surviving corporation and no shares, securities or
obligations convertible into such stock are to be issued or delivered under
the
plan of merger, or the authorized and unissued shares or the treasury shares
of
common stock of the surviving corporation to be issued or delivered under the
plan of merger plus those initially issuable upon conversion of any other
shares, securities or obligations to be issued or delivered under such plan
do
not exceed 20% of the shares of common stock of such constituent corporation
outstanding immediately prior to the effective date of the merger.
The
Idaho
Bylaws provide that the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting stock
issued and outstanding at any regular or special meeting of the shareholders
to
amend the Idaho Bylaws. The Delaware Bylaws generally provide that the
affirmative vote of a majority of the voting stock issued and outstanding at
any
regular or special meeting of the shareholders to amend the Delaware Bylaws;
however, certain provisions of the Delaware Bylaws may not be altered, amended
or repealed in whole or in part, unless authorized by the affirmative vote
of
the holders of not less than eighty percent (80%) of the outstanding voting
power entitled to vote, including the provisions relating to staggered board
terms, director removal, indemnification, and shareholder meetings.
Dissenters’
Rights of Appraisal
Under
the
IBCA, appraisal rights are available in connection with the following actions
in
which shareholder approval is required: (i)
an
amendment to the articles that reduces the number of shares of a class owned
by
the shareholder to a fraction and the corporation has a right or obligation
to
repurchase the fractional share; (ii) certain
plans of merger or exchange; (iii) a
disposition of assets that would leave the corporation without a significant
continuing business activity; or (iv) any
other
amendment to the articles of incorporation, merger, share exchange or
disposition of assets as provided by the corporation’s articles of
incorporation, bylaws or action by the board of directors.
Delaware
law generally affords dissenters’ rights of appraisal with respect to stock of a
corporation in a merger or consolidation. Delaware law, however, does not afford
dissenters’ rights of appraisal with respect to (a) a sale of assets,
(b) stock of a corporation surviving a merger if no vote of the
stockholders is required to approve the merger under the circumstances set
forth
above in the section of this table entitled “Shareholder Voting” or
(c) stock of a corporation in a merger or consolidation if the stock is
(i) listed on a national securities exchange or designated as a national
market system security or (ii) widely held (by more than 2,000 stockholders);
provided, however that the holders of stock described in clauses (c)(i) or
(c)(ii) will be entitled to dissenters’ rights if such holders are required to
accept for shares anything except stock in the surviving corporation or stock
in
any other corporation that is listed on a national securities exchange or
designated as a national market system security or widely held.
Accounting
Treatment of the Reincorporation Merger
The
reincorporation merger would be accounted for as a reverse merger whereby,
for
accounting purposes, the Company would be considered the acquiror and the
surviving corporation would be treated as the successor to the historical
operations of the Company. Accordingly, the historical financial statements
of
the Company, which the Company previously reported to the Securities and
Exchange Commission on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, among other forms, as of and for
all
period through the date of this proxy statement, would be treated as the
financial statements of the surviving corporation.
Regulatory
Approval
To
the
Company’s knowledge, the only required regulatory or governmental approval or
filings necessary in connection with the consummation of the reincorporation
merger would be the filing of articles of merger with the Secretary of State
of
Idaho and the filing of a certificate of merger with the Secretary of State
of
Delaware.
Rights
of Dissenting Stockholders
Idaho
law
provides that a shareholder of the Company may dissent from the reincorporation
merger and obtain payment for the fair value of his or her shares of common
stock. The following is a summary of Sections 10-2B-13.01 through
10-2B-13.32 of the Idaho Business Corporation Act (the “Idaho Dissent
Provisions”), the relevant text of which is set forth as Exhibit D to this
proxy statement.
Under
the
Idaho Dissent Provisions, a shareholder of the Company may dissent from the
reincorporation merger by utilizing the following procedures: (i) the
dissenting shareholder must deliver to the Company, prior to the vote being
taken on the reincorporation merger at the annual meeting, written notice of
his
or her intent to demand payment for his or her shares of common stock if Idaho
General Mines, Inc. and General Moly effect the reincorporation merger (the
“notice requirement”); and (ii) the dissenting shareholder must not vote in
favor of the reincorporation proposal (or submit a proxy that results in a
vote
in favor of the reincorporation proposal). As long as a shareholder fulfills
the
notice requirement described in (i) above, the shareholder’s failure to
vote on the reincorporation proposal would not constitute a waiver of his or
her
right to demand payment. A shareholder who does not satisfy the procedures
set
forth in (i) and (ii) above waives his or her right to demand payment. A
vote against the reincorporation proposal does not satisfy the procedures set
forth in (i) and (ii) above.
If
the
stockholders approve the reincorporation proposal, the Company must deliver
written notice of such approval to each dissenting shareholder (the “written
dissenters’ notice”), which must be sent not later than 10 days after the
date Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly effect the reincorporation
merger, assuming Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly do so, and the
dissenting shareholder must make a demand for payment of the fair value of
his
or her shares of common stock in accordance with the terms of the written
dissenters’ notice, which demand must be received by the Company by a date to be
specified by the Company in the written dissenters’ notice, which date shall be
not fewer than 30 nor more than 60 days after the date on which the written
dissenters’ notice is delivered.
Within
20 days after a shareholder makes a formal demand for payment, each
shareholder demanding payment shall submit the certificate or certificates
representing his or her shares of common stock to the Company for notation
thereon by the Company that such demand has been made. The failure to submit
the
shares of common stock for such notation shall, at the option of the Company,
terminate the shareholder’s rights under the Idaho Dissent Provisions unless a
court of competent jurisdiction, for good and sufficient cause, shall otherwise
direct. Once a shareholder makes a formal demand for payment, he or she may
not
withdraw his or her demand unless the Company consents to such withdrawal.
Under
the
Idaho Dissent Provisions, a record shareholder may dissent as to fewer than
all
of the shares of common stock registered in his or her name only if he or she
dissents with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by any
one person and notifies the Company in writing of the name and address of each
person on whose behalf he or she asserts dissenters’ rights. The rights of a
partial dissenter are determined as if the shares of common stock to which
he or
she dissents and his or her other shares of common stock were registered in
the
names of different stockholders.
Upon
the
date Idaho General Mines, Inc. and General Moly effect the reincorporation
merger, or upon receipt by the Company of a demand for payment, the Company
must
offer to pay each dissenting shareholder who has properly complied with the
Idaho Dissent Provisions the amount estimated by the Company to be the fair
value of the shares of common stock held by each such dissenting shareholder,
plus accrued interest. Such offer must be accompanied by, among other
information, the Company’s balance sheet as of the end of the fiscal year ending
not more than 16 months before the date of the offer, an income statement
for that year, the latest available interim financial statements, if any, a
statement of the Company’s estimate of the fair value of the shares, and an
explanation of how the interest was calculated. If any dissenting shareholder
accepts such offer of payment, then such dissenting shareholder must surrender
to the Company the certificate or certificates representing his or her shares
of
common stock. Upon receipt by the Company of the certificate or certificates,
the Company shall pay such dissenting shareholder the fair value of his or
her
shares, plus accrued interest, and such dissenting shareholder will cease to
have any interest in the shares. If, however, a dissenting shareholder does
not
accept the Company’s offer of payment, then such dissenting shareholder must,
within 30 days after the Company offered payment for his or her shares of
common stock, notify the Company in writing of his or her own estimate of the
fair value of his or her shares of common stock and amount of interest due,
and
demand payment of such estimate, or reject the Company’s offer and demand the
fair value of his or her shares of common stock and interest due. If this demand
by a dissenting shareholder remains unsettled for 60 days, then the Company
must
commence a proceeding in the circuit court of Mobile County, Idaho to determine
the fair value of the shares of common stock and accrued interest. If the
Company does not commence this proceeding within the 60-day period, then the
Company must pay each dissenting shareholder whose demand remains unsettled
the
amount demanded. The Company must make all dissenting stockholders whose demands
remain unsettled parties to this proceeding. In such proceeding, the court
may,
if it so elects, appoint one or more persons as appraisers to receive evidence
and recommend a decision on the question of fair value. The Company must pay
each dissenting shareholder the amount found to be due after final determination
of the proceedings. Upon payment of such judgment and surrender to the Company
of the certificate or certificates representing the appraised shares, the
dissenting shareholder will cease to have any interest in the shares of common
stock.
The
costs
and expenses of any such dissent proceeding will be determined by the court
and
will be assessed against the Company, but costs and expenses may be assessed
against all or some of the dissenting stockholders, in such amounts as the
court
deems equitable, to the extent the court finds such dissenting stockholders
acted arbitrarily, vexatiously or not in good faith in demanding payment after
receiving an offer of payment from the Company. The court may also assess the
reasonable fees and expenses of counsel and experts for the respective parties,
in amounts the court finds equitable (a) against the Company and in favor
of any or all dissenting stockholders if the court finds that the Company did
not substantially comply with the requirements of the Idaho Dissent Provisions,
or (b) against either the Company or a dissenting shareholder, in favor of
any other party, if the court finds that the party against whom the fees and
expenses are assessed acted arbitrarily, vexatiously or not in good faith with
respect to the rights provided by the Idaho Dissent Provisions. If the court
finds that the services of counsel for any dissenting shareholder were of
substantial benefit to the other dissenting stockholders similarly situated,
and
that the fees for the services should not be assessed against the Company,
the
court may award such counsel reasonable fees to be paid out of the amounts
awarded to dissenting stockholders who were benefited.
The
foregoing is only a summary of the Idaho Dissent Provisions, and is qualified
in
its entirety by reference to the provisions thereof, the text of which is set
forth as Exhibit D to this proxy statement. Each shareholder of the Company
is urged to carefully read the full text of the Idaho Dissent
Provisions.
Certain
Federal Income Tax Consequences
The
Company has been advised by its counsel, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston
Gates Ellis llp,
that,
for federal income tax purposes, no gain or loss would be recognized by the
holders of the common stock of Idaho General Mines, Inc. as a result of the
consummation of the reincorporation merger and no gain or loss would be
recognized by Idaho General Mines, Inc. or General Moly. In addition, counsel
has advised the Company that each former holder of common stock of Idaho General
Mines, Inc. would have the same basis in the common stock of the surviving
corporation received by such person pursuant to the reincorporation merger
as
such holder had in the common stock of Idaho General Mines, Inc. held by such
person immediately prior to the consummation of the reincorporation merger,
and
such person’s holding period with respect to such common stock of the surviving
corporation would include the period during which such holder held the
corresponding common stock of Idaho General Mines, Inc., provided the latter
was
held by such person as a capital asset immediately prior to the consummation
of
the reincorporation merger.
State,
local or foreign income tax consequences to stockholders may vary from the
federal tax consequences described above. STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD CONSULT THEIR
OWN
TAX ADVISERS AS TO THE EFFECT OF THE REINCORPORATION MERGER UNDER APPLICABLE
FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL OR FOREIGN INCOME TAX LAWS.
THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMENDS A VOTE
“FOR”
THE
REINCORPORATION PROPOSAL 2
PROPOSAL
3: APPROVAL OF AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMPANY’S
2006
EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
At
the
2006 Annual Meeting, the stockholders adopted the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan
(the “2006 Plan”). Under
the
2006 Plan, the maximum aggregate number of shares of common stock that may
be
issued pursuant to awards granted under the 2006 Plan is 3,500,000, plus any
shares remaining available for grant under the Company’s 2003 Stock Option Plan
(the “2003 Plan”). As
of
August 3, 2007, there were 1,260,000 shares of common stock available for
issuance under the 2006 Plan. The Board of Directors has determined it is in
the
best interests of the Company to increase the number of shares available for
awards under the 2006 Plan in order to provide a sufficient number of shares
to
attract and retain qualified employees as the Company transitions from
development stage to operations, including mining, technical and other
operations personnel, in the context of an extremely competitive market for
such
personnel. In light of the upcoming hiring needs necessary to commence
operations, the Board of Directors has approved an amendment to the 2006 Plan
to
increase the aggregate number of shares authorized for issuance by 1,600,000,
and such amendment is hereby submitted to the shareholders for approval.
As
of
August 3, 2007, the Company had 56,334,005 shares outstanding (excluding
11,945,265 shares issuable upon exercise of warrants outstanding on such date).
As of August 3, 2007, (i) 2,310,000 shares of common stock were subject to
outstanding awards under the 2006 Plan and 1,260,000 shares remained available
for issuance thereunder (including the shares available under the 2003 Plan),
(ii) 290,000 shares of common stock were subject to outstanding awards under
the
2003 Plan and 360,000 shares remained available under the 2003 Plan (and are
included in the preceding number available for issuance under the 2006 Plan),
and (iii) 1,637,500 shares of common stock were subject to outstanding equity
compensation awards entered into outside of either the 2003 Plan or 2006 Plan.
Based on the foregoing, if Proposal 3 is approved and the 2006 Plan is amended,
the total aggregate number of shares issued or issuable under the 2003 Plan
and
the 2006 Plan and pursuant to outstanding options granted outside of the
Company’s equity compensation plans will represent 13.0% of the total
outstanding shares (10.7% of outstanding shares assuming exercise of all
outstanding warrants).
THE
BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” PROPOSAL 3
PROPOSAL
4: TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO ACCELERATE THE
TERMINATION
DATE OF THE SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS PLAN
In
connection with the Company’s commitment to improve corporate governance
practices, the Board has determined that it is advisable and in the best
interests of the Company to amend the Company’s Shareholders Rights Agreement
dated as of September 22, 2005, as amended from time to time (the “Rights
Plan”), between the Company and Registrar and Transfer Company, to accelerate
the termination of the Rights Plan to the close of business on October 4, 2007
or such other date as the 2007 Annual Meeting concludes. Accordingly, the Board
of Directors hereby submits such amendment to the Rights Plan to the
shareholders for approval.
THE
BOARD RECOMMENDS A VOTE “FOR” PROPOSAL 4
ADDITIONAL
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
Shareholder
Proposals and Recommendations for Director Nominees for the 2008 Annual
Meeting
If
the
2008 Annual Meeting of shareholders is held on the same date in 2008 as the
2007
Annual Meeting was held, the Company will review shareholder proposals intended
to be included in the Company’s proxy material for the 2008 Annual Meeting of
Shareholders which are received by the Company at its principal executive
offices no later than June 5, 2008. However, the Company currently intends
to
hold its 2008 Annual Meeting on an earlier date next year. The Company will
provide a specific meeting date for the 2008 Annual Meeting promptly after
it is
determined by the Board of Directors. Proposals for the 2008 Annual Meeting
must
be received at least 120 days in advance of the meeting date (the “Proposal
Cut-Off Date”). Assuming the 2008 Annual Meeting is held in June 2008, any
shareholder proposal intended to be included in the Company’s proxy material for
the 2008 Annual Meeting must be received by the Company at its principal
executive offices no later February 2008. All such proposals must be submitted
in writing. The Company will comply with SEC rules with respect to any proposal
that meets its requirements.
A
shareholder, or group of shareholders, that beneficially owned more than 5%
of
the Company’s common stock for at least one year as of the Proposal Cut-Off
Date may
recommend a nominee to the Nominating Committee of our Board of Directors.
Any
such written recommendation must be received by the Company no later than the
Proposal Cut-Off Date, identify the candidate and the shareholder or shareholder
group that has made the recommendation, and state that the shareholder or
shareholder group has held the common stock for at least one year.
Shareholder
proposals and recommendations for director nominees should be sent to Idaho
General Mines, Inc. Board of Directors, c/o Corporate Secretary, 1726
Cole
Blvd, Suite 115 Lakewood, CO 80401.
Annual
Report
The
Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2006, as
amended, is being mailed to all shareholders with this proxy statement. Our
Annual Report is part of the proxy solicitation materials for the Annual
Meeting. Any shareholder that does not receive a copy of our Annual Report
may
obtain one by writing to the Corporate Secretary at the address above. The
Company’s Form 10-KSB may also be accessed at SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Other
Business
As
of the
date of this proxy statement, the Board of Directors is not aware of any matters
that will be presented for action at the Annual Meeting other than those
described above. However, if other business is properly brought before the
Annual Meeting, the proxies will be voted on those matters at the discretion
of
the proxy holders.
|
By
Order of the Board of Directors,
Bruce
D. Hansen
Chief
Executive Officer
|
Lakewood,
Colorado
AGREEMENT
AND PLAN OF MERGER
THIS
AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Merger
Agreement”)
is
entered into as of the ___ day of _________, 2007 by and between General
Moly,
Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Surviving
Corporation”),
and
Idaho General Mines, Inc., an Idaho corporation (“Merging
Corporation”).
Surviving Corporation and Merging Corporation are sometimes collectively
referred to hereinafter as the “Constituent
Corporations.”
RECITALS
WHEREAS,
Surviving Corporation is a corporation organized and existing under the laws
of
Delaware and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merging Corporation;
WHEREAS,
Merging Corporation is a corporation organized and existing under the laws
of
Idaho; and
WHEREAS,
Surviving Corporation and Merging Corporation and their respective Boards
of
Directors deem it advisable and in the best interests of the corporations
and
their respective stockholders to merge Merging Corporation with and into
Surviving Corporation pursuant to the Idaho
Business Corporation Act and
the
Delaware General Corporate Law upon the terms and conditions set forth
herein;
NOW
THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, the mutual covenants, herein
contained, and other valuable consideration the receipt and sufficiency of
which
is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree that Merging Corporation
shall
be merged with and into Surviving Corporation (the “Merger”)
pursuant to the terms and conditions herein set forth.
AGREEMENT
1. General.
1.1 The
Merger.
On the
Effective Date (as herein defined) of the Merger, Merging Corporation shall
be
merged with and into Surviving Corporation and the separate existence of
Merging
Corporation shall cease and Surviving Corporation shall survive such Merger.
The
name of Surviving Corporation shall be General Moly, Inc.
1.2 Certificate
of Incorporation and Bylaws.
The
certificate of incorporation of Surviving Corporation as in effect immediately
prior to the Effective Date shall be the certificate of incorporation of
Surviving Corporation after consummation of the Merger. The
Bylaws of Surviving Corporation as in effect immediately prior to the Effective
Date shall be the Bylaws of Surviving Corporation after consummation of the
Merger.
1.3 Directors
and Officers.
The
directors and officers of Merging Corporation shall, from and after the
Effective Date, be the directors and officers of Surviving Corporation,
until
the
earlier of their resignation or removal or until their respective successors
are
duly elected or appointed and qualified.
1.4 Property
and Liabilities of Constituent Corporations.
On the
Effective Date, the separate existence of Merging Corporation shall cease
and
Merging Corporation shall be merged into Surviving Corporation. Surviving
Corporation, from and after the Effective Date, shall possess all the rights,
privileges, powers and franchises of whatsoever nature and description, of
a
public as well as of a private nature, and be subject to all the restrictions,
disabilities and duties of each of the Constituent Corporations; all rights,
privileges, powers and franchises of each of the Constituent Corporations,
and
all property, real, personal and mixed, of and debts due to either of the
Constituent Corporations on whatever account as well for stock subscriptions
as
all other things in action or belonging to each of the Constituent Corporations
shall be vested in Surviving Corporation; and all property, rights, privileges,
powers and franchises, and all other interests shall be thereafter as
effectually the property of Surviving Corporation as they were of the several
and respective Constituent Corporations and the title to any real estate
vested
by deed or otherwise in either of the Constituent Corporations shall not
revert
or be in any way impaired by reason of the Merger. All rights of creditors
and
all liens upon the property of the Constituent Corporations shall be preserved
unimpaired, and all debts, liabilities and duties of the Constituent
Corporations thenceforth shall attach to Surviving Corporation, and may be
enforced against it to the same extent as if said debts, liabilities and
duties
had been incurred or contracted by it. Any claim existing or action or
proceeding, whether civil, criminal or administrative, pending by or against
either Constituent Corporation may be prosecuted to judgment or decree as
if the
Merger had not taken place, or Surviving Corporation may be substituted in
such
action or proceeding.
1.5 Further
Assurances.
Merging
Corporation agrees that, at any time, or from time to time, as and when
requested by Surviving Corporation, or by its successors and assigns, it
will
execute and deliver, or cause to be executed and delivered in its name by
its
last acting officers, or by the corresponding officers of Surviving Corporation,
all such conveyances, assignments, transfers, deeds or other instruments,
and
will take or cause to be taken such further or other action as Surviving
Corporation, its successors or assigns may deem necessary or desirable in
order
to evidence the transfer, vesting or devolution of any property, right,
privilege or franchise or to vest or perfect in or confirm to Surviving
Corporation, its successors and assigns, title to and possession of all the
property, rights, privileges, powers, franchises and interests referred to
in
this Section 1 herein and otherwise to carry out the intent and purposes
hereof.
1.6 Effective
Date.
This
Merger Agreement shall become effective on the later of (a) the day on
which an executed copy of a Certificate of Ownership and Merger is filed
with
the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware in the manner required by
the
Delaware General Corporation Law and (b) the day on which an executed copy
of Articles of Merger are filed with the Secretary of State of the State
of
Idaho in the manner required by the Idaho
Business Corporation Act
(the
“Effective
Date”).
Agreement
and Plan of Merger
2. Conversion
of Securities on Merger.
2.1
Effect
of Merger on Capital Stock.
Each
share of Merging Corporation’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share
(other
than shares (“Dissenting
Shares”)
that
are owned by shareholders (“Dissenting
Shareholders”)
that
properly exercise dissenters’ rights pursuant to Sections 10-2B-13.01
through 10-2B-13.32 of the Idaho Business Corporation Act),
issued
and outstanding immediately before the Effective Date shall, by virtue of
the
Merger and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, be converted
into and become one (1) validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable share
of
Surviving Corporation’s common stock, $0.001 par value per share (the
“Surviving
Corporation Stock”).
Each
share of Surviving Corporation’s common stock issued and outstanding immediately
before the Effective Date of the Merger shall be canceled without any
consideration being issued or paid therefore, without any further action
on the
part of the holder thereof.
2.2
Effect
of Merger on Options and Warrants.
Each
option, warrant or other security of the Merging
Corporation
issued
and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Date shall be
(a) converted into and shall be an identical security of the Surviving
Corporation subject to the same agreement and terms as then exist with respect
thereto, and (b) otherwise in the case of securities to acquire common
stock of the Merging Corporation, converted into the identical right to acquire
the same number of shares of Surviving
Corporation Stock
as the
number of shares of common stock of the Merging Corporation that were acquirable
pursuant to such option, warrant or other security. As of the Effective Date,
the number of shares of common stock issuable by the Surviving Corporation
upon
exercise of any such option, warrant or other security shall be deemed reserved
by the Surviving Corporation solely for purposes of the exercise of options,
warrants or other securities.
2.3
Certificates.
At and
after the Effective Date, all of the outstanding certificates which immediately
prior thereto represented shares of Merging
Corporation stock
(other
than Dissenting Shares), or options, warrants or other securities of the
Merging
Corporation, shall be
deemed
for all purposes to evidence ownership of and to represent the shares of
Surviving Corporation Stock, or options, warrants or other securities of
Surviving Corporation, as the case may be, into which the shares of Merging
Corporation stock, or options, warrants or other securities of the Surviving
Corporation, as the case may be, represented by such certificates have been
converted as herein provided and shall be so registered on the books and
records
of the Surviving Corporation or its transfer agent. The registered owner
of any
such outstanding certificate shall, until such certificate shall have been
surrendered for transfer or otherwise accounted for to the Surviving Corporation
or its transfer agent, have and be entitled to exercise any voting and other
rights with respect to, and to receive any dividends and other distributions
upon, the shares of Surviving Corporation Stock, or options, warrants or
other
securities of Surviving Corporation, as the case may be, evidenced by such
outstanding certificate, as above provided.
Agreement
and Plan of Merger
2.4 Dissenters’
Rights.
No
Dissenting Shareholder shall be entitled to shares of Surviving Corporation
Stock hereunder unless and until the holder thereof shall have failed to
perfect
or shall have effectively withdrawn or lost such holder’s right to dissent from
the Merger under the Idaho
Business Corporation Act,
and any
Dissenting Shareholder shall be entitled to receive only the payment provided
by
the Idaho
Business Corporation Act
with
respect to Dissenting Shares owned by such Dissenting Shareholder. If any
person
or entity who otherwise would be deemed a Dissenting Shareholder shall have
failed to properly perfect or shall have effectively withdrawn or lost the
right
to dissent with respect to any shares which would be Dissenting Shares but
for
that failure to perfect or withdrawal or loss of the right to dissent, such
Dissenting Shares shall thereupon be treated as though such Dissenting Shares
had been converted into shares of Surviving Corporation Stock.
3. Foreign
Qualification.
Surviving Corporation covenants and agrees, to the extent required by applicable
law, to register or qualify, as applicable, to do business as a foreign
corporation in those states in which Merging Corporation is qualified to
do
business immediately prior to the Effective Date.
4.1
Approval
by Stockholders.
The
stockholders of Merging Corporation shall have approved the Merger and this
Merger Agreement in accordance with Idaho law.
4.2
Governmental
Approvals; No Restraints.
No
statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, ruling, injunction or
other
order (whether temporary, preliminary or permanent) shall have been enacted,
entered, promulgated or enforced by any court or governmental authority of
competent jurisdiction that prohibits, restrains, enjoins or restricts the
consummation of the Merger.
5. Amendment.
The
respective Boards of Directors of the Constituent Corporations may amend
this
Merger Agreement at any time prior to the Effective Date, provided that an
amendment made subsequent to the approval of the Merger by the stockholders
of
Merging Corporation shall not (a) alter or change the amount or kind of shares,
securities, cash, property or rights to be received under this Merger Agreement
by the shareholders of Merging Corporation; (b) alter or change any term
of the
Certificate of Incorporation of Surviving Corporation; or (c) alter or change
any of the terms and conditions of this Merger Agreement if such alteration
or
change would adversely affect the shareholders of Merging Corporation.
Agreement
and Plan of Merger
6. Miscellaneous.
6.1 Counterparts.
This
Merger Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and via facsimile
or other similar electronic transmission, each of which shall be deemed to
be an
original, and all of which taken together shall constitute one Merger
Agreement.
6.2 Termination.
This
Merger Agreement may be terminated and the Merger abandoned at any time prior
to
the Effective Date, whether before or after stockholder approval of this
Merger
Agreement, by the consent of the Board of Directors of either of the Constituent
Corporations.
6.3
Governing
Law. The
Merger and this Merger Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in
accordance with, the laws of the State of Delaware.
6.4 No
Third Party Beneficiaries.
This
Merger Agreement is for the sole benefit of the parties hereto and is not
intended to and shall not confer upon any person other than the parties hereto
any rights or remedies hereunder.
6.5 Severability.
If
any
provision of this Merger Agreement (or any portion thereof) or the application
of any such provision (or any portion thereof) to any person or circumstance
shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect by a court
of
competent jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall
not affect any other provision hereof (or the remaining portion thereof)
or the
application of such provision to any other person or circumstances.
(remainder
of page intentionally left blank)
Agreement
and Plan of Merger
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, the Constituent Corporations have executed this Merger
Agreement as of the date and year first above written.
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MERGING
CORPORATION:
IDAHO
GENERAL MINES, INC.
an
Idaho corporation
1726
Cole Blvd, Suite 115
Lakewood,
Colorado 80401
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By:
Its:
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SURVIVING
CORPORATION:
General
Moly, Inc.,
a
Delaware corporation,
1726
Cole Blvd, Suite 115
Lakewood,
Colorado 80401
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By:
Its:
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Agreement and Plan of Merger
EXHIBIT
B
CERTIFICATE
OF INCORPORATION
OF
GENERAL
MOLY, INC.
ARTICLE
I
Name
The
name
of this Corporation is General Moly, Inc. (the “Corporation”).
ARTICLE
II
Registered
Offices
The
address of its registered office in the State of Delaware is Corporation
Trust
Center, 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle.
The
name of its registered agent is The Corporation Trust Company.
ARTICLE
III
Purpose
This
Corporation is organized for the purposes of transacting any and all lawful
business for which a corporation may be incorporated under Section 102
of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as amended.
ARTICLE
IV
Duration
This
Corporation shall have perpetual existence.
ARTICLE
V
Authorized
Capital Stock
The
authorized capital stock of the Corporation shall consist of two classes
of
stock, designated as Common Stock and Preferred Stock.
The
total
number of shares of Common Stock that the Corporation will have authority
to
issue is Two Hundred Million (200,000,000). The shares shall have $.001
par
value. All of the Common Stock authorized herein shall have equal voting
rights
and powers without restrictions in preference.
The
total
number of shares of Preferred Stock that the Corporation will have authority
to
issue is Ten Million (10,000,000). The Preferred Stock shall have no stated
value. The Preferred Stock shall be entitled to preference over the Common
Stock
with respect to the distributions of assets of the corporations in the
event of
liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Corporation, whether voluntarily
or involuntarily, or in the event of any other distribution of assets of
the
Corporation among its shareholders for the purpose of winding up its affairs.
Shares of Preferred Stock of the Corporation may be issued from time to
time in
one or more series, each of which series shall have such distinctive designation
or title and such number of shares as shall be fixed by the Board of Directors
prior to the issuance of any shares thereof. Each such series of Preferred
Stock
shall have such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, and
such
preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights
and
such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, as shall be stated
and
expressed in the resolution or resolutions providing for the issue of such
series of Preferred Stock as may be adopted from time to time by the Board
of
Directors prior to the issuance of any shares thereof pursuant to the authority
hereby expressly vested in it. The Board of Directors is further authorized
to
increase or decrease (but not below the number of shares then outstanding)
the
number of shares of any series of Preferred Stock subsequent to the issuance
of
shares of that series. In case the number of shares of any series shall
be so
decreased, the shares constituting such decrease shall resume the status
of
which they had prior to the adoption of the resolution originally fixing
the
number of shares of such series.
ARTICLE
VI
Incorporator
The
name
and mailing address of the incorporator is:
Name
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Mailing
Address
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Gary
J. Kocher
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Kirkpatrick
& Lockhart Preston Gates and Ellis LLP
925
Fourth Avenue, Suite 2900
Seattle,
Washington 98104-1158
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ARTICLE
VII
Voting
The
holders of any of the Corporation’s capital stock shall possess voting power for
the election of directors and for all other purposes, subject to such
limitations as may be imposed by law and by any provision of the Certificate
of
Incorporation in the exercise of their voting power. Cumulative voting
for the
election of directors is hereby expressly prohibited. The holders of Common
Stock shall be entitled to one vote for each share held. All of the Common
Stock
authorized herein shall have equal voting rights and powers without restrictions
in preference.
ARTICLE
VIII
Board
of
Directors
The
number of directors which shall constitute the entire Board of Directors
shall
not be less than one (1) nor more than fifteen (15), which number shall
be
determined from time to time by the Board of Directors. In case of a vacancy
in
the Board of Directors because of a director’s resignation, removal or other
departure from the board or because of an increase in the number of directors,
the remaining directors, by majority vote, may elect a director to fill
such
vacancy and vacancies.
ARTICLE
IX
Director
Liability
No
director of the Corporation shall be personally liable to the Corporation
or its
stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty by such
a
director as a director, except to the extent provided by applicable law
(i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or
its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which
involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law,
(iii) pursuant to Section 174 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware,
or (iv) for any transaction from which such director derived an improper
personal benefit. If the General Corporation Law of Delaware is amended
to
authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal
liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation
shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the General
Corporation Law of Delaware as so amended. No amendment to or repeal of
this
Article IX shall apply to or have any effect on the liability or alleged
liability of any director of the Corporation for or with respect to any
acts or
omissions of such director occurring prior to such amendment or
repeal.
ARTICLE
X
Indemnification
of Directors
To
the
fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this Corporation is authorized
to
provide indemnification of (and advancement of expenses to) agents of this
Corporation (and any other persons to which General Corporation Law permits
this
Corporation to provide indemnification) through bylaw provisions, agreements
with such agents or other persons, vote of stockholders or disinterested
directors or otherwise, in excess of the indemnification and advancement
otherwise permitted by Section 145 of the General Corporation Law, subject
only
to limits created by applicable General Corporation Law (statutory or
non-statutory), with respect to actions for breach of duty to this Corporation,
its stockholders, and others.
Any
amendment, repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article
shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director, officer,
agent, or other person existing at the time of, or increase the liability
of any
director of this Corporation with respect to any acts or omissions of such
director, officer or agent occurring prior to, such amendment, repeal or
modification.
ARTICLE
XI
Bylaws
Subject
to the power of shareholders to amend or repeal, the Board of Directors
of this
Corporation shall have the power to enact and amend such Bylaws defining
the
powers and duties of the officers of the Corporation and providing for
such
other matters in relation to its affairs as they may deem necessary and
convenient, provided the same are not out of harmony with the laws of the
State
of Delaware or this Certificate of Incorporation. Further, subject to any
express provision contained in the Bylaws that requires a higher voting
threshold, the Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed by the affirmative
vote of the holders of not less than a majority of the outstanding voting
power
entitled to vote at any regular or special meeting of the
shareholders.
ARTICLE
XII
Amendment
to Certificate of Incorporation
This
Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision
contained in this Certificate of Incorporation, in the manner now or hereafter
prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein
are
granted subject to this reservation.
ARTICLE
XIII
Elections
of directors need not be by written ballot unless the bylaws of the Corporation
shall so provide.
The
undersigned being the incorporator hereinbefore named, for the purpose
of
forming a corporation pursuant to the General Corporation Law of the State
of
Delaware, does hereby make this Certificate, hereby declaring and certifying
that this is the undersigned’s act and deed and the facts herein stated are
true, and accordingly has hereunto set the undersigned’s hand this ____ day of
August, 2007.
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Gary J. Kocher,
Incorporator |
EXHIBIT
C
BYLAWS
OF
GENERAL
MOLY, INC.,
a
Delaware corporation
ARTICLE I.
OFFICES
1.1 Registered
Office and Registered Agent.
The
registered office of General Moly, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”),
shall be located in the State of Delaware at such place as may be fixed
from
time to time by the Board of Directors (“Board”) upon filing of such notices as
may be required by law, and the registered agent shall have a business
office
identical with such registered office. Any change in the registered agent
or
registered office shall be effective upon filing such change with the Office
of
the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware.
1.2 Other
Offices.
The
Company may have other offices within or outside the State of Delaware
at such
place or places as the Board may from time to time determine.
ARTICLE
II.
MEETINGS
OF STOCKHOLDERS
2.2 Annual
Meeting.
An
annual meeting of stockholders shall be held for the election of directors
and
for such other business as may properly come before the meeting at such
date and
time as may be designated by resolution of the Board from time to time.
Any
other proper business may be transacted at the annual meeting.
2.3 Special
Meeting.
A
special meeting of the stockholders may be called at any time by the Board,
chief executive officer or president (in the absence of a chief executive
officer) or by one or more stockholders holding shares in the aggregate
entitled
to cast not less than 10% of the votes at that meeting.
If
any
person(s) other than the Board calls a special meeting, the request
shall:
(i) be
in
writing;
(ii) specify
the time of such meeting and the general nature of the business proposed
to be
transacted; and
(iii) be
delivered personally or sent by registered mail or by facsimile transmission
to
the chair of the Board, the chief executive officer, the president (in
the
absence of a chief executive officer) or the secretary of the Company.
2.4 Notice
of Stockholders’ Meetings.
All
notices of meetings of stockholders shall be sent or otherwise given in
accordance with either Section 2.5 or Section 9.1 of these Bylaws not
less than 10 or more than 60 days before the date of the meeting to each
stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting. The notice shall specify
the
place, if any, date and hour of the meeting, the means of remote communication,
if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present
in
person and vote at such meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting,
the
purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called.
2.5 Manner
of Giving Notice; Affidavit of Notice.
Notice
of any meeting of stockholders shall be given:
(i) personally;
(ii)
if
mailed, when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed
to
the stockholder at his or her address as it appears on the Company’s records;
or
(iii) if
electronically transmitted, as provided in Section 9.1 of these
Bylaws.
An
affidavit of the secretary or an assistant secretary of the Company or
of the
transfer agent or any other agent of the Company that the notice has been
given
by mail or by a form of electronic transmission, as applicable, shall,
in the
absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated
therein.
2.6 Quorum.
Except
as otherwise provided by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these
Bylaws,
at each meeting of stockholders the presence in person or by proxy of the
holders of shares of stock having a majority of the votes which could be
cast by
the holders of all outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote at the
meeting
shall be necessary and sufficient to constitute a quorum. If, however,
such
quorum is not present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders,
then
either (i) the chair of the meeting, or (ii) the stockholders entitled
to vote at the meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall
have
power to adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than
announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present or represented.
2.7 Adjourned
Meeting; Notice.
Any
meeting of stockholders, annual or special, may adjourn from time to time
to
reconvene at the same or some other place, and notice need not be given
of the
adjourned meeting if the time, place if any thereof, and the means of remote
communications if any by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed
to
be present in person and vote at such adjourned meeting are announced at
the
meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the continuation of the adjourned
meeting, the Company may transact any business which might have been transacted
at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 30 days, or if
after the adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting,
a
notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record
entitled to vote at the meeting.
2.8 Conduct
of Business.
Meetings
of stockholders shall be presided over by the chair of the Board, if any,
or in
his or her absence by the vice chair of the Board, if any, or in his or
her
absence by the president, or in his or her absence by a vice president,
or in
the absence of the foregoing persons by a chair designated by the Board,
or in
the absence of such designation by a chair chosen at the meeting. The secretary
shall act as secretary of the meeting, but in his or her absence any assistant
secretary may act as secretary, and in the absence of the secretary and
all
assistant secretaries the chair of the meeting may appoint any person to
act as
secretary of the meeting. The chair of any meeting of stockholders shall
determine the order of business and the procedure at the meeting, including
such
regulation of the manner of voting and the conduct of business.
2.9 Voting.
The
stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall be determined
in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.11 of these Bylaws, subject
to Section 217 (relating to voting rights of fiduciaries, pledgors and
joint owners of stock) and Section 218 (relating to voting trusts and other
voting agreements) of the DGCL.
Except
as
may be otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these
Bylaws,
each stockholder shall be entitled to one vote for each share of capital
stock
held by such stockholder. Voting at meetings of stockholders need not be
by
written ballot and need not be conducted by inspectors of election unless
so
determined by the holders of shares of stock having a majority of the votes
which could be cast by the holders of all outstanding shares of stock entitled
to vote thereon which are present in person or by proxy at such meeting.
Except
as otherwise provided in any corporate governance guidelines or other policies
or procedures adopted by the Board, at all meetings of stockholders for
the
election of directors a plurality of the votes cast shall be sufficient
to
elect. All other elections and questions shall, unless otherwise provided
by
law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, be decided by the
vote of
the holders of shares of stock having a majority of the votes which could
be
cast by the holders of all shares of stock entitled to vote thereon which
are
present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting.
2.10 Stockholder
Action by Written Consent Without a Meeting.
Unless
otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation and subject to any
stock
exchange or electronic trading market rules and regulations applicable
to the
Company, any action required by the DGCL to be taken at any annual or special
meeting of stockholders of a Company, or any action which may be taken
at any
annual or special meeting of such stockholders, may be taken without a
meeting,
without prior notice, and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing,
setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding
stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary
to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled
to
vote thereon were present and voted.
Prompt
notice of the taking of the corporate action without a meeting by less
than
unanimous written consent shall be given to those stockholders who have
not
consented in writing and who, if the action had been taken at a meeting,
would
have been entitled to notice of the meeting if the record date for such
meeting
had been the date that written consents signed by a sufficient number of
holders
to take the action were delivered to the Company as provided in Section 228
of the DGCL. In the event that the action which is consented to is such
as would
have required the filing of a certificate under any provision of the DGCL,
if
such action had been voted on by stockholders at a meeting thereof, the
certificate filed under such provision shall state, in lieu of any statement
required by such provision concerning any vote of stockholders, that written
consent has been given in accordance with Section 228 of the
DGCL.
2.11 Record
Date for Stockholder Notice; Voting; Giving Consents.
In
order that the Company may determine the stockholders entitled to notice
of or
to vote at any meeting of stockholders or any adjournment thereof, or entitled
to express consent to corporate action in writing without a meeting, or
entitled
to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of
any
rights, or entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion
or exchange of stock or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the
Board
may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon
which
the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board and which
record
date:
(i) in
the
case of determination of stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote
at any
meeting of stockholders or adjournment thereof, shall, unless otherwise
required
by law, not be more than sixty nor less than ten days before the date of
such meeting;
(ii) in
the
case of determination of stockholders entitled to express consent to corporate
action in writing without a meeting, shall not be more than ten days after
the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by
the
Board; and
(iii) in
the
case of determination of stockholders for any other action, shall not be
more
than sixty days prior to such other action.
If
no
record date is fixed by the Board:
(a) the
record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote
at a
meeting of stockholders shall be at the close of business on the day next
preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the
close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the
meeting is held;
(b) the
record date for determining stockholders entitled to express consent to
corporate action in writing without a meeting when no prior action of the
Board
is required by law, shall be the first date on which a signed written consent
setting forth the action taken or proposed to be taken is delivered to
the
Company in accordance with applicable law, or, if prior action by the Board
is
required by law, shall be at the close of business on the day on which the
Board adopts the resolution taking such prior action; and
(c) the
record date for determining stockholders for any other purpose shall be
at the
close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution
relating thereto.
A
determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote
at a
meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting;
provided,
however, that the Board may fix a new record date for the adjourned meeting.
2.12 Proxies.
Each
stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders or to express
consent
or dissent to corporate action in writing without a meeting may authorize
another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy authorized
by an
instrument in writing or by a transmission permitted by law filed in accordance
with the procedure established for the meeting, but no such proxy shall
be voted
or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides
for a
longer period. The revocability of a proxy that states on its face that
it is
irrevocable shall be governed by the provisions of Section 212 of the
DGCL.
2.13 List
of Stockholders Entitled to Vote.
The
officer who has charge of the stock ledger of the Company shall prepare
and
make, at least 10 days before every meeting of stockholders, a complete
list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting, arranged in
alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the
number
of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. The Company shall
not be
required to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact
information on such list. Such list shall be open to the examination of
any
stockholder, for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at
least
10 days prior to the meeting: (i) on a reasonably accessible
electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access
to
such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (ii) during
ordinary business hours, at the Company’s principal executive office. In the
event that the Company determines to make the list available on an electronic
network, the Company may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information
is available only to stockholders of the Company. If the meeting is to
be held
at a place, then the list shall be produced and kept at the time and place
of
the meeting during the whole time thereof, and may be inspected by any
stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means
of
remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination
of any
stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible
electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall
be
provided with the notice of the meeting. Such list shall presumptively
determine
the identity of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and the
number
of shares held by each of them. Failure to comply with the requirements
of this
Section shall not affect the validity of any action taken at such
meeting.
ARTICLE III.
DIRECTORS
3.1 Powers.
Subject
to the provisions of the DGCL and any limitations in the Certificate of
Incorporation or these Bylaws relating to action required to be approved
by the
stockholders or by the outstanding shares, the business and affairs of
the
Company shall be managed and all corporate powers shall be exercised by
or under
the direction of the Board.
3.2 Number
of Directors.
All
corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the authority of, and the
business and affairs of a Company shall be managed under the direction
of the
Board, except as may be otherwise provided in the provisions of the DGCL
or the
Certificate of Incorporation. The Board shall consist of not less than
one (1)
persons nor more than fifteen (15) persons, who shall be elected for a
term as
set forth in Section 3.3 of these Bylaws, and shall hold office until their
successors are elected and qualify. Directors need not be stockholders
or
residents of the State of Delaware. In addition to the powers and authorities
expressly conferred upon the Company by these Bylaws and the Certificate
of
Incorporation, the Board may exercise all such powers of the Company and
do all
such lawful acts and things as are not by statute or by the Certificate
of
Incorporation or by these Bylaws directed or required to be exercised or
done by
the stockholders.
3.3 Election,
Qualification and Term of Office of Directors.
The
Directors shall be divided into three (3) classes, as nearly equal in number
as
possible. The term of office of the first class shall expire at the 2008
annual
meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation; the term of office of the
second
class shall expire at the 2009 annual meeting of the stockholders of the
Corporation; and the term of office of the third class shall expire at
the 2010
annual meeting of the stockholders of the Corporation. At each annual meeting
of
the stockholders after such classification, the number of directors equal
to the
number of the class whose term expires on the day of such meeting shall
be
elected for a term of three (3) years. Directors shall hold office until
expiration of the terms for which they were elected and qualified; provided,
however, that any director may be removed from office as a director at
any time
by the stockholders, but only for cause, and only by the affirmative vote
of a
majority of the outstanding voting power entitled to elect such director.
If the
office of any director becomes vacant by reason of death, resignation,
retirement, disqualification, removal from office, increase in the number
of
directors or otherwise, a majority of the remaining directors, although
less
than a quorum, at a meeting called for that purpose, or a sole remaining
director, may choose a successor, and the director so chosen shall hold
office
until the expiration of the term of the class for which appointed or until
a
successor is duly elected and qualified, or until such director’s earlier
resignation or removal.
3.4 Resignation
and Vacancies.
Any
director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic
transmission to the Company. When one or more directors so resigns and
the
resignation is effective at a future date, a majority of the directors
then in
office, including those who have so resigned, shall have power to fill
such
vacancy or vacancies, the vote thereon to take effect when such resignation
or
resignations shall become effective, and each director so chosen shall
hold
office as provided in this Section in the filling of other
vacancies.
Unless
otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these
Bylaws:
(i) Vacancies
and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized
number of directors elected by all of the stockholders having the right
to vote
as a single class may be filled by a majority of the directors then in
office,
although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director.
(ii) Whenever
the holders of any class or classes of stock or series thereof are entitled
to
elect one or more directors by the provisions of the Certificate of
Incorporation, vacancies and newly created directorships of such class
or
classes or series may be filled by a majority of the directors elected
by such
class or classes or series thereof then in office, or by a sole remaining
director so elected.
If
at any
time, by reason of death or resignation or other cause, the Company should
have
no directors in office, then any officer or any stockholder or an executor,
administrator, trustee or guardian of a stockholder, or other fiduciary
entrusted with like responsibility for the person or estate of a stockholder,
may call a special meeting of stockholders in accordance with the provisions
of
the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, or may apply to the Court
of
Chancery for a decree summarily ordering an election as provided in
Section 211 of the DGCL.
If,
at
the time of filling any vacancy or any newly created directorship, the
directors
then in office constitute less than a majority of the whole Board (as
constituted immediately prior to any such increase), then the Court of
Chancery
may, upon application of any stockholder or stockholders holding at least
10% of
the total number of the shares at the time outstanding having the right
to vote
for such directors, summarily order an election to be held to fill any
such
vacancies or newly created directorships, or to replace the directors chosen
by
the directors then in office as aforesaid, which election shall be governed
by
the provisions of Section 211 of the DGCL as far as
applicable.
3.5 Place
of Meetings; Meetings by Telephone.
The
Board may hold meetings, both regular and special, either within or outside
the
State of Delaware.
Unless
otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws,
members of the Board, or any committee designated by the Board, may participate
in a meeting of the Board, or any committee, by means of conference telephone
or
other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating
in
the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a meeting shall
constitute presence in person at the meeting.
3.6 Regular
Meetings.
Regular
meetings of the Board may be held without notice at such time and at such
place
as shall from time to time be determined by the Board.
3.7 Special
Meetings; Notice.
Special
meetings of the Board for any purpose or purposes may be called at any
time by
the chair of the Board, the chief executive officer, the president, the
secretary or any two directors.
Notice
of
the time and place of special meetings shall be:
(i) delivered
personally by hand, by courier or by telephone;
(ii) sent
by
United States first-class mail, postage prepaid;
(iii) sent
by
facsimile; or
(iv) sent
by
electronic mail, directed
to each director at that director’s address, telephone number, facsimile number
or electronic mail address, as the case may be, as shown on the Company’s
records.
If
the
notice is (i) delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone,
(ii) sent by facsimile or (iii) sent by electronic mail, it shall be
delivered or sent at least 24 hours before the time of the holding of the
meeting. If the notice is sent by United States mail, it shall be deposited
in
the United States mail at least four days before the time of the holding of
the meeting. Any oral notice may be communicated to the director. The notice
need not specify the place of the meeting (if the meeting is to be held
at the
Company’s principal executive office) nor the purpose of the
meeting.
3.8 Quorum.
At all
meetings of the Board, a majority of the total number of acting directors
shall
constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The vote of a majority
of
the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall
be the
act of the Board, except as may be otherwise specifically provided by statute,
the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws. If a quorum is not present
at
any meeting of the Board, then the directors present thereat may adjourn
the
meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the
meeting, until a quorum is present.
A
meeting
at which a quorum is initially present may continue to transact business
notwithstanding the withdrawal of directors, if any action taken is approved
by
at least a majority of the required quorum for that meeting.
3.9 Board
Action by Written Consent Without a Meeting.
Unless
otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws,
any
action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board, or
of any
committee thereof, may be taken without a meeting if all members of the
Board or
committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic
transmission and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or
transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board or
committee. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained
in
paper form and shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained
in
electronic form.
3.10 Fees
and Compensation of Directors.
Unless
otherwise restricted by the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws,
the
Board shall have the authority to fix the compensation of directors.
3.11 Prohibition
of Loans to Officers.
The
Company may not lend money to, or guarantee any obligation of, or otherwise
assist any officer of the Company, including any officer who is a director
of
the Company.
3.12 Removal
of Directors.
Unless
otherwise restricted by statute, the Certificate of Incorporation or these
Bylaws, so long as the Board is classified as provided in Section 141(d)
of the
DGCL, any director or the entire Board may be removed, only for cause,
by the
holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election
of
directors.
No
reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of
removing any director prior to the expiration of such director’s term of
office.
ARTICLE IV.
COMMITTEES
4.1 Committees
of Directors.
The
Board, by resolution adopted by a majority of the full Board, may designate
from
among its members an executive committee and one or more other committees
each
of which, to the extent provided in such resolution of the Certificate
of
Incorporation or these Bylaws, shall have and may exercise all the authority
of
the Board, except that no such committee shall have the authority to: (i)
declare dividends, except at a rate or in periodic amount determined by
the
Board; (ii) approve or recommend to stockholders actions or proposals required
by this title to be approved by stockholders; (iii) fill vacancies on the
Board
or any committee thereof; (iv) amend the Bylaws; (v) authorize or approve
the
reacquisition of shares unless pursuant to general formula or method specified
by the Board; (vi) fix compensation of any director for serving on the
Board or
on any committee; (vii) approve a plan of merger, consolidation, or exchange
of
shares not requiring stockholder approval; (viii) reduce earned or capital
surplus; or (ix) appoint other committees of the Board or the members
thereof.
4.2 Committee
Minutes.
Each
committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same
to the
Board when required, and minutes of all committee meetings so kept shall
be
maintained by the secretary in the Company’s minute book.
ARTICLE V.
OFFICERS
5.1 Officers.
The
officers of the Company shall be a chief executive officer and/or president
and
a secretary. The Company may also have, at the discretion of the Board,
a chair
of the Board, a vice chair of the Board, a chief executive officer, a chief
financial officer or treasurer, one or more vice presidents, one or more
assistant vice presidents, one or more assistant treasurers, one or more
assistant secretaries, and any such other officers with such titles as
may be
appointed in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws. Any number
of
offices may be held by the same person.
5.2 Appointment
of Officers.
The
Board shall appoint the officers of the Company, except such officers as
may be
appointed in accordance with the provisions of Sections 5.3 and 5.5 of
these Bylaws, subject to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract
of
employment.
5.3 Subordinate
Officers.
The
Board may appoint, or empower the chief executive officer or, in the absence
of
a chief executive officer, the president, to appoint, such other officers
and
agents as the business of the Company may require. Each of such officers
and
agents shall hold office for such period, have such authority, and perform
such
duties as are provided in these Bylaws or as the Board may from time to
time
determine.
5.4 Removal
and Resignation of Officers.
Subject
to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract of employment,
any
officer may be removed, either with or without cause, by an affirmative
vote of
the majority of the Board at any regular or special meeting of the Board
or,
except in the case of an officer chosen by the Board, by any officer upon
whom
such power of removal may be conferred by the Board.
Any
officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Company.
Any
resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of that notice
or at
any later time specified in that notice. Unless otherwise specified in
the
notice of resignation, the acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary
to make it effective. Any resignation is without prejudice to the rights,
if
any, of the Company under any contract to which the officer is a
party.
5.5 Vacancies
in Offices.
Any
vacancy occurring in any office of the Company shall be filled by the Board
or
as provided in Section 5.2.
5.6 Representation
of Shares of Other Corporations.
The
chair of the Board, the president, any vice president, the treasurer, the
secretary or assistant secretary of the Company, or any other person authorized
by the Board or the president or a vice president, is authorized to vote,
represent, and exercise on behalf of the Company all rights incident to
any and
all shares of any other corporation or corporations standing in the name
of the
Company. The authority granted herein may be exercised either by such person
directly or by any other person authorized to do so by proxy or power of
attorney duly executed by such person having the authority.
5.7 Authority
and Duties of Officers.
All
officers of the Company shall respectively have such authority and perform
such
duties in the management of the business of the Company as may be designated
from time to time by the Board or the stockholders and, to the extent not
so
provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to
the
control of the Board. The
secretary shall have responsibility for preparing minutes of the directors’ and
stockholders’ meetings and authenticating records of the Company.
ARTICLE VI.
RECORDS
AND REPORTS
6.1 Maintenance
and Inspection of Records.
The
Company shall, either at its principal executive office or at such place
or
places as designated by the Board, keep a record of its stockholders listing
their names and addresses and the number and class of shares held by each
stockholder, a copy of these Bylaws as amended to date, accounting books,
and
other records.
Any
stockholder of record, in person or by attorney or other agent, shall,
upon
written demand under oath stating the purpose thereof, have the right during
the
usual hours for business to inspect for any proper purpose the Company’s stock
ledger, a list of its stockholders, and its other books and records and
to make
copies or extracts therefrom. A proper purpose shall mean a purpose reasonably
related to such person’s interest as a stockholder. In every instance where an
attorney or other agent is the person who seeks the right to inspection,
the
demand under oath shall be accompanied by a power of attorney or such other
writing that authorizes the attorney or other agent so to act on behalf
of the
stockholder. The demand under oath shall be directed to the Company at
its
registered office in Delaware or at its principal executive office.
6.2 Inspection
by Directors.
Any
director shall have the right to examine the Company’s stock ledger, a list of
its stockholders, and its other books and records for a purpose reasonably
related to his or her position as a director. The Court of Chancery is
hereby
vested with the exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether a director
is
entitled to the inspection sought. The Court may summarily order the Company
to
permit the director to inspect any and all books and records, the stock
ledger,
and the stock list and to make copies or extracts therefrom. The Court
may, in
its discretion, prescribe any limitations or conditions with reference
to the
inspection, or award such other and further relief as the Court may deem
just
and proper.
6.3 Annual
Report.
The
Company shall cause an annual report to be sent to the stockholders of
the
Company to the extent required by applicable law. If and so long as there
are
fewer than 100 holders of record of the Company’s shares, the requirement of
sending of an annual report to the stockholders of the Company is expressly
waived (to the extent permitted under applicable law).
ARTICLE VII.
SHARES
7.1 Issuance
of Shares.
No
shares of the Company shall be issued unless authorized by the Board. Such
authorization shall include the maximum number of shares to be issued and
the
consideration to be received for each share. No certificate shall be issued
for
any share until such share is fully paid.
7.2 Certificates
for Shares.
Certificates representing shares of the Company shall be in such form as
shall
be determined by the Board. Such certificates shall be signed by two officers
of
the Company
designated by the Board. The signatures of such officers may be facsimiles
if
the certificate is manually signed on behalf of a transfer agent, or registered
by a registrar, other than the Company
itself
or an employee of the Company.
Certificates for shares shall be consecutively numbered or otherwise identified.
The name and address of the person to whom the shares represented thereby
are
issued, with the number of shares or other identification and the date
of issue,
shall be entered on the share transfer books of the Company.
All
certificates surrendered to the Company
for
transfer shall be cancelled and no new certificate shall be issued until
the
former certificate for a like number of shares shall have been surrendered
and
cancelled, except that in case of a lost, destroyed or mutilated certificate,
a
new one may be issued therefor upon such terms and indemnity to the Company
as the
Board may prescribe. Each certificate representing shares shall state upon
the
face thereof:
(i)
The
name
of the Company;
(ii) That
the
Company is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware;
(iii) The
name
of the person to whom issued;
(iv) The
number and class of shares; and
(v) The
designation of the series, if any, which such certificates
represent.
If
the
Company is authorized to issue different classes of shares or different
series
within a class, the designations, relative rights, preferences and limitations
applicable to each class and the variations in rights, preferences and
limitations determined for each series and the board’s authority to determine
variations for future series must be summarized on the front or back of
each
certificate. Alternatively, each certificate may state conspicuously on
its
front or back that the Company will furnish the stockholder this information
on
request in writing and without charge.
7.3 Transfers.
Transfers of stock shall be made only upon the share transfer books of
the
Company, kept at the registered office of the Company or at its principal
place
of business, or at the office of its transfer agent or registrar, and before
a
new certificate is issued the older certificate shall be surrendered for
cancellation. The Board may, by resolution, open a share registered in
any state
of the United States, and may employ an agent or agents to keep such register,
and to record transfers of shares therein. Shares shall be transferred
by
delivery of the certificates therefor, accompanied either by an assignment
in
writing on the back of the certificate or an assignment separate from
certificate, or by a written power of attorney to sell, assign and transfer
the
same, signed by the holder of said certificate. No shares of stock shall
be
transferred on the books of the Company until the outstanding certificates
therefor have been surrendered to the Company.
7.4 Registered
Owner.
Registered stockholders shall be treated by the Company as the holders
in fact
of the stock standing in their respective names and the Company shall not
be
bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in any share
on
the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other
notice thereto, except as expressly provided below or by the laws of the
State
of Delaware. The Board may adopt by resolution a procedure whereby a stockholder
of the Company may certify in writing to the Company that all or a portion
of
the shares registered in the name of such stockholder are held for the
account
of a specified person or persons. The resolution shall set forth:
(i)
The
classification of stockholder who may certify;
(ii) The
purpose or purposes for which the certification may be made;
(iii) The
form
of certification and information to be contained therein;
(iv) If
the
certification is with respect to a record date or closing of the share
transfer
books, the date within which the certification must be received by the
Company;
and
(v) Such
other provisions with respect to the procedure as are deemed necessary
or
desirable.
Upon
receipt by the Company of a certification complying with the procedure,
the
persons specified in the certification shall be deemed, for the purpose
or
purposes set forth in the certification, to be the holders of record of
the
number of shares specified in place of the stockholder making the
certification.
7.5 Mutilated,
Lost or Destroyed Certificates.
In case
of any mutilation, loss or destruction of any certificate of stock, another
may
be issued in its place on proof of such mutilation, loss or destruction.
The
Board may impose conditions on such issuance and may require the giving
of a
satisfactory bond or indemnity to the Company in such sum as they might
determine or establish such other procedures as they deem
necessary.
7.6 Fractional
Shares or Scrip.
The
Company may: (i) issue fractions of a share which shall entitle the holder
to
exercise voting rights, to receive dividends thereon, and to participate
in any
of the assets of the Company in the event of liquidation; (ii) arrange
for the
disposition of the fractional interests by those entitled thereto; (iii)
pay in
cash the fair value of fractions of a share as of the time when those entitled
to receive such shares are determined; or (iv) issue scrip in registered
or
bearer form which shall entitle the holder to receive a certificate for
a full
share upon the surrender of such scrip aggregating a full share. The Board
may
cause such scrip to be issued subject to the condition that it shall become
void
if not exchanged for certificates representing full shares before a specified
date, or subject to the condition that the shares for which such scrip
is
exchangeable may be sold by the Company and the proceeds thereof distributed
to
the holders of such scrip, or subject to any other conditions which the
Board
may deem advisable.
7.7 Share
of Another Corporation.
Shares
owned by the Company in another corporation, domestic or foreign, may be
voted
by such officer, agent or proxy as the Board may determine.
7.8 Issuance/Consideration.
Shares
may be issued at a price determined by the Board of Directors, or the Board
may
set a minimum price or establish a formula or method by which the price
may be
determined. Consideration for shares may consist of cash, promissory notes,
services performed, and any other lawful form of consideration, including
tangible or intangible property. If shares are issued for other than cash,
the
Board of Directors shall determine the value of the consideration. Shares
issued
when the Company receives the consideration determined by the Board are
validly
issued, fully paid and nonassesable. A good faith judgment of the Board
of
Directors as to the value of the consideration received for shares is
conclusive.
The
Company may place shares issued for a contract for future services or a
promissory note in escrow, or make other arrangements to restrict the transfer
of the shares, and make credit distributions in respect of the shares against
their purchase price, until the services are performed or the note is paid.
If
the services are not performed or the note is not paid, the shares escrowed
or
restricted and the distributions credited may be cancelled in whole or
in
part.
7.9 Restriction
of Transfer.
All
certificates representing unregistered shares of the Company shall bear
the
following legend on the face of the certificate or on the reverse of the
certificate if a reference to the legend is contained on the face:
THE
SECURITIES EVIDENCED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER
THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 OR ANY APPLICABLE STATE LAW, AND NO INTEREST THEREIN
MAY
BE SOLD, DISTRIBUTED, ASSIGNED, OFFERED, PLEDGED OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED
UNLESS
(A) THERE IS AN EFFECTIVE REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER SUCH ACT AND APPLICABLE
STATE SECURITIES LAWS COVERING ANY SUCH TRANSACTION INVOLVING SAID SECURITIES
OR
(B) THIS CORPORATION RECEIVES AN OPINION OF LEGAL COUNSEL FOR THE HOLDER
OF
THESE SECURITIES (CONCURRED IN BY LEGAL COUNSEL FOR THIS CORPORATION) STATING
THAT SUCH TRANSACTION IS EXEMPT FROM REGISTRATION OR THIS CORPORATION OTHERWISE
SATISFIED ITSELF THAT SUCH TRANSACTION IS EXEMPT FORM REGISTRATION. NEITHER
THE
OFFERING OF THE SECURITIES NOR ANY OFFERING MATERIALS HAVE BEEN REVIEWED
BY ANY
ADMINISTRATOR UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, OR ANY APPLICABLE STATE
LAW. THE
TRANSFER AGENT HAS BEEN ORDERED TO EFFECTUATE TRANSFERS OF THIS CERTIFICATE
ONLY
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ABOVE INSTRUCTIONS.
ARTICLE VIII.
GENERAL
MATTERS
8.1 Construction;
Definitions.
Unless
the context requires otherwise, the general provisions, rules of construction,
and definitions in the DGCL shall govern the construction of these Bylaws.
Without limiting the generality of this provision, the singular number
includes
the plural, the plural number includes the singular, and the term “person”
includes both a corporation
and a natural person.
8.2 Dividends.
The
Board may, from time to time, declare and the Company may pay dividends
on its
outstanding shares in cash, property, or its own shares, except when the
Company
is insolvent or when the payment thereof would render the Company insolvent
or
when the declaration or payment thereof would be contrary to any restrictions
contained in the Certificate of Incorporation subject to the following
provisions:
(1) Except
as
otherwise provided in this Section, dividends may be declared and paid
in cash
or property only out of:
(a) The
unreserved and unrestricted net earned surplus of the corporation,
or
(b) The
unreserved and unrestricted net earnings of the current fiscal year and
the next
preceding fiscal year taken as a single period. No dividend out of unreserved
and unrestricted net earnings so computed shall be paid which would reduce
the
net assets of the corporation below the aggregate preferential amount payable
in
the event of voluntary liquidation to the holders of shares having preferential
rights to the assets of the Company in the event of liquidation.
(2) Dividends
may be declared and paid in its own treasury shares.
(3) Dividends
may be declared and paid in its own authorized but unissued shares out
of any
unreserved and unrestricted surplus of the corporation upon the following
conditions:
(a) If
a
dividend is payable in its own shares having a par value, such shares shall
be
issued at not less than the par value thereof and there shall be transferred
to
stated capital at the time such dividend is paid an amount of surplus equal
to
the aggregate par value of the shares to be issued as a dividend.
(b) If
a
dividend is payable in its own shares without par value, such shares shall
be
issued at such stated value as shall be fixed by the Board by resolution
adopted
at the time such dividend is declared, and there shall be transferred to
stated
capital at the time such dividend is paid an amount of surplus equal to
the
aggregate stated value so fixed in respect of such shares; and the amount
per
share so transferred to stated capital shall be disclosed to the shareholders
receiving such dividend concurrently with the payment thereof.
8.3 Fiscal
Year.
The
fiscal year of the Company shall be fixed by resolution of the Board and
may be
changed by the Board.
8.4 Seal.
The
Company may adopt a corporate seal, which shall be adopted and which may
be
altered by the Board. The Company may use the corporate seal by causing
it or a
facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner
reproduced.
8.5 Waiver
of Notice.
Whenever
notice is required to be given under any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate
of Incorporation or these Bylaws, a written waiver, signed by the person
entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person
entitled to notice, whether before or after the time of the event for which
notice is to be given, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance
of a
person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting,
except
when the person attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting
at the
beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the
meeting
is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted
at,
nor the purpose of, any regular or special meeting of the stockholders
need be
specified in any written waiver of notice or any waiver by electronic
transmission unless so required by the Certificate of Incorporation or
these
Bylaws.
ARTICLE
IX.
NOTICE
BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION
9.1 Notice
by Electronic Transmission.
Without
limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively
to
stockholders pursuant to the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or
these
Bylaws, any notice to stockholders given by the Company under any provision
of
the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws shall be effective
if
given by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder
to
whom the notice is given. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder
by written notice to the Company. Any such consent shall be deemed revoked
if:
(i) the
Company is unable to deliver by electronic transmission two consecutive
notices
given by the Company in accordance with such consent; and
(ii) such
inability becomes known to the secretary or an assistant secretary of the
Company or to the transfer agent, or other person responsible for the giving
of
notice.
However,
the inadvertent failure to treat such inability as a revocation shall not
invalidate any meeting or other action.
Any
notice given pursuant to the preceding paragraph shall be deemed given:
(i) if
by
facsimile telecommunication, when directed to a number at which the stockholder
has consented to receive notice;
(ii) if
by
electronic mail, when directed to an electronic mail address at which the
stockholder has consented to receive notice;
(iii) if
by a
posting on an electronic network together with separate notice to the
stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (A) such posting
and (B) the giving of such separate notice; and
(iv) if
by any
other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder.
An
affidavit of the secretary or an assistant secretary or of the transfer
agent or
other agent of the Company that the notice has been given by a form of
electronic transmission shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie
evidence
of the facts stated therein.
9.2 Definition
of Electronic Transmission.
An
“electronic transmission” means any form of communication, not directly
involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that
may be
retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may
be
directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated
process.
9.3 Inapplicability.
Notice
by a form of electronic transmission shall not apply to Sections 164, 296,
311, 312 or 324 of the DGCL.
ARTICLE X.
INDEMNIFICATION
10.1 Indemnification
of Directors and Officers.
The
Company shall indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted
by
the DGCL as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any director
or
officer of the Company who was or is made or is threatened to be made a
party or
is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil,
criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”) by reason of the fact
that he or she, or a person for whom he or she is the legal representative,
is
or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or is or was
serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee
or agent
of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise
or
non-profit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans,
against all liability and loss suffered and expenses reasonably incurred
by such
person in connection with any such Proceeding. The Company shall be required
to
indemnify a person in connection with a Proceeding initiated by such person
only
if the Proceeding was authorized by the Board.
10.2 Indemnification
of Others.
The
Company shall have the power to indemnify and hold harmless, to the extent
permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be
amended,
any employee or agent of the Company who was or is made or is threatened
to be
made a party or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by reason of the
fact
that he or she, or a person for whom he or she is the legal representative,
is
or was an employee or agent of the Company or is or was serving at the
request
of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation
or of a partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity,
including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability
and loss suffered and expenses reasonably incurred by such person in connection
with any such Proceeding.
10.3 Prepayment
of Expenses.
The
Company shall pay the expenses incurred by any officer or director of the
Company, and may pay the expenses incurred by any employee or agent of
the
Company, in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition;
provided, however, that the payment of expenses incurred by a person in
advance
of the final disposition of the Proceeding shall be made only upon receipt
of an
undertaking by the person to repay all amounts advanced if it should be
ultimately determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified
under
this Article X or otherwise.
10.4 Determination;
Claim.
If a
claim for indemnification or payment of expenses under this Article X is
not paid in full within sixty days after a proper written claim therefor
has been received by the Company, the claimant may file suit to recover
the
unpaid amount of such claim and, if successful in whole or in part, shall
be
entitled to be paid the expense of prosecuting such claim. In any such
action
the Company shall have the burden of proving that the claimant was not
entitled
to the requested indemnification or payment of expenses under applicable
law.
10.5 Non-Exclusivity
of Rights.
The
rights conferred on any person by this Article X shall not be exclusive of
any other rights which such person may have or hereafter acquire under
any
statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws, agreement,
vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
10.6 Insurance.
The
Company may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who
is or
was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or is or was
serving
at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent
of
another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise
against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or
her in
any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether
or not
the Company would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability
under the provisions of the DGCL.
10.7 Other
Indemnification.
The
Company’s obligation, if any, to indemnify any person who was or is serving at
its request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation,
partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit entity shall
be
reduced by any amount such person may collect as indemnification from such
other
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, enterprise or non-profit
enterprise.
10.8 Amendment
or Repeal.
Any
repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article X shall
not adversely affect any right or protection hereunder of any person in
respect
of any act or omission occurring prior to the time of such repeal or
modification.
ARTICLE
XI
AMENDMENTS
11.1 By
Shareholders.
Except
as
provided in the next sentence, these Bylaws may be altered, amended or
repealed
by the affirmative vote of the holders of not less than two-thirds (2/3)
of the
outstanding voting power entitled to vote at any regular or special meeting
of
the shareholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of Sections
2.3,
3.3, 3.4, 3.12 and 11.1 and Article X of these Bylaws may not be altered,
amended or repealed in whole or in part, unless authorized by the affirmative
vote of the holders of not less than eighty percent (80%) of the outstanding
voting power entitled to vote.
11.2 By
Directors.
The
Board
shall have the power to make, alter, amend and repeal the Bylaws of this
corporation. However, any such Bylaws, or any alteration, amendment or
repeal of
the Bylaws, may be changed or repealed by the stockholders in accordance
with
the provisions of Section 11.1 of these Bylaws.
11.3 Emergency
Bylaws.
The
Board
may adopt emergency Bylaws pursuant to Section 110 of the DGCL, which shall
be
operative during any emergency in the conduct of the business of the Company
resulting from an attack on the United States or any nuclear or atomic
disaster.
GENERAL
MOLY, INC.
CERTIFICATE
OF ADOPTION OF BYLAWS
The
undersigned hereby certifies that he is the duly elected, qualified and
acting
Secretary of General Moly, Inc. a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and that
the foregoing Bylaws were adopted as the Company’s Bylaws on August ___, 2007 by
the Company’s Board of Directors.
The
undersigned has executed this Certificate as of August __, 2007.
EXHIBIT
D
IDAHO
GENERAL BUSINESS CORPORATION ACT
§ 30-1-1301. Definitions
(ii)
Any
of the shares or assets of the corporation are being acquired or converted,
whether by merger, share exchange or otherwise, pursuant to such corporate
action by a person, or by an affiliate of a person, who is, or at any
time in
the one (1) year period immediately preceding approval by the board of
directors
of the corporate action requiring appraisal rights was, a senior executive
or
director of the corporation or a senior executive of any affiliate thereof,
and
that senior executive or director will receive, as a result of the corporate
action, a financial benefit not generally available to other shareholders
as
such, other than:
(e)
For
the purposes of subsection (2)(d) of this section only, the term "beneficial
owner" means any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract,
arrangement, or understanding, other than a revocable proxy, has or shares
the
power to vote, or to direct the voting of, shares, provided that a member
of a
national securities exchange shall not be deemed to be a beneficial owner
of
securities held directly or indirectly by it on behalf of another person
solely
because such member is the record holder of such securities if the member
is
precluded by the rules of such exchange from voting without instruction
on
contested matters or matters that may affect substantially the rights
or
privileges of the holders of the securities to be voted. When two (2)
or more
persons agree to act together for the purpose of voting their shares
of the
corporation, each member of the group formed thereby shall be deemed
to have
acquired beneficial ownership, as of the date of such agreement, of all
voting
shares of the corporation beneficially owned by any member of the group.
(1)
A
shareholder who receives notice pursuant to section
30-1-1322, Idaho Code,
and who
wishes to exercise appraisal rights must certify on the form sent by
the
corporation whether the beneficial owner of such shares acquired beneficial
ownership of the shares before the date required to be set forth in the
notice
pursuant to section
30-1-1322(2)(a), Idaho Code.
If a
shareholder fails to make this certification, the corporation may elect
to treat
the shareholder's shares as after-acquired shares under section
30-1-1325, Idaho Code.
In
addition, a shareholder who wishes to exercise appraisal rights must
execute and
return the form and, in the case of certificated shares, deposit the
shareholder's certificates in accordance with the terms of the notice
by the
date referred to in the notice pursuant to section
30-1-1322(2)(b)(ii), Idaho Code.
Once a
shareholder deposits that shareholder's
certificates or, in the case of uncertificated shares, returns the executed
forms, that shareholder loses all rights as a shareholder, unless the
shareholder withdraws pursuant to subsection (2) of this section.
§ 30-1-1324. Payment
REVOCABLE
PROXY
IDAHO
GENERAL MINES, INC.
The
undersigned hereby appoints Bruce D. Hansen and David A. Chaput,
or either of
them, as proxies, each with the power to appoint his substitute,
and hereby
authorizes them to represent and vote, as designated below, all of
the shares of
Common Stock of Idaho General Mines, Inc. held on record by the undersigned
on
August 20, 2007 at the 2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be
held on October
4, 2007, and any adjournment thereof. Each of the proposed items
below are
described in the Proxy Statement that accompanies this Revocable
Proxy, and the
descriptions below are qualified in their entirety by the information
set forth
in the Proxy Statement.
x Please
mark votes
as in this example.
Proposal
Number
|
|
FOR
all nominees listed
|
FOR
all nominees listed
EXCEPT
those whose names as written in the space
provided
|
WITHHOLD
AUTHORITY
for
all nominees listed
|
1.
|
To
elect 7 members to the Board of Directors (except as marked
to the
contrary below):
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nominees:
|
Bruce
D. Hansen
Gene
W. Pierson
Norman
A. Radford
R.
David Russell
Richard
F. Nanna
Ricardo
M. Campoy
Mark
A. Lettes
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Instructions:
|
|
|
|
|
To
withhold authority to vote for any individual - nominee,
mark “For All
Except” and write that nominee’s name in the space provided
below.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For
|
Against
|
Abstain
|
2.
|
To
approve the reincorporation of the Company into the State
of
Delaware
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
|
|
For
|
Against
|
Abstain
|
3.
|
To
approve an amendment to the Idaho General Mines, Inc. 2006
Equity
Incentive Plan
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
|
|
For
|
Against
|
Abstain
|
4.
|
To
approve an amendment to accelerate the termination of the
Shareholder
Rights Plan
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
In
their
discretion, the proxies are authorized to vote upon such other business
as may
properly come before the meeting.
This
proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the manner directed
herein by
the undersigned shareholder. If no direction is made, this proxy
will be voted
for each proposal.
Please
sign exactly as name appears below. When
shares are held by joint tenants, both should sign. When signing
as attorney, as
executor, administrator, trustee, or guardian, please give full title
as such.
If a corporation, please sign in full corporate name by President
or other
authorized officer. If a partnership, please sign in partnership
name by
authorized person.
Please
be
sure to sign and date this Proxy in the spaces below:
___________________________________
Stockholder
sign above
|
|
Date:
__________________,
2007
|
|
|
|
___________________________________
Co-holder
(if any) sign above
|
|
Date:
__________________,
2007
|
|
|
|
▲
Detach
above card, sign, date and mail in postage paid envelope
provided.▲
IDAHO
GENERAL MINES, INC.
1726
Cole Boulevard, Suite 115
Lakewood,
Colorado 80401
PLEASE
MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THIS PROXY PROMPTLY
USING
THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE
|
IF
YOUR
ADDRESS HAS CHANGED, PLEASE CORRECT THE ADDRESS IN THE SPACE PROVIDED
BELOW AND
RETURN THIS PORTION WITH THE PROXY IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED.
______________________________________________
______________________________________________
______________________________________________