S-3

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 18, 2024.

Registration No. 333-     

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

BEYOND MEAT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   26-4087597

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

888 N. Douglas Street, Suite 100

El Segundo, California 90245

(866) 756-4112

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Ethan Brown

President and Chief Executive Officer

Beyond Meat, Inc.

888 N. Douglas Street, Suite 100

El Segundo, California 90245

(866) 756-4112

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

Copies to:

Gregory P. Rodgers, Esq.

Cathy A. Birkeland, Esq.

Alexa Berlin, Esq.

Latham & Watkins LLP

1271 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

(212) 906-1200

 

 

APPROXIMATE DATE OF COMMENCEMENT OF PROPOSED SALE TO THE PUBLIC: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box. ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer      Accelerated filer  
Non-accelerated      Smaller reporting company  
     Emerging growth company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act. ☐

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the SEC, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declares our registration statement effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state or jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 18, 2024

PROSPECTUS

 

 

LOGO

Beyond Meat, Inc.

$250,000,000

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

Purchase Contracts

Units

 

 

We may offer and sell up to $250,000,000 in the aggregate of the securities identified above from time to time in one or more offerings. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities.

Each time we offer and sell securities, we will provide a supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the offering and the amounts, prices and terms of the securities. The supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in any of our securities.

We may offer and sell the securities described in this prospectus and any prospectus supplement to or through one or more underwriters, dealers and agents, or directly to purchasers, or through a combination of these methods. If any underwriters, dealers or agents are involved in the sale of any of the securities, their names and any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between or among them will be set forth, or will be calculable from the information set forth, in the applicable prospectus supplement. See the sections of this prospectus entitled “About this Prospectus” and “Plan of Distribution” for more information. No securities may be sold without delivery of this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities.

 

 

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES RISKS. SEE THE “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE 13 OF THIS PROSPECTUS AND ANY SIMILAR SECTION CONTAINED IN THE APPLICABLE PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT AND IN THE DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE HEREIN OR THEREIN CONCERNING FACTORS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “BYND.” On March 15, 2024, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market was $8.50 per share.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

The date of this prospectus is     , 2024.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

     1  

NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     2  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

     8  

THE COMPANY

     10  

RISK FACTORS

     13  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     14  

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     15  

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

     20  

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

     28  

DESCRIPTION OF PURCHASE CONTRACTS

     30  

DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

     31  

GLOBAL SECURITIES

     32  

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     36  

LEGAL MATTERS

     38  

EXPERTS

     38  


ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), using a “shelf” registration process. By using a shelf registration statement, we may sell securities from time to time and in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $250.0 million as described in this prospectus. Each time that we offer and sell securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement to this prospectus that contains specific information about the securities being offered and sold and the specific terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, you should rely on the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, as applicable. Before purchasing any securities, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement (and any applicable free writing prospectuses), together with the additional information described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

We have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any free writing prospectuses prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We will not make an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement to this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on its respective cover, that the information appearing in any applicable free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date of that free writing prospectus, and that any information incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, unless we indicate otherwise. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. This prospectus incorporates by reference, and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may contain and incorporate by reference, market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are obtained by us or based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. In addition, the market and industry data and forecasts that may be included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any prospectus supplement or any applicable free writing prospectus may involve estimates, assumptions and other risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.

When we refer to “Beyond Meat,” “we,” “our,” “us” and the “Company” in this prospectus, we mean Beyond Meat, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries, unless otherwise specified. When we refer to “you,” we mean the potential holders of the applicable series of securities.

 

1


NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties concerning the business, products and financial results of the Company. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current opinions, expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the operating results and financial condition of our business. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time those statements are made and/or management’s good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to:

 

   

the impact of inflation and higher interest rates across the economy, including higher food, grocery, raw materials, transportation, energy, labor and fuel costs;

 

   

a continued decrease in demand, and the underlying factors negatively impacting demand, in the plant-based meat category;

 

   

risks and uncertainties related to certain cost-reduction initiatives, cost structure improvements, workforce reductions and executive leadership changes, and the timing and success of reducing operating expenses and achieving certain financial goals and cash flow positive objectives;

 

   

the timing and success of narrowing our commercial focus to certain growth opportunities; accelerating activities that prioritize gross margin expansion and cash generation, including as part of our review of our global operations that we announced in November 2023 (the “Global Operations Review”); changes to our pricing architecture within certain channels; and accelerated, cash-accretive inventory reduction initiatives;

 

   

our ability to successfully execute our Global Operations Review, including the exit or discontinuation of select product lines such as Beyond Meat Jerky; the impact of non-cash charges such as provision for excess and obsolete inventory, accelerated depreciation on planned write-offs and disposals of fixed assets, and losses on sale and write-down of fixed assets; further optimization of our manufacturing capacity and real estate footprint; and the continued review of our operations in China;

 

   

the impact of adverse and uncertain economic and political conditions in the U.S. and international markets, including concerns about the likelihood of an economic recession, downturn or periods of rising or high inflation;

 

   

reduced consumer confidence and changes in consumer spending, including spending to purchase our products, and negative trends in consumer purchasing patterns due to levels of consumers’ disposable income, credit availability and debt levels, and economic conditions, including due to recessionary and inflationary pressures;

 

   

our inability to properly manage and ultimately sell our inventory in a timely manner, which could require us to sell our products through liquidation channels at lower prices, write-down or write-off obsolete inventory, or increase inventory provision;

 

   

any future impairment charges, including due to any future changes in estimates, judgments or assumptions, failure to achieve forecasted operating results, weakness in the economic environment, changes in market conditions and/or declines in our market capitalization;

 

   

the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity needs, including estimates of our expenses, future revenues, capital expenditures, capital requirements and our needs for and ability to obtain additional financing, if at all;

 

2


   

our ability to accurately predict consumer taste preferences, trends and demand and successfully innovate, introduce and commercialize new products and improve existing products such as our new Beyond IV platform, including in new geographic markets;

 

   

the effects of competitive activity from our market competitors and new market entrants;

 

   

disruption to, and the impact of uncertainty in, our domestic and international supply chain, including labor shortages and disruption, shipping delays and disruption, and the impact of cyber incidents at suppliers and vendors;

 

   

our ability to streamline operations and improve cost efficiencies, which could result in the contraction of our business and the implementation of significant cost cutting measures such as further downsizing and exiting certain operations, including product lines, domestically and/or abroad;

 

   

the impact of uncertainty as a result of doing business in China and Europe, including as a result of our continued review of our operations in China;

 

   

the volatility of or inability to access the capital markets, including due to macroeconomic factors, our loss of well-known seasoned issuer status, geopolitical tensions or the outbreak of hostilities or war—for example, the war in Ukraine and the conflict in Israel, Gaza and surrounding areas;

 

   

changes in the retail landscape, including our ability to maintain and expand our distribution footprint, the timing, success and level of trade and promotion discounts, our ability to maintain and grow market share and increase household penetration, repeat purchases, buying rates (amount spent per buyer) and purchase frequency, our ability to maintain and increase sales velocity of our products, and the timing and success of the Beyond IV launch;

 

   

changes in the foodservice landscape, including the timing, success and level of marketing and other financial incentives to assist in the promotion of our products, our ability to maintain and grow market share and attract and retain new foodservice customers or retain existing foodservice customers, and our ability to introduce and sustain offering of our products on menus;

 

   

the timing and success of distribution expansion and new product introductions, including the timing and success of the Beyond IV launch, in increasing revenues and market share;

 

   

the timing and success of strategic Quick Service Restaurant partnership launches and limited time offerings resulting in permanent menu items;

 

   

foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

   

our ability to identify and execute cost-down initiatives intended to improve our profitability;

 

   

the effectiveness of our business systems and processes;

 

   

our estimates of the size of our market opportunities and ability to accurately forecast market growth;

 

   

our ability to effectively optimize our manufacturing and production capacity, and real estate footprint, including consolidating manufacturing facilities and production lines, exiting co-manufacturing arrangements and effectively managing capacity for specific products with shifts in demand;

 

   

risks associated with underutilization of capacity which could give rise to increased costs per unit, underutilization fees, termination fees and other costs to exit certain supply chain arrangements and product lines, and/or the write-down or write-off of certain equipment and other fixed assets;

 

   

our ability to accurately forecast our future results of operations and financial goals or targets, including as a result of fluctuations in demand for our products and in the plant-based meat category generally and increased competition;

 

   

our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products and manage our inventory, including the impact of customer orders ahead of holidays and shelf reset activities, customer and distributor changes and buying patterns, such as reductions in targeted inventory levels, and supply chain and labor disruptions, including due to the impact of cyber incidents at suppliers and vendors;

 

3


   

our operational effectiveness and ability to fulfill orders in full and on time;

 

   

variations in product selling prices and costs, the timing and success of changes to our pricing architecture within certain channels, and the mix of products sold;

 

   

our ability to successfully enter new geographic markets, manage our international business and comply with any applicable laws and regulations, including risks associated with doing business in foreign countries, substantial investments in our manufacturing operations in China and the Netherlands, and our ability to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) or other anti-corruption laws;

 

   

our ability to protect our brand against misinformation about our products and the plant-based meat category, real or perceived quality or health issues with our products, marketing campaigns aimed at generating negative publicity regarding our products and the plant-based meat category, including regarding the nutritional value of our products, and other issues that could adversely affect our brand and reputation;

 

   

the effects of global outbreaks of pandemics (such as the COVID-19 pandemic), epidemics or other public health crises, or fear of such crises;

 

   

the success of our marketing initiatives and the ability to maintain and grow our brand awareness, maintain, protect and enhance our brand, attract and retain new customers and maintain and grow our market share, particularly while we are seeking to reduce our operating expenses;

 

   

our ability to attract, maintain and effectively expand our relationships with key strategic foodservice partners;

 

   

our ability to attract and retain our suppliers, distributors, co-manufacturers and customers;

 

   

our ability to procure sufficient high-quality raw materials at competitive prices to manufacture our products;

 

   

the availability of pea and other proteins and avocado oil that meet our standards;

 

   

our ability to diversify the protein sources used for our products;

 

   

our ability to differentiate and continuously create innovative products, respond to competitive innovation and achieve speed-to-market, including the timing and success of the Beyond IV launch;

 

   

our ability to successfully execute our strategic initiatives;

 

   

the volatility associated with ingredient, packaging, transportation and other input costs;

 

   

our ability to keep pace with technological changes impacting the development of our products and implementation of our business needs;

 

   

significant disruption in, or breach in security of our or our suppliers’ or vendors’ information technology systems, and resultant interruptions in service and any related impact on our reputation, including data privacy, and any potential impact on our supply chain, including on customer demand, order fulfillment and lost sales, and the resulting timing and/or amount of net revenues recognized;

 

   

the ability of our transportation providers to ship and deliver our products in a timely and cost effective manner;

 

   

senior management and key personnel changes, the attraction, training and retention of qualified employees and key personnel, and our ability to maintain our company culture;

 

   

the effects of organizational changes including reductions-in-force and realignment of reporting structures;

 

   

the success of operations conducted by joint ventures where we share ownership and management of a company with one or more parties who may not have the same goals, strategies or priorities as we do and where we do not receive all of the financial benefit;

 

4


   

the impact of the discontinuation of the Beyond Meat Jerky product line;

 

   

risks related to use of a professional employer organization to administer human resources, payroll and employee benefits functions for certain of our international employees, and use of certain third party service providers for the performance of several business operations including payroll and human capital management services;

 

   

the impact of potential workplace hazards;

 

   

the effects of natural or man-made catastrophic or severe weather events, including events brought on by climate change, particularly involving our or any of our co-manufacturers’ manufacturing facilities, our suppliers’ facilities, or any other vital aspects of our supply chain;

 

   

the effectiveness of our internal controls;

 

   

accounting estimates based on judgment and assumptions that may differ from actual results;

 

   

the requirements of being a public company and effects of increased administrative costs related to compliance and reporting obligations;

 

   

risks related to our debt, including our ability to repay our indebtedness, limitations on our cash flow from operations and our ability to satisfy our obligations under the convertible senior notes; our ability to raise the funds necessary to repurchase the convertible senior notes for cash, under certain circumstances, or to pay any cash amounts due upon conversion; provisions in the indenture governing the convertible senior notes delaying or preventing an otherwise beneficial takeover of us; and any adverse impact on our reported financial condition and results from the accounting methods for the convertible senior notes;

 

   

our ability to meet our obligations under our El Segundo Campus and Innovation Center (“Campus Headquarters”) lease, the timing of occupancy and completion of the build-out of our space, cost overruns, delays, the impact of workforce reductions or other cost-reduction initiatives on our space demands, and the timing and success of subleasing, assigning or otherwise transferring excess space at our Campus Headquarters;

 

   

our ability to meet our obligations under leases for our corporate offices, manufacturing facilities and warehouses, or risks related to excess space capacity under our leases due to workforce reductions or other cost-reduction initiatives;

 

   

changes in laws and government regulation affecting our business, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission governmental regulation, and state, local and foreign regulation;

 

   

new or pending legislation, or changes in laws, regulations or policies of governmental agencies or regulators, both in the U.S. and abroad, affecting plant-based meat, the labeling or naming of our products, or our brand name or logo;

 

   

the failure of acquisitions and other investments to be efficiently integrated and produce the results we anticipate;

 

   

risks inherent in investment in real estate;

 

   

adverse developments affecting the financial services industry;

 

   

the financial condition of, and our relationships with our suppliers, co-manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and foodservice customers, and their future decisions regarding their relationships with us;

 

   

our ability and the ability of our suppliers and co-manufacturers to comply with food safety, environmental or other laws or regulations and the impact of any non-compliance on our operations, brand reputation and ability to fulfill customer orders in full and on time;

 

5


   

seasonality, including increased levels of grilling activity and higher levels of purchasing by customers ahead of holidays, customer shelf reset activity and the timing of product restocking by our retail customers;

 

   

the impact of increased scrutiny from a variety of stakeholders, institutional investors and governmental bodies on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) practices, including expanding mandatory and voluntary reporting, diligence and disclosure on ESG matters;

 

   

the outcomes of legal or administrative proceedings, or new legal or administrative proceedings filed against us;

 

   

our, our suppliers’ and our co-manufacturers’ ability to protect our proprietary technology, intellectual property and trade secrets adequately;

 

   

the impact of tariffs and trade wars;

 

   

the impact of changes in tax laws; and

 

   

the risks discussed in Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors, included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, and those discussed in other documents we file from time to time with the SEC.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “might,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “seek,” “would” or “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

This prospectus also contains estimates and other statistical data obtained from independent parties and by us relating to market size and growth and other data about our industry and ultimate consumers. The number of retail and foodservice outlets where Beyond Meat branded products are available was derived from rolling 52-week data as of December 2023 and excludes outlets unique to Beyond Meat Jerky. As of December 2023, total U.S. retail outlets unique to Beyond Meat Jerky were approximately 44,000 on a rolling 52-week basis, or approximately 2,300 on a rolling 12-week basis . This data involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such estimates and data. In 2023, we continued the process of renegotiating certain contracts and changing operating activities related to Beyond Meat Jerky and assumed distribution responsibilities for Beyond Meat Jerky in the fourth quarter of 2023. In 2023, as part of our Global Operations Review, we made the decision to discontinue the Beyond Meat Jerky product line.

All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements set forth above. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this prospectus. You should not put undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements because of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise, except to the extent required by applicable laws. If we update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that we will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements.

 

6


“Beyond Meat,” “Beyond Burger,” “Beyond Beef,” “Beyond Sausage,” “Beyond Breakfast Sausage,” “Beyond Meatballs,” “Beyond Chicken,” “Beyond Fried Chicken,” “Beyond Popcorn Chicken,” “Beyond Steak,” the Caped Steer Logo, “Go Beyond,” “Cookout Classic,” “The Future of Protein,” “The Future of Protein Beyond Meat” and design, and “Eat What You Love” are registered or pending trademarks of Beyond Meat, Inc. in the United States and, in some cases, in certain other countries. All other brand names or trademarks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names contained herein are referred to without the ® and symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto.

 

7


WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION; INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Available Information

We file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is http://www.sec.gov.

Our web site address is http://www.beyondmeat.com. The information on our website, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus.

This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Forms of the indenture and other documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement or documents incorporated by reference in the registration statement. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.

Incorporation by Reference

The SEC’s rules allow us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The information incorporated by reference is deemed to be part of this prospectus, and subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede that information. Any statement contained in this prospectus or a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or a subsequently filed document incorporated by reference modifies or replaces that statement.

This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement incorporate by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:

 

   

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 1, 2024.

 

   

The information specifically incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March  1, 2023 from our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 12, 2023.

 

   

Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 8, 2024, February  13, 2024 and February 27, 2024.

 

   

The description of our common stock contained in Exhibit 4.3 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on March  1, 2023, which updated the description thereof contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, dated April 24, 2019, filed with the SEC on April 24, 2019, and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which we refer to as the “Exchange Act” in this prospectus, prior to the termination of this offering, including all such reports and other documents filed with the SEC after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to the

 

8


effectiveness of such registration statement, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents.

You may request a free copy of any of the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Beyond Meat, Inc.

888 N. Douglas Street, Suite 100

El Segundo, California 90245

(866) 756-4112

Exhibits to the filings will not be sent, however, unless those exhibits have specifically been incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

9


THE COMPANY

Overview

Beyond Meat is a leading plant-based meat company, offering a portfolio of revolutionary plant-based meats. We build meat directly from plants, an innovation that enables consumers to experience the taste, texture and other sensory attributes of popular animal-based meat products while enjoying the nutritional and environmental benefits of eating our plant-based meat products. Our brand promise, “Eat What You Love,” represents a strong belief that there is a better way to feed our future and that the positive choices we all make, no matter how small, can have a great impact on our personal health and the health of our planet. By shifting from animal-based meat to plant-based meat, we can positively impact four growing global issues: human health, climate change, constraints on natural resources and animal welfare.

We sell a range of plant-based meat products across our three core platforms of beef, pork and poultry. As of December 2023, Beyond Meat branded products were available at approximately 133,000 retail and foodservice outlets in more than 65 countries worldwide, across mainstream grocery, mass merchandiser, club store and natural retailer channels, and various food-away-from-home channels, including restaurants, foodservice outlets and schools. The number of retail and foodservice outlets where Beyond Meat branded products are available was derived from rolling 52-week data as of December 2023 and excludes approximately 44,000 U.S. retail outlets unique to Beyond Meat Jerky or 2,300 outlets on a rolling 12-week basis. In 2023, we continued the process of renegotiating certain contracts and changing operating activities related to Beyond Meat Jerky and assumed the distribution responsibilities for Beyond Meat Jerky in the fourth quarter of 2023. As part of our Global Operations Review, we made the decision to discontinue the Beyond Meat Jerky product line.

Corporate Information

Beyond Meat, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on April 8, 2011 originally under the name “J Green Natural Foods Co.” On October 5, 2011, we changed our corporate name to “Savage River, Inc.,” with “Beyond Meat” being our “doing business as” name. On September 7, 2018, we changed our corporate name to “Beyond Meat, Inc.” Our principal executive offices are located at 888 N. Douglas St., Suite 100, El Segundo, CA 90245, and our telephone number is (866) 756-4112. Our website address is www.beyondmeat.com. The information contained on or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is an inactive textual reference only.

Risk Factor Summary

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Below is a summary of certain factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky. Importantly, this summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized below, as well as other risks that we face, can be found under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and in any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, and under similar headings in the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. If any of the risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, operating results, cash flows and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In this case, the trading price of our common stock would likely decline and you might lose part or all of your investment in our common stock. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

   

Risks Related to Our Business, such as, adverse and uncertain economic and political conditions in the U.S. and international markets, including concerns about the likelihood of an economic recession, downturn, periods of rising or high inflation or economic uncertainty; risks associated with inflationary price pressures including the effects of higher interest rates; reduced consumer confidence and changes in consumer spending and negative trends in consumer purchasing patterns; our history of losses and

 

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ability to achieve or sustain profitability; a continued decrease in demand, and the underlying factors negatively impacting demand in the plant-based meat category; our cost-reduction initiatives, cost structure improvements, workforce reductions and executive leadership changes, and the timing and success of reducing operating expenses and achieving certain financial goals and cash flow positive objectives; the timing and success of narrowing our commercial focus to certain growth opportunities; accelerating activities that prioritize gross margin expansion and cash generation, including as part of our Global Operations Review; changes to our pricing architecture within certain channels; and accelerated, cash-accretive inventory reduction initiatives; our ability to successfully execute our Global Operations Review, including the exit or discontinuation of select product lines such as Beyond Meat Jerky, further optimization of our manufacturing capacity and real estate footprint and the continued review of our operations in China; the substantial non-cash impacts resulting from our Global Operations Review; our ability to accurately forecast demand for our products; our ability to utilize our capacity efficiently or accurately plan our capacity requirements; our ability to sell our inventory in a timely manner which may require us to sell our products through liquidation channels at lower prices, write-down or write-off obsolete inventory, or increase inventory provision; our ability to forecast future results of operations and financial goals or targets; our reliance on a limited number of third-party suppliers and our ability to procure sufficient high quality raw materials; disruptions to our supply chain; limited availability of pea protein that meets our standards; our limited number of distributors; consolidation of customers, loss of a significant customer or our inability to acquire new customers; loss of one or more of our co-manufacturers; damage or disruption at our internal or co-manufacturing facilities; difficulties expanding into new markets; slow, declining or negative revenue growth rates; revenue and earnings fluctuations; seasonal fluctuations; delays in product delivery by third-party transportation providers; failure to retain our senior management and attract and retain employees; use of professional employer organizations to employ certain of our international employees; failure of acquisitions or investments to be efficiently integrated; our ESG practices and reporting of such matters; accounting estimate risks; risks from changes in estimating judgments and assumptions used in the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP or any future impairment charges; technological changes that might impact our products and/or business; and risks stemming from workplace accidents or safety incidents.

 

   

Risks Related to Our Products, such as, incidents of food safety and food-borne illnesses or advertising or product misbranding; reduction in sales of the Beyond Burger; changing consumer preferences; failure to introduce new products or successfully improve existing products; our ability to accurately predict consumer taste preferences and respond quickly to new trends; risks related to planned price increases of our products and volatility of ingredient and packaging costs.

 

   

Risks Related to Our Industry and Brand, such as, increased competition in our market and new market entrants; general softness in the plant-based meat category; harm to our brand or reputation due to real or perceived quality or health issues with our products; and failure to develop and maintain our brand.

 

   

Risks Related to Our International Operations, such as, business, regulatory, political, financial and economic risks of doing business in China and Europe, including as a result of the continued review of our operations in China; foreign exchange rate fluctuations; and potential violations of the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws.

 

   

Risks Related to Our Investments, such as, our manufacturing operations in China and the Netherlands; our ownership of real property; and the operations of and participation in joint ventures, including the discontinuation of the Beyond Meat Jerky product line.

 

   

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property, Information Technology, Cybersecurity and Privacy, such as, our ability to adequately protect our proprietary technology and intellectual property; our reliance on information technology systems; the occurrence of a cybersecurity incident or other technology disruptions or failure to comply with the laws and regulations relating to privacy and the protection of individual data.

 

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Risks Related to Our Lease Obligations, Indebtedness, Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital, such as, delays or cost overruns associated with the build out of our new Campus Headquarters and the impact of workforce reductions or other cost-reduction initiatives on our space demands; our ability to sublease, assign or otherwise transfer excess space; failure to meet our significant lease obligations or risks related to excess space capacity under our leases due to workforce reductions or other cost-reduction initiatives; risks related to our convertible senior notes; inability to access restricted cash that collateralizes letters of credit; sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents to meet our liquidity needs; and failure to obtain additional financing or access capital markets to achieve our goals.

 

   

Risks Related to the Environment, Climate and Weather, such as, a major natural disaster or severe weather event in areas where our internal or co-manufacturing facilities are located; and negative effects from climate changes.

 

   

Risks Related to Being a Public Company, such as, the effectiveness of our internal controls; limitations in our internal control system resulting in undetected errors or fraud; and increased costs associated with complying with the requirements applicable to public companies.

 

   

Risks Related to Regulatory and Legal Compliance Matters, Litigation and Legal Proceedings, such as, FDA compliance; legal claims, government investigations and other regulatory enforcement actions; compliance with international regulations; changes in existing laws or regulations or the adoption of new laws or regulations; failure by our suppliers of raw materials or co-manufacturers to comply with food safety, environmental or other laws or with the specifications and requirements of our products; and ongoing litigation or legal proceedings.

 

   

General Risk Factors, such as, high volatility in our share price; reduction in our share price due to a substantial number of sales; decline in our share price and trading volume due to adverse or misleading opinions by securities or industry analysts regarding our business; no history of paying dividends or plans to pay dividends to our stockholders in the foreseeable future; provisions included in our charter documents to delay or prevent a change in control of our company; limitation of stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes due to the exclusive forum provision in our restated certificate of incorporation and forum selection provision in our amended and restated bylaws; and limitation of our ability to utilize our federal net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investment in any securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement involves risks. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risk factors incorporated by reference to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all other information contained or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities. There may be other unknown or unpredictable economic, business, competitive, regulatory or other factors that could have material adverse effects on our future results. Past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could be seriously harmed. This could cause the trading price of our securities to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment. Please also carefully read the section entitled “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q or Current Reports on Form 8-K. When determining whether to invest, you should also refer to the other information contained or incorporated in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement and any applicable free writing prospectus.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock is not complete and may not contain all the information you should consider before investing in our capital stock. This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, each of which has been publicly filed with the SEC. See “Where You Can Find More Information; Incorporation by Reference.”

Our authorized capital stock consists of 500,500,000 shares of capital stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of which:

 

   

500,000,000 shares are designated as common stock; and

 

   

500,000 shares are designated as preferred stock.

Our board of directors is authorized, without stockholder approval except as required by the listing standards of the Nasdaq Global Select Market (“Nasdaq”), to issue additional shares of our capital stock.

Common Stock

As of February 28, 2024, we had 64,677,261 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

Voting Rights

Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders, including the election of directors. Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws do not provide for cumulative voting rights. Because of this, the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any uncontested election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose; provided, however, that the holders of a plurality of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any contested election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose. With respect to matters other than the election of directors, at any meeting of the stockholders at which a quorum is present or represented, the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at such meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders, except as otherwise required by law. The holders of one-third of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the stockholders.

Dividends

Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then-outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds.

Liquidation

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably in the net assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of our debts and other liabilities and the satisfaction of any liquidation preference granted to the holders of any then-outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Rights and Preferences

Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our common stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate in the future.

 

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Fully Paid and Nonassessable

All of our outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is EQ Shareowner Services. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 1110 Centre Point Curve, Mendota Heights, Minnesota 55120-4101.

Dividends

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings for use in the operation of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any decision to declare dividends in the future will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on, among other things, our results of operations, cash requirements, financial condition, contractual restrictions, and other factors that out board of directors may deem relevant.

Preferred Stock

We had no shares of preferred stock outstanding as of February 28, 2024. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 500,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption rights, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing change in our control or other corporate action. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement a description of any preferred stock issued by us that may be offered and sold pursuant to this prospectus.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Delaware Law, Our Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Our Amended and Restated Bylaws

Certain provisions of Delaware law and certain provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws summarized below may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter, or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider to be in its best interests, including attempts that might result in a premium being paid over the market price for the shares held by stockholders.

Preferred Stock

Our restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that permit our board of directors to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, shares of preferred stock in one or more series and, with respect to each such series, to fix the number of shares constituting the series and the designation of the series, the voting rights (if any) of the shares of the series, and the powers, preferences or relative, participation, optional and other special rights, if any, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions, of the shares of such series.

Classified Board of Directors

Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, designated Class I, Class II, and Class III. Each class has an equal number of directors, as nearly as possible,

 

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consisting of one-third of the total number of directors constituting our entire board of directors. At each annual meeting of stockholders, successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that annual meeting will be elected for a three-year term.

Removal of Directors

Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders may only remove a director for cause by a vote of no less than two-thirds of the shares present in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote.

Director Vacancies

Our restated certificate of incorporation authorizes only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships.

No Cumulative Voting

Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that stockholders do not have the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors.

Special Meetings of Stockholders

Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that, except as otherwise required by law, special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by an officer at the request of a majority of our board of directors, by the chairperson of our board of directors, by the lead independent director or by our Chief Executive Officer.

Advance Notice Procedures for Director Nominations

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to nominate candidates for election as directors at an annual or special meeting of stockholders must provide timely notice thereof in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice generally will have to be delivered to and received at our principal executive offices before notice of the meeting is issued by the Secretary of the Company, with such notice being served not less than 90 nor more than 120 days before the first anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting.

Although the amended and restated bylaws do not give our board of directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates to be elected at an annual meeting, the amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the company.

Action by Written Consent

Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that any action to be taken by the stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be effected by written consent.

Amending our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Our restated certificate of incorporation may be amended or altered in any manner provided by the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”). Our amended and restated bylaws may be adopted, amended, altered, or repealed by stockholders only upon approval of at least a majority of the voting power of all the then outstanding shares of the common stock, except for any amendment of the above provisions, which would require the approval of a two-thirds majority of our then outstanding common stock. Additionally, our restated certificate of incorporation provides that our bylaws may be amended, altered, or repealed by our board of directors.

 

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Authorized but Unissued Shares

Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuances without stockholder approval, except as required by the listing standards of Nasdaq, and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of the Company by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Exclusive Forum

Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for:

 

   

any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf;

 

   

any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by, or other wrongdoing by, any of our directors, officers, employees or agents to us or our stockholders;

 

   

any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our restated certificate of incorporation, or our amended and restated bylaws;

 

   

any action to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws; and

 

   

any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine;

with our amended and restated bylaws providing that stockholders will have been deemed to consent to the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in the State of Delaware for such actions. In addition, our restated certification of incorporation provides, that with respect to any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder, the exclusive forum will be the federal district courts of the United States of America.

Our restated certificate of incorporation further provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

The exclusive forum provisions described above may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees.

Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders

Subject to certain exceptions, Section 203 of the DGCL prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination (as defined in such section) with an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation or any person affiliated with such person) for a period of three years following the time that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless (i) prior to such time the board of directors of such corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (ii) upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of such corporation at the time the transaction commenced (excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock of such corporation outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (A) by persons who are directors and also officers of such corporation and (B) by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan

 

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will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer); or (iii) at or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the board of directors of such corporation and authorized at a meeting of stockholders (and not by written consent) by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock of such corporation not owned by the interested stockholder.

Listing

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “BYND.”

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, summarizes certain general terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. When we offer to sell a particular series of debt securities, we will describe the specific terms of the series in a supplement to this prospectus. We will also indicate in the supplement to what extent the general terms and provisions described in this prospectus apply to a particular series of debt securities.

We may issue debt securities either separately, or together with, or upon the conversion or exercise of or in exchange for, other securities described in this prospectus. Debt securities may be our senior, senior subordinated or subordinated obligations and, unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be our direct, unsecured obligations and may be issued in one or more series.

The debt securities will be issued under an indenture between us and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee. We have summarized select portions of the indenture below. The summary is not complete. The form of the indenture has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement and you should read the indenture for provisions that may be important to you. In the summary below, we have included references to the section numbers of the indenture so that you can easily locate these provisions. Capitalized terms used in the summary and not defined herein have the meanings specified in the indenture.

As used in this section only, “Beyond Meat,” “we,” “our” or “us” refer to Beyond Meat, Inc. excluding our subsidiaries, unless expressly stated or the context otherwise requires.

General

The terms of each series of debt securities will be established by or pursuant to a resolution of our board of directors and set forth or determined in the manner provided in a resolution of our board of directors, in an officer’s certificate or by a supplemental indenture. (Section 2.2) The particular terms of each series of debt securities will be described in a prospectus supplement relating to such series (including any pricing supplement or term sheet).

We can issue an unlimited amount of debt securities under the indenture that may be in one or more series with the same or various maturities, at par, at a premium, or at a discount. (Section 2.1) We will set forth in a prospectus supplement (including any pricing supplement or term sheet) relating to any series of debt securities being offered, the aggregate principal amount and the following terms of the debt securities, if applicable:

 

   

the title and ranking of the debt securities (including the terms of any subordination provisions);

 

   

the price or prices (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount) at which we will sell the debt securities;

 

   

any limit on the aggregate principal amount of the debt securities;

 

   

the date or dates on which the principal of the securities of the series is payable;

 

   

the rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) per annum or the method used to determine the rate or rates (including any commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index) at which the debt securities will bear interest, the date or dates from which interest will accrue, the date or dates on which interest will commence and be payable and any regular record date for the interest payable on any interest payment date;

 

   

the place or places where principal of, and interest, if any, on the debt securities will be payable (and the method of such payment), where the securities of such series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange, and where notices and demands to us in respect of the debt securities may be delivered;

 

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the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which we may redeem the debt securities;

 

   

any obligation we have to redeem or purchase the debt securities pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a holder of debt securities and the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and in the terms and conditions upon which securities of the series shall be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;

 

   

the dates on which and the price or prices at which we will repurchase debt securities at the option of the holders of debt securities and other detailed terms and provisions of these repurchase obligations;

 

   

the denominations in which the debt securities will be issued, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof;

 

   

whether the debt securities will be issued in the form of certificated debt securities or global debt securities;

 

   

the portion of principal amount of the debt securities payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity date, if other than the principal amount;

 

   

the currency of denomination of the debt securities, which may be United States Dollars or any foreign currency, and if such currency of denomination is a composite currency, the agency or organization, if any, responsible for overseeing such composite currency;

 

   

the designation of the currency, currencies or currency units in which payment of principal of, premium and interest on the debt securities will be made;

 

   

if payments of principal of, premium or interest on the debt securities will be made in one or more currencies or currency units other than that or those in which the debt securities are denominated, the manner in which the exchange rate with respect to these payments will be determined;

 

   

the manner in which the amounts of payment of principal of, premium, if any, or interest on the debt securities will be determined, if these amounts may be determined by reference to an index based on a currency or currencies or by reference to a commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index;

 

   

any provisions relating to any security provided for the debt securities;

 

   

any addition to, deletion of or change in the Events of Default described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities and any change in the acceleration provisions described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities;

 

   

any addition to, deletion of or change in the covenants described in this prospectus or in the indenture with respect to the debt securities;

 

   

any depositaries, interest rate calculation agents, exchange rate calculation agents or other agents with respect to the debt securities;

 

   

the provisions, if any, relating to conversion or exchange of any debt securities of such series, including if applicable, the conversion or exchange price and period, provisions as to whether conversion or exchange will be mandatory, the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion or exchange price and provisions affecting conversion or exchange;

 

   

any other terms of the debt securities, which may supplement, modify or delete any provision of the indenture as it applies to that series, including any terms that may be required under applicable law or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of the securities; and

 

   

whether any of our direct or indirect subsidiaries will guarantee the debt securities of that series, including the terms of subordination, if any, of such guarantees. (Section 2.2)

 

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We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on the federal income tax considerations and other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.

If we denominate the purchase price of any of the debt securities in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, or if the principal of and any premium and interest on any series of debt securities is payable in a foreign currency or currencies or a foreign currency unit or units, we will provide you with information on the restrictions, elections, general tax considerations, specific terms and other information with respect to that issue of debt securities and such foreign currency or currencies or foreign currency unit or units in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Transfer and Exchange

Each debt security will be represented by either one or more global securities registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company, or the Depositary, or a nominee of the Depositary (we will refer to any debt security represented by a global debt security as a “book-entry debt security”), or a certificate issued in definitive registered form (we will refer to any debt security represented by a certificated security as a “certificated debt security”) as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Except as set forth under the heading “Global Debt Securities and Book-Entry System” below, book-entry debt securities will not be issuable in certificated form.

Certificated Debt Securities. You may transfer or exchange certificated debt securities at any office we maintain for this purpose in accordance with the terms of the indenture. (Section 2.4) No service charge will be made for any transfer or exchange of certificated debt securities, but we may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection with a transfer or exchange. (Section 2.7)

You may effect the transfer of certificated debt securities and the right to receive the principal of, premium and interest on certificated debt securities only by surrendering the certificate representing those certificated debt securities and either reissuance by us or the trustee of the certificate to the new holder or the issuance by us or the trustee of a new certificate to the new holder.

Global Debt Securities and Book-Entry System. Each global debt security representing book-entry debt securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, the Depositary, and registered in the name of the Depositary or a nominee of the Depositary. Please see “Global Securities.”

Covenants

We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement any restrictive covenants applicable to any issue of debt securities. (Article IV)

No Protection in the Event of a Change of Control

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions which may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change in control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change in control) which could adversely affect holders of debt securities.

 

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Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets

We may not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of our properties and assets to any person (a “successor person”) unless:

 

   

we are the surviving entity or the successor person (if other than Beyond Meat) is a corporation, partnership, trust or other entity organized and validly existing under the laws of any U.S. domestic jurisdiction and expressly assumes our obligations on the debt securities and under the indenture; and

 

   

immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Default or Event of Default, shall have occurred and be continuing.

Notwithstanding the above, any of our subsidiaries may consolidate with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties to us. (Section 5.1)

Events of Default

“Event of Default” means with respect to any series of debt securities, any of the following:

 

   

default in the payment of any interest upon any debt security of that series when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days (unless the entire amount of the payment is deposited by us with the trustee or with a paying agent prior to the expiration of the 30-day period);

 

   

default in the payment of principal of any security of that series at its maturity;

 

   

default in the performance or breach of any other covenant or warranty by us in the indenture (other than a covenant or warranty that has been included in the indenture solely for the benefit of a series of debt securities other than that series), which default continues uncured for a period of 60 days after we receive written notice from the trustee or Beyond Meat and the trustee receive written notice from the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series as provided in the indenture;

 

   

certain voluntary or involuntary events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization of Beyond Meat;

 

   

any other Event of Default provided with respect to debt securities of that series that is described in the applicable prospectus supplement. (Section 6.1)

No Event of Default with respect to a particular series of debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an Event of Default with respect to any other series of debt securities. (Section 6.1) The occurrence of certain Events of Default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain indebtedness of ours or our subsidiaries outstanding from time to time.

We will provide the trustee written notice of any Default or Event of Default within 30 days of becoming aware of the occurrence of such Default or Event of Default, which notice will describe in reasonable detail the status of such Default or Event of Default and what action we are taking or propose to take in respect thereof. (Section 6.1)

If an Event of Default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal of (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all debt securities of that series. In the case of an Event of Default resulting from certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization, the principal (or such specified amount) of and accrued and unpaid

 

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interest, if any, on all outstanding debt securities will become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the trustee or any holder of outstanding debt securities. At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to debt securities of any series has been made, but before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may rescind and annul the acceleration if all Events of Default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the indenture. (Section 6.2) We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an Event of Default.

The indenture provides that the trustee may refuse to perform any duty or exercise any of its rights or powers under the indenture unless the trustee receives indemnity satisfactory to it against any cost, liability or expense which might be incurred by it in performing such duty or exercising such right or power. (Section 7.1(e)) Subject to certain rights of the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the debt securities of that series. (Section 6.12)

No holder of any debt security of any series will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any remedy under the indenture, unless:

 

   

that holder has previously given to the trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to debt securities of that series; and

 

   

the holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request, and offered indemnity or security satisfactory to the trustee, to the trustee to institute the proceeding as trustee, and the trustee has not received from the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series a direction inconsistent with that request and has failed to institute the proceeding within 60 days. (Section 6.7)

Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any debt security will have an absolute and unconditional right to receive payment of the principal of, premium and any interest on that debt security on or after the due dates expressed in that debt security and to institute suit for the enforcement of payment. (Section 6.8)

The indenture requires us, within 120 days after the end of our fiscal year, to furnish to the trustee a statement as to compliance with the indenture. (Section 4.3) If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing with respect to the securities of any series and if it is known to a responsible officer of the trustee, the trustee shall mail to each Securityholder of the securities of that series notice of a Default or Event of Default within 90 days after it occurs or, if later, after a responsible officer of the trustee has knowledge of such Default or Event of Default. The indenture provides that the trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any series of any Default or Event of Default (except in payment on any debt securities of that series) with respect to debt securities of that series if the trustee determines in good faith that withholding notice is in the interest of the holders of those debt securities. (Section 7.5)

Modification and Waiver

We and the trustee may modify, amend or supplement the indenture or the debt securities of any series without the consent of any holder of any debt security:

 

   

to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;

 

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to comply with covenants in the indenture described above under the heading “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets”;

 

   

to provide for uncertificated securities in addition to or in place of certificated securities;

 

   

to add guarantees with respect to debt securities of any series or secure debt securities of any series;

 

   

to surrender any of our rights or powers under the indenture;

 

   

to add covenants or events of default for the benefit of the holders of debt securities of any series;

 

   

to comply with the applicable procedures of the applicable depositary;

 

   

to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any holder of debt securities;

 

   

to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of debt securities of any series as permitted by the indenture;

 

   

to effect the appointment of a successor trustee with respect to the debt securities of any series and to add to or change any of the provisions of the indenture to provide for or facilitate administration by more than one trustee; or

 

   

to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of the indenture under the Trust Indenture Act. (Section 9.1)

We may also modify and amend the indenture with the consent of the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series affected by the modifications or amendments. We may not make any modification or amendment without the consent of the holders of each affected debt security then outstanding if that amendment will:

 

   

reduce the amount of debt securities whose holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

 

   

reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest (including default interest) on any debt security;

 

   

reduce the principal of or premium on or change the fixed maturity of any debt security or reduce the amount of, or postpone the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation with respect to any series of debt securities;

 

   

reduce the principal amount of discount securities payable upon acceleration of maturity;

 

   

waive a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or interest on any debt security (except a rescission of acceleration of the debt securities of any series by the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the then outstanding debt securities of that series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

 

   

make the principal of or premium or interest on any debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt security;

 

   

make any change to certain provisions of the indenture relating to, among other things, the right of holders of debt securities to receive payment of the principal of, premium and interest on those debt securities and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment and to waivers or amendments; or

 

   

waive a redemption payment with respect to any debt security. (Section 9.3)

Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. (Section 9.2) The holders of a majority in principal amount of

 

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the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or any interest on any debt security of that series; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration. (Section 6.13)

Defeasance of Debt Securities and Certain Covenants in Certain Circumstances

Legal Defeasance. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, we may be discharged from any and all obligations in respect of the debt securities of any series (subject to certain exceptions). We will be so discharged upon the irrevocable deposit with the trustee, in trust, of money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. Dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money or U.S. government obligations in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal, premium and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities.

This discharge may occur only if, among other things, we have delivered to the trustee an opinion of counsel stating that we have received from, or there has been published by, the United States Internal Revenue Service a ruling or, since the date of execution of the indenture, there has been a change in the applicable United States federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such opinion shall confirm that, the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred. (Section 8.3)

Defeasance of Certain Covenants. The indenture provides that, unless otherwise provided by the terms of the applicable series of debt securities, upon compliance with certain conditions:

 

   

we may omit to comply with the covenant described under the heading “Consolidation, Merger and Sale of Assets” and certain other covenants set forth in the indenture, as well as any additional covenants which may be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement; and

 

   

any omission to comply with those covenants will not constitute a Default or an Event of Default with respect to the debt securities of that series (“covenant defeasance”).

The conditions include:

 

   

depositing with the trustee money and/or U.S. government obligations or, in the case of debt securities denominated in a single currency other than U.S. Dollars, government obligations of the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency, that, through the payment of interest and principal in accordance with their terms, will provide money in an amount sufficient in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank to pay and discharge each installment of principal of, premium and interest on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of the debt securities of that series on the stated maturity of those payments in accordance with the terms of the indenture and those debt securities; and

 

   

delivering to the trustee an opinion of counsel to the effect that the holders of the debt securities of that series will not recognize income, gain or loss for United States federal income tax purposes as a result of the deposit and related covenant defeasance and will be subject to United States federal income tax on the same amounts and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if the deposit and related covenant defeasance had not occurred. (Section 8.4)

 

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No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees or Securityholders

None of our past, present or future directors, officers, employees or securityholders, as such, will have any liability for any of our obligations under the debt securities or the indenture or for any claim based on, or in respect or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. By accepting a debt security, each holder waives and releases all such liability. This waiver and release is part of the consideration for the issue of the debt securities. However, this waiver and release may not be effective to waive liabilities under U.S. federal securities laws, and it is the view of the SEC that such a waiver is against public policy.

Governing Law

The indenture and the debt securities, including any claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the indenture or the securities, will be governed by the laws of the State of New York.

The indenture will provide that we, the trustee and the holders of the debt securities (by their acceptance of the debt securities) irrevocably waive, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to the indenture, the debt securities or the transactions contemplated thereby.

The indenture will provide that any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon the indenture or the transactions contemplated thereby may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the City of New York, and we, the trustee and the holder of the debt securities (by their acceptance of the debt securities) irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. The indenture will further provide that service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail (to the extent allowed under any applicable statute or rule of court) to such party’s address set forth in the indenture will be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The indenture will further provide that we, the trustee and the holders of the debt securities (by their acceptance of the debt securities) irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the courts specified above and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim any such suit, action or other proceeding has been brought in an inconvenient forum. (Section 10.10)

 

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

We may issue warrants for the purchase of shares of our common stock or preferred stock or of debt securities. We may issue warrants independently or together with other securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from any offered securities. Each series of warrants will be issued under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and the investors or a warrant agent. The following summary of material provisions of the warrants and warrant agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to a particular series of warrants. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.

The particular terms of any issue of warrants will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to the issue. Those terms may include:

 

   

the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock purchasable upon the exercise of warrants to purchase such shares and the price at which such number of shares may be purchased upon such exercise;

 

   

the designation, stated value and terms (including, without limitation, liquidation, dividend, conversion and voting rights) of the series of preferred stock purchasable upon exercise of warrants to purchase preferred stock;

 

   

the principal amount of debt securities that may be purchased upon exercise of a debt warrant and the exercise price for the warrants, which may be payable in cash, securities or other property;

 

   

the date, if any, on and after which the warrants and the related debt securities, preferred stock or common stock will be separately transferable;

 

   

the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;

 

   

the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire;

 

   

United States Federal income tax consequences applicable to the warrants; and

 

   

any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures, and limitations relating to the exchange, exercise and settlement of the warrants.

Holders of equity warrants will not be entitled:

 

   

to vote, consent or receive dividends;

 

   

receive notice as shareholders with respect to any meeting of shareholders for the election of our directors or any other matter; or

 

   

exercise any rights as shareholders of Beyond Meat.

Each warrant will entitle its holder to purchase the principal amount of debt securities or the number of shares of preferred stock or common stock at the exercise price set forth in, or calculable as set forth in, the applicable prospectus supplement. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants at any time up to the specified time on the expiration date that we set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.

A holder of warrant certificates may exchange them for new warrant certificates of different denominations, present them for registration of transfer and exercise them at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any

 

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other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement. Until any warrants to purchase debt securities are exercised, the holder of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the debt securities that can be purchased upon exercise, including any rights to receive payments of principal, premium or interest on the underlying debt securities or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture. Until any warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock are exercised, the holders of the warrants will not have any rights of holders of the underlying common stock or preferred stock, including any rights to receive dividends or payments upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding up on the common stock or preferred stock, if any.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF PURCHASE CONTRACTS

We may issue purchase contracts for the purchase or sale of debt or equity securities issued by us. Each purchase contract will entitle the holder thereof to purchase or sell, and obligate us to sell or purchase, on specified dates, such securities at a specified purchase price, which may be based on a formula, all as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement. Any purchase contracts we issue will be physically settled by delivery of such securities. The applicable prospectus supplement will also specify the methods by which the holders may purchase or sell such securities and any acceleration, cancellation or termination provisions or other provisions relating to the settlement of a purchase contract.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we will issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent will be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units.

The following description, together with the additional information included in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the general features of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. You should read any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of units being offered, as well as the complete unit agreements that contain the terms of the units. Specific unit agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and we will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of each unit agreement relating to units offered under this prospectus.

If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:

 

   

the title of the series of units;

 

   

identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units;

 

   

the price or prices at which the units will be issued;

 

   

the date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable;

 

   

a discussion of certain United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and

 

   

any other terms of the units and their constituent securities.

 

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GLOBAL SECURITIES

Book-Entry, Delivery and Form

Unless we indicate differently in any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, the securities initially will be issued in book-entry form and represented by one or more global notes or global securities, or, collectively, global securities. The global securities will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York, as depositary, or DTC, and registered in the name of Cede & Co., the nominee of DTC. Unless and until it is exchanged for individual certificates evidencing securities under the limited circumstances described below, a global security may not be transferred except as a whole by the depositary to its nominee or by the nominee to the depositary, or by the depositary or its nominee to a successor depositary or to a nominee of the successor depositary.

DTC has advised us that it is:

 

   

a limited-purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law;

 

   

a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law;

 

   

a member of the Federal Reserve System;

 

   

a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code; and

 

   

a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act.

DTC holds securities that its participants deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the settlement among its participants of securities transactions, such as transfers and pledges, in deposited securities through electronic computerized book-entry changes in participants’ accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of securities certificates. “Direct participants” in DTC include securities brokers and dealers, including underwriters, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations and other organizations. DTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, or DTCC. DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others, which we sometimes refer to as indirect participants, that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a direct participant, either directly or indirectly. The rules applicable to DTC and its participants are on file with the SEC.

Purchases of securities under the DTC system must be made by or through direct participants, which will receive a credit for the securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of the actual purchaser of a security, which we sometimes refer to as a beneficial owner, is in turn recorded on the direct and indirect participants’ records. Beneficial owners of securities will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchases. However, beneficial owners are expected to receive written confirmations providing details of their transactions, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the direct or indirect participants through which they purchased securities. Transfers of ownership interests in global securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of participants acting on behalf of beneficial owners. Beneficial owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in the global securities, except under the limited circumstances described below.

To facilitate subsequent transfers, all global securities deposited by direct participants with DTC will be registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other nominee will not change the beneficial ownership of the securities. DTC has no knowledge of the actual beneficial owners of the securities. DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the direct participants to whose accounts the securities are credited, which may or may not be the beneficial owners. The participants are responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.

 

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So long as the securities are in book-entry form, you will receive payments and may transfer securities only through the facilities of the depositary and its direct and indirect participants. We will maintain an office or agency in the location specified in the prospectus supplement for the applicable securities, where notices and demands in respect of the securities and the indenture may be delivered to us and where certificated securities may be surrendered for payment, registration of transfer or exchange.

Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to direct participants, by direct participants to indirect participants and by direct participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any legal requirements in effect from time to time.

Redemption notices will be sent to DTC. If less than all of the securities of a particular series are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each direct participant in the securities of such series to be redeemed.

Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (or such other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the securities. Under its usual procedures, DTC will mail an omnibus proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The omnibus proxy assigns the consenting or voting rights of Cede & Co. to those direct participants to whose accounts the securities of such series are credited on the record date, identified in a listing attached to the omnibus proxy.

So long as securities are in book-entry form, we will make payments on those securities to the depositary or its nominee, as the registered owner of such securities, by wire transfer of immediately available funds. If securities are issued in definitive certificated form under the limited circumstances described below and unless if otherwise provided in the description of the applicable securities herein or in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will have the option of making payments by check mailed to the addresses of the persons entitled to payment or by wire transfer to bank accounts in the United States designated in writing to the applicable trustee or other designated party at least 15 days before the applicable payment date by the persons entitled to payment, unless a shorter period is satisfactory to the applicable trustee or other designated party.

Redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments on the securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit direct participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC records. Payments by participants to beneficial owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the account of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name.” Those payments will be the responsibility of participants and not of DTC or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions and dividend payments to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC, is our responsibility, disbursement of payments to direct participants is the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of payments to the beneficial owners is the responsibility of direct and indirect participants.

Except under the limited circumstances described below, purchasers of securities will not be entitled to have securities registered in their names and will not receive physical delivery of securities. Accordingly, each beneficial owner must rely on the procedures of DTC and its participants to exercise any rights under the securities and the indenture.

The laws of some jurisdictions may require that some purchasers of securities take physical delivery of securities in definitive form. Those laws may impair the ability to transfer or pledge beneficial interests in securities.

DTC may discontinue providing its services as securities depositary with respect to the securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depositary is not obtained, securities certificates are required to be printed and delivered.

 

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As noted above, beneficial owners of a particular series of securities generally will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in those securities. However, if:

 

   

DTC notifies us that it is unwilling or unable to continue as a depositary for the global security or securities representing such series of securities or if DTC ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act at a time when it is required to be registered and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days of the notification to us or of our becoming aware of DTC’s ceasing to be so registered, as the case may be;

 

   

we determine, in our sole discretion, not to have such securities represented by one or more global securities; or

 

   

an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing with respect to such series of securities,

we will prepare and deliver certificates for such securities in exchange for beneficial interests in the global securities. Any beneficial interest in a global security that is exchangeable under the circumstances described in the preceding sentence will be exchangeable for securities in definitive certificated form registered in the names that the depositary directs. It is expected that these directions will be based upon directions received by the depositary from its participants with respect to ownership of beneficial interests in the global securities.

Euroclear and Clearstream

If so provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, you may hold interests in a global security through Clearstream Banking S.A., which we refer to as “Clearstream,” or Euroclear Bank S.A./N.V., as operator of the Euroclear System, which we refer to as “Euroclear,” either directly if you are a participant in Clearstream or Euroclear or indirectly through organizations which are participants in Clearstream or Euroclear. Clearstream and Euroclear will hold interests on behalf of their respective participants through customers’ securities accounts in the names of Clearstream and Euroclear, respectively, on the books of their respective U.S. depositaries, which in turn will hold such interests in customers’ securities accounts in such depositaries’ names on DTC’s books.

Clearstream and Euroclear are securities clearance systems in Europe. Clearstream and Euroclear hold securities for their respective participating organizations and facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between those participants through electronic book-entry changes in their accounts, thereby eliminating the need for physical movement of certificates.

Payments, deliveries, transfers, exchanges, notices and other matters relating to beneficial interests in global securities owned through Euroclear or Clearstream must comply with the rules and procedures of those systems. Transactions between participants in Euroclear or Clearstream, on one hand, and other participants in DTC, on the other hand, are also subject to DTC’s rules and procedures.

Investors will be able to make and receive through Euroclear and Clearstream payments, deliveries, transfers and other transactions involving any beneficial interests in global securities held through those systems only on days when those systems are open for business. Those systems may not be open for business on days when banks, brokers and other institutions are open for business in the United States.

Cross-market transfers between participants in DTC, on the one hand, and participants in Euroclear or Clearstream, on the other hand, will be effected through DTC in accordance with the DTC’s rules on behalf of Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by their respective U.S. depositaries; however, such cross-market transactions will require delivery of instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, by the counterparty in such system in accordance with the rules and procedures and within the established deadlines (European time) of such system. Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, will, if the transaction meets its settlement requirements, deliver instructions to its U.S. depositary to take action to effect final settlement on its behalf by delivering or receiving interests in the global securities through DTC, and making or receiving payment in accordance with normal procedures for same-day fund settlement. Participants in Euroclear or Clearstream may not deliver instructions directly to their respective U.S. depositaries.

 

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Due to time zone differences, the securities accounts of a participant in Euroclear or Clearstream purchasing an interest in a global security from a direct participant in DTC will be credited, and any such crediting will be reported to the relevant participant in Euroclear or Clearstream, during the securities settlement processing day (which must be a business day for Euroclear or Clearstream) immediately following the settlement date of DTC. Cash received in Euroclear or Clearstream as a result of sales of interests in a global security by or through a participant in Euroclear or Clearstream to a direct participant in DTC will be received with value on the settlement date of DTC but will be available in the relevant Euroclear or Clearstream cash account only as of the business day for Euroclear or Clearstream following DTC’s settlement date.

Other

The information in this section of this prospectus concerning DTC, Clearstream, Euroclear and their respective book-entry systems has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we do not take responsibility for this information. This information has been provided solely as a matter of convenience. The rules and procedures of DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear are solely within the control of those organizations and could change at any time. Neither we nor the trustee nor any agent of ours or of the trustee has any control over those entities and none of us takes any responsibility for their activities. You are urged to contact DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear or their respective participants directly to discuss those matters. In addition, although we expect that DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear will perform the foregoing procedures, none of them is under any obligation to perform or continue to perform such procedures and such procedures may be discontinued at any time. Neither we nor any agent of ours will have any responsibility for the performance or nonperformance by DTC, Clearstream and Euroclear or their respective participants of these or any other rules or procedures governing their respective operations.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell the securities from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, “at the market” offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods or through underwriters or dealers, through agents and/or directly to one or more purchasers. The securities may be distributed from time to time in one or more transactions:

 

   

at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;

 

   

at market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

 

   

at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or

 

   

at negotiated prices.

Each time that we sell securities covered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements that will describe the method of distribution and set forth the terms and conditions of the offering of such securities, including the offering price of the securities and the proceeds to us, if applicable.

Offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus may be solicited directly. Agents may also be designated to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time. Any agent involved in the offer or sale of our securities will be identified in a prospectus supplement.

If a dealer is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, the securities will be sold to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.

If an underwriter is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter at the time of sale and the name of any underwriter will be provided in the prospectus supplement that the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we or the purchasers of securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agent. Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, an agent will be acting on a best efforts basis and a dealer will purchase securities as a principal, and may then resell the securities at varying prices to be determined by the dealer.

Any compensation paid to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers will be provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof and to reimburse those persons for certain expenses.

Any common stock that we issue and sell will be listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, but any other securities may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange. To facilitate the offering of securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the

 

36


securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.

We may engage in at the market offerings into an existing trading market in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act. In addition, we may enter into derivative transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement (or a post-effective amendment). In addition, we may otherwise loan or pledge securities to a financial institution or other third party that in turn may sell the securities short using this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement. Such financial institution or other third party may transfer its economic short position to investors in our securities or in connection with a concurrent offering of other securities.

The specific terms of any lock-up provisions in respect of any given offering will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with us, or perform services for us, in the ordinary course of business for which they receive compensation.

 

37


LEGAL MATTERS

Latham & Watkins LLP will pass upon certain legal matters relating to the issuance and sale of the securities offered hereby on behalf of Beyond Meat, Inc. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Beyond Meat, Inc. incorporated by reference in this Prospectus, and the effectiveness of Beyond Meat, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their reports. Such financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance upon the reports of such firm, given their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

38


PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following is an estimate of the expenses (all of which are to be paid by the registrant) that we may incur in connection with the securities being registered hereby.

 

SEC registration fee

   $ 36,900(1)  

FINRA filing fee

   $ (2)   

Printing expenses

   $ (2)   

Accounting fees and expenses

   $ (2)   

Legal fees and expenses

   $ (2)   

Blue Sky, qualification fees and expenses

   $ (2)   

Transfer agent fees and expenses

   $ (2)   

Trustee fees and expenses

   $ (2)   

Warrant agent fees and expenses

   $ (2)   

Miscellaneous

   $ (2)   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ (2)   
  

 

 

 

 

(1)

This amount includes a registration fee of $22,040 previously paid by the Company in connection with the filing of a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”), dated May 11, 2023 to a prospectus, dated May 10, 2023, constituting part of the Company’s registration statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-271809) relating to the offer and sale of up to $200,000,000 of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for which a filing fee of $22,040 was paid based on the fee rate then in effect. All such shares of Common Stock remain unsold, resulting in an offset fee amount of $22,040. Pursuant to Rule 457(p), the registrant is offsetting $22,040 of the fees associated with this registration statement from the filing fee previously paid in connection with the Prospectus Supplement.

(2)

These fees are calculated based on the securities offered and the number of issuances and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.

 

Item 15.

Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Subsection (a) of Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) empowers a corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or who is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful.

Subsection (b) of Section 145 empowers a corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person acted in any of the capacities set forth above, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

 

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Section 145 further provides that to the extent a director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 145, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith; that indemnification provided for by Section 145 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which the indemnified party may be entitled; and the indemnification provided for by Section 145 shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of such person’s heirs, executors and administrators. Section 145 also empowers the corporation to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liabilities under Section 145.

Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL provides that a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may contain a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (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) under Section 174 of the DGCL, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

We maintain standard policies of insurance under which coverage is provided (i) to our directors and officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of duty or other wrongful act, and (ii) to us with respect to payments we may make to our officers and directors pursuant to the above indemnification provision or otherwise as a matter of law.

Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers, and may indemnify our employees and other agents, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law.

We have entered into an indemnification agreement with each member of our board of directors and each of our officers. These agreements provide for the indemnification of our directors and officers for certain expenses and liabilities incurred in connection with any action, suit, proceeding or alternative dispute resolution mechanism, or hearing, inquiry or investigation that may lead to the foregoing, to which they are a party or other participant, or are threatened to be made a party or other participant, by reason of the fact that they are or were a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of our company, by reason of any action or inaction by them while serving as an officer, director, agent or fiduciary, or by reason of the fact that they were serving at our request as a director, officer, employee, agent or fiduciary of another entity. In the case of an action or proceeding by or in the right of our company or any of our subsidiaries, no indemnification will be provided for any claim where a court determines that the indemnified party is prohibited from receiving indemnification.

Any underwriting agreement or distribution agreement that the registrant enters into with any underwriters or agents involved in the offering or sale of any securities registered hereby may require such underwriters or dealers to indemnify the registrant, some or all of its directors and officers and its controlling persons, if any, for specified liabilities, which may include liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits

 

Exhibit Number

  

Description

 1.1*    Form of Underwriting Agreement.
 1.2    Equity Distribution Agreement, dated May 10, 2023, by and between the Company and Goldman Sachs & Co.  LLC (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on May 11, 2023).
 3.1    Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Beyond Meat, Inc. (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 30, 2019, filed with the SEC on June 12, 2019) (File No. 001-38879).
 3.2    Amended and Restated Bylaws of Beyond Meat, Inc. (incorporated by reference to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on February 13, 2024).
 4.1    Form of Common Stock Certificate (incorporated by reference to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1/A filed with the SEC on March 27, 2019) (File No. 333-228453).
 4.2*    Form of Specimen Certificate Representing Preferred Stock.
 4.3    Form of Indenture.
 4.4*    Form of Debt Security.
 4.5*    Form of Warrant.
 4.6*    Form of Warrant Agreement.
 4.7*    Form of Purchase Contract Agreement.
 4.8*    Form of Unit Agreement.
 5.1    Opinion of Latham & Watkins LLP.
23.1    Consent of Latham & Watkins LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.2    Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered public accounting firm.
24.1    Powers of Attorney (incorporated by reference to the signature page hereto).
25.1    Statement of Eligibility on Form T-1 under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, of U.S.  Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee under the indenture filed as Exhibit 4.3 above.
107    Filing Fee Table.

 

*

To be filed by amendment or incorporated by reference in connection with the offering of the securities.

Item 17. Undertakings

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of

 

II-3


prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii), and (a)(1)(iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is a part of the registration statement.

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(i) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(ii) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities:

The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

II-4


(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv) Any other communications that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

II-5


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of El Segundo, State of California, on March 18, 2024.

 

BEYOND MEAT, INC.
By:  

/s/ Ethan Brown

  Ethan Brown
  President and Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Each of the undersigned officers and directors of the registrant hereby severally constitutes and appoints Ethan Brown and Lubi Kutua, and each of them singly (with full power to each of them to act alone), as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution in each of them, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, and in any and all capacities, to file and sign any and all amendments, including post-effective amendments, to this registration statement and any other registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective under Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith and about the premises as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. This power of attorney shall be governed by and construed with the laws of the State of Delaware and applicable federal securities laws.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

SIGNATURE

 

TITLE

 

DATE

/s/ Ethan Brown

Ethan Brown

  President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)   March 18, 2024

/s/ Lubi Kutua

Lubi Kutua

  Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)   March 18, 2024

/s/ Seth Goldman

Seth Goldman

  Chair of the Board   March 18, 2024

/s/ Sally Grimes

Sally Grimes

  Director   March 18, 2024

/s/ Colleen Jay

Colleen Jay

  Director   March 18, 2024

/s/ C. James Koch

C. James Koch

  Director   March 18, 2024


SIGNATURE

 

TITLE

 

DATE

/s/ Raymond J. Lane

Raymond J. Lane

  Director   March 18, 2024

/s/ Muktesh Pant

Muktesh Pant

  Director   March 18, 2024

/s/ Ned Segal

Ned Segal

  Director   March 18, 2024

/s/ Kathy N. Waller

Kathy N. Waller

  Director   March 18, 2024
EX-4.3

Exhibit 4.3

 

 

BEYOND MEAT, INC.

 

 

INDENTURE

Dated as of ___________, 20___

 

 

U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association

Trustee

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

         Page  

ARTICLE I. DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

     1  

Section 1.1.

  Definitions      1  

Section 1.2.

  Other Definitions      4  

Section 1.3.

  Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act      4  

Section 1.4.

  Rules of Construction      5  

ARTICLE II. THE SECURITIES

     5  

Section 2.1.

  Issuable in Series      5  

Section 2.2.

  Establishment of Terms of Series of Securities      6  

Section 2.3.

  Execution and Authentication      8  

Section 2.4.

  Registrar, Paying Agent and Notice Agent      9  

Section 2.5.

  Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust      10  

Section 2.6.

  Holder Lists      10  

Section 2.7.

  Transfer and Exchange      11  

Section 2.8.

  Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Securities      11  

Section 2.9.

  Outstanding Securities      12  

Section 2.10.

  Treasury Securities      12  

Section 2.11.

  Temporary Securities      12  

Section 2.12.

  Cancellation      13  

Section 2.13.

  Defaulted Interest      13  

Section 2.14.

  Global Securities      13  

Section 2.15.

  CUSIP Numbers      15  

ARTICLE III. REDEMPTION

     15  

Section 3.1.

  Notice to Trustee      15  

Section 3.2.

  Selection of Securities to be Redeemed      16  

Section 3.3.

  Notice of Redemption      16  

Section 3.4.

  Effect of Notice of Redemption      17  

Section 3.5.

  Deposit of Redemption Price      17  

Section 3.6.

  Securities Redeemed in Part      17  

ARTICLE IV. COVENANTS

     17  

Section 4.1.

  Payment of Principal and Interest      17  

Section 4.2.

  SEC Reports      18  

Section 4.3.

  Compliance Certificate      18  

Section 4.4.

  Stay, Extension and Usury Laws      18  

ARTICLE V. SUCCESSORS

     19  

Section 5.1.

  When Company May Merge, Etc.      19  

Section 5.2.

  Successor Corporation Substituted      19  

ARTICLE VI. DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES

     20  

Section 6.1.

  Events of Default      20  

 

i


Section 6.2.

  Acceleration of Maturity; Rescission and Annulment      21  

Section 6.3.

  Collection of Indebtedness and Suits for Enforcement by Trustee      21  

Section 6.4.

  Trustee May File Proofs of Claim      22  

Section 6.5.

  Trustee May Enforce Claims Without Possession of Securities      23  

Section 6.6.

  Application of Money Collected      23  

Section 6.7.

  Limitation on Suits      23  

Section 6.8.

  Unconditional Right of Holders to Receive Principal and Interest      24  

Section 6.9.

  Restoration of Rights and Remedies      24  

Section 6.10.

  Rights and Remedies Cumulative      24  

Section 6.11.

  Delay or Omission Not Waiver      25  

Section 6.12.

  Control by Holders      25  

Section 6.13.

  Waiver of Past Defaults      25  

Section 6.14.

  Undertaking for Costs      26  

ARTICLE VII. TRUSTEE

     26  

Section 7.1.

  Duties of Trustee      26  

Section 7.2.

  Rights of Trustee      27  

Section 7.3.

  Individual Rights of Trustee      28  

Section 7.4.

  Trustee’s Disclaimer      29  

Section 7.5.

  Notice of Defaults      29  

Section 7.6.

  Reports by Trustee to Holders      29  

Section 7.7.

  Compensation and Indemnity      29  

Section 7.8.

  Replacement of Trustee      30  

Section 7.9.

  Successor Trustee by Merger, Etc.      31  

Section 7.10.

  Eligibility; Disqualification      31  

Section 7.11.

  Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company      31  

ARTICLE VIII. SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE; DEFEASANCE

     32  

Section 8.1.

  Satisfaction and Discharge of Indenture      32  

Section 8.2.

  Application of Trust Funds; Indemnification      33  

Section 8.3.

  Legal Defeasance of Securities of any Series      33  

Section 8.4.

  Covenant Defeasance      35  

Section 8.5.

  Repayment to Company      36  

Section 8.6.

  Reinstatement      36  

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS

     36  

Section 9.1.

  Without Consent of Holders      36  

Section 9.2.

  With Consent of Holders      37  

Section 9.3.

  Limitations      38  

Section 9.4.

  Compliance with Trust Indenture Act      38  

Section 9.5.

  Revocation and Effect of Consents      38  

Section 9.6.

  Notation on or Exchange of Securities      39  

Section 9.7.

  Trustee Protected      39  

ARTICLE X. MISCELLANEOUS

     39  

Section 10.1.

  Trust Indenture Act Controls      39  

Section 10.2.

  Notices      39  

 

ii


Section 10.3.

  Communication by Holders with Other Holders      41  

Section 10.4.

  Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent      41  

Section 10.5.

  Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion      41  

Section 10.6.

  Rules by Trustee and Agents      42  

Section 10.7.

  Legal Holidays      42  

Section 10.8.

  No Recourse Against Others      42  

Section 10.9.

  Counterparts      42  

Section 10.10.

  Governing Law; Waiver of Jury Trial; Consent to Jurisdiction      43  

Section 10.11.

  No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements      43  

Section 10.12.

  Successors      43  

Section 10.13.

  Severability      44  

Section 10.14.

  Table of Contents, Headings, Etc.      44  

Section 10.15.

  Securities in a Foreign Currency      44  

Section 10.16.

  Judgment Currency      44  

Section 10.17.

  Force Majeure      45  

Section 10.18.

  U.S.A. Patriot Act      45  

ARTICLE XI. SINKING FUNDS

     45  

Section 11.1.

  Applicability of Article      45  

Section 11.2.

  Satisfaction of Sinking Fund Payments with Securities      46  

Section 11.3.

  Redemption of Securities for Sinking Fund      46  

 

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BEYOND MEAT, INC.

Reconciliation and tie between Trust Indenture Act of 1939 and

Indenture, dated as of ____________, 20__

 

§ 310(a)(1)    7.10
(a)(2)    7.10
(a)(3)    Not Applicable
(a)(4)    Not Applicable
(a)(5)    7.10
(b)    7.10
§ 311(a)    7.11
(b)    7.11
(c)    Not Applicable
§ 312(a)    2.6
(b)    10.3
(c)    10.3
§ 313(a)    7.6
(b)(1)    7.6
(b)(2)    7.6
(c)(1)    7.6
(d)    7.6
§ 314(a)    4.2, 10.5
(b)    Not Applicable
(c)(1)    10.4
(c)(2)    10.4
(c)(3)    Not Applicable
(d)    Not Applicable
(e)    10.5
(f)    Not Applicable
§ 315(a)    7.1
(b)    7.5
(c)    7.1
(d)    7.1
(e)    6.14
§ 316(a)    2.10
(a)(1)(A)    6.12
(a)(1)(B)    6.13
(b)    6.8
§ 317(a)(1)    6.3
(a)(2)    6.4
(b)    2.5
§ 318(a)    10.1

 

Note:

This reconciliation and tie shall not, for any purpose, be deemed to be part of the Indenture.

 

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Indenture dated as of __________, 20__ between BEYOND MEAT, INC., a company incorporated under the laws of State of Delaware (“Company”), and U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, a national banking association (“Trustee”).

Each party agrees as follows for the benefit of the other party and for the equal and ratable benefit of the Holders of the Securities issued under this Indenture.

ARTICLE I.

DEFINITIONS AND INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Section 1.1. Definitions.

Affiliate” of any specified person means any other person directly or indirectly controlling or controlled by or under common control with such specified person. For the purposes of this definition, “control” (including, with correlative meanings, the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”), as used with respect to any person, shall mean the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of such person, whether through the ownership of voting securities or by agreement or otherwise.

Agent” means any Registrar, Paying Agent or Notice Agent.

Board of Directors” means the board of directors of the Company or any duly authorized committee thereof.

Board Resolution” means a copy of a resolution certified by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Company to have been adopted by the Board of Directors or pursuant to authorization by the Board of Directors and to be in full force and effect on the date of the certificate and delivered to the Trustee.

Business Day” means any day except a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday in the City of New York, New York (or in connection with any payment, the place of payment) on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law, regulation or executive order to close.

Capital Stock” means any and all shares, interests, participations, rights or other equivalents (however designated) of corporate stock.

Company” means the party named as such above until a successor replaces it and thereafter means the successor.

Company Order” means a written order signed in the name of the Company by an Officer and delivered to the Trustee.

Corporate Trust Office” means the office of the Trustee at which at any particular time its corporate trust business related to this Indenture shall be principally administered.

Default” means any event which is, or after notice, passage of time or both would be, an Event of Default.


Depositary” means, with respect to the Securities of any Series issuable or issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more Global Securities, the person designated as Depositary for such Series by the Company, which Depositary shall be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act; and if at any time there is more than one such person, “Depositary” as used with respect to the Securities of any Series shall mean the Depositary with respect to the Securities of such Series.

Discount Security” means any Security that provides for an amount less than the stated principal amount thereof to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.2.

Dollars” and “$” means the currency of the United States of America.

Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Foreign Currency” means any currency or currency unit issued by a government other than the government of the United States of America.

Foreign Government Obligations” means, with respect to Securities of any Series that are denominated in a Foreign Currency, direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed by, the government that issued or caused to be issued such currency for the payment of which obligations its full faith and credit is pledged and which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof.

“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or in such other statements by such other entity as have been approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession, which are in effect as of the date of determination.

Global Security” or “Global Securities” means a Security or Securities, as the case may be, in the form established pursuant to Section 2.2 evidencing all or part of a Series of Securities, issued to the Depositary for such Series or its nominee, and registered in the name of such Depositary or nominee.

Holder” means a person in whose name a Security is registered on the Registrar’s books.

Indenture” means this Indenture as amended or supplemented from time to time and shall include the form and terms of particular Series of Securities established as contemplated hereunder.

interest” with respect to any Discount Security which by its terms bears interest only after Maturity, means interest payable after Maturity.

 

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Maturity” when used with respect to any Security, means the date on which the principal of such Security becomes due and payable as therein or herein provided, whether at the Stated Maturity or by declaration of acceleration, call for redemption or otherwise.

Officer” means the Chief Executive Officer, President, the Chief Financial Officer, the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer, the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary and any Vice President of the Company.

Officer’s Certificate” means a certificate signed by any Officer that meets the requirements of this Indenture.

Opinion of Counsel” means a written opinion of legal counsel who is acceptable to the Trustee. The counsel may be an employee of or counsel to the Company. The opinion may contain customary limitations, conditions and exceptions.

person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, association, limited liability company, joint-stock company, trust, unincorporated organization or government or any agency or political subdivision thereof.

principal” of a Security means the principal of the Security plus, when appropriate, the premium, if any, on, the Security.

Responsible Officer” means any officer of the Trustee in its Corporate Trust Office having responsibility for administration of this Indenture and also means, with respect to a particular corporate trust matter, any other officer to whom any corporate trust matter is referred because of his or her knowledge of and familiarity with a particular subject.

SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Security” or “Securities” means the debentures, notes or other debt instruments of the Company of any Series authenticated and delivered under this Indenture.

Series” or “Series of Securities” means each series of debentures, notes or other debt instruments of the Company created pursuant to Sections 2.1 and 2.2 hereof.

Stated Maturity” when used with respect to any Security, means the date specified in such Security as the fixed date on which the principal of such Security or interest is due and payable.

Subsidiary” of any specified person means any corporation, association or other business entity of which more than 50% of the total voting power of shares of Capital Stock entitled (without regard to the occurrence of any contingency) to vote in the election of directors, managers or trustees thereof is at the time owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by such person or one or more of the other Subsidiaries of that person or a combination thereof.

 

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TIA” means the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 (15 U.S. Code §§ 77aaa-77bbbb) as in effect on the date of this Indenture; provided, however, that in the event the Trust Indenture Act of 1939 is amended after such date, “TIA” means, to the extent required by any such amendment, the Trust Indenture Act as so amended.

Trustee” means the person named as the “Trustee” in the first paragraph of this instrument until a successor Trustee shall have become such pursuant to the applicable provisions of this Indenture, and thereafter “Trustee” shall mean or include each person who is then a Trustee hereunder, and if at any time there is more than one such person, “Trustee” as used with respect to the Securities of any Series shall mean the Trustee with respect to Securities of that Series.

U.S. Government Obligations” means securities which are direct obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United States of America for the payment of which its full faith and credit is pledged and which are not callable or redeemable at the option of the issuer thereof and shall also include a depositary receipt issued by a bank or trust company as custodian with respect to any such U.S. Government Obligation or a specific payment of interest on or principal of any such U.S. Government Obligation held by such custodian for the account of the holder of a depositary receipt, provided that (except as required by law) such custodian is not authorized to make any deduction from the amount payable to the holder of such depositary receipt from any amount received by the custodian in respect of the U.S. Government Obligation evidenced by such depositary receipt.

Section 1.2. Other Definitions.

 

TERM

   DEFINED IN SECTION

Agent Member

   2.14.6

Bankruptcy Law

   6.1

Custodian

   6.1

Event of Default

   6.1

Judgment Currency

   10.16

mandatory sinking fund payment

   11.1

New York Banking Day

   10.16

Notice Agent

   2.4

optional sinking fund payment

   11.1

Paying Agent

   2.4

Registrar

   2.4

Required Currency

   10.16

Specified Courts

   10.10

successor person

   5.1

Section 1.3. Incorporation by Reference of Trust Indenture Act.

Whenever this Indenture refers to a provision of the TIA, the provision is incorporated by reference in and made a part of this Indenture. The following TIA terms used in this Indenture have the following meanings:

Commission” means the SEC.

 

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indenture securities” means the Securities.

indenture security holder” means a Holder.

indenture to be qualified” means this Indenture.

indenture trustee” or “institutional trustee” means the Trustee.

obligor” on the indenture securities means the Company and any successor obligor upon the Securities.

All other terms used in this Indenture that are defined by the TIA, defined by TIA reference to another statute or defined by SEC rule under the TIA and not otherwise defined herein are used herein as so defined.

Section 1.4. Rules of Construction.

Unless the context otherwise requires:

(a) a term has the meaning assigned to it;

(b) an accounting term not otherwise defined has the meaning assigned to it in accordance with GAAP;

(c) “or” is not exclusive;

(d) words in the singular include the plural, and in the plural include the singular;

(e) provisions apply to successive events and transactions;

(f) in the computation of periods of time from a specified date to a later specified date, the word “from” means “from and including,” and the words “to” and “until” each mean “to but excluding”; and

(g) the phrase “in writing” as used herein shall be deemed to include PDFs, e-mails and other electronic means of transmission, unless otherwise indicated.

ARTICLE II.

THE SECURITIES

Section 2.1. Issuable in Series.

The aggregate principal amount of Securities that may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture is unlimited. The Securities may be issued in one or more Series. All Securities of a Series shall be identical except as may be set forth or determined in the manner provided in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture or an Officer’s Certificate detailing the adoption of the terms thereof pursuant to authority granted under a Board Resolution. In the case of Securities of a Series to be issued from time to time, the Board Resolution, Officer’s Certificate

 

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or supplemental indenture detailing the adoption of the terms thereof pursuant to authority granted under a Board Resolution may provide for the method by which specified terms (such as interest rate, maturity date, record date or date from which interest shall accrue) are to be determined. Securities may differ between Series in respect of any matters, provided that all Series of Securities shall be equally and ratably entitled to the benefits of the Indenture.

Section 2.2. Establishment of Terms of Series of Securities.

At or prior to the issuance of any Securities within a Series, the following shall be established (as to the Series generally, in the case of Subsection 2.2.1 and either as to such Securities within the Series or as to the Series generally in the case of Subsections 2.2.2 through 2.2.23) by or pursuant to a Board Resolution, and set forth or determined in the manner provided in a Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officer’s Certificate:

2.2.1. the title (which shall distinguish the Securities of that particular Series from the Securities of any other Series) and ranking (including the terms of any subordination provisions) of the Series;

2.2.2. the price or prices (expressed as a percentage of the principal amount thereof) at which the Securities of the Series will be issued;

2.2.3. any limit upon the aggregate principal amount of the Securities of the Series which may be authenticated and delivered under this Indenture (except for Securities authenticated and delivered upon registration of transfer of, or in exchange for, or in lieu of, other Securities of the Series pursuant to Section 2.7, 2.8, 2.11, 3.6 or 9.6);

2.2.4. the date or dates on which the principal of the Securities of the Series is payable;

2.2.5. the rate or rates (which may be fixed or variable) per annum or, if applicable, the method used to determine such rate or rates (including, but not limited to, any commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index) at which the Securities of the Series shall bear interest, if any, the date or dates from which such interest, if any, shall accrue, the date or dates on which such interest, if any, shall commence and be payable and any regular record date for the interest payable on any interest payment date;

2.2.6. the place or places where the principal of and interest, if any, on the Securities of the Series shall be payable, where the Securities of such Series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange and where notices and demands to or upon the Company in respect of the Securities of such Series and this Indenture may be delivered, and the method of such payment, if by wire transfer, mail or other means;

2.2.7. if applicable, the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which the Securities of the Series may be redeemed, in whole or in part, at the option of the Company;

 

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2.2.8. the obligation, if any, of the Company to redeem or purchase the Securities of the Series pursuant to any sinking fund or analogous provisions or at the option of a Holder thereof and the period or periods within which, the price or prices at which and the terms and conditions upon which Securities of the Series shall be redeemed or purchased, in whole or in part, pursuant to such obligation;

2.2.9. the dates, if any, on which and the price or prices at which the Securities of the Series will be repurchased by the Company at the option of the Holders thereof and other detailed terms and provisions of such repurchase obligations;

2.2.10. if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof, the denominations in which the Securities of the Series shall be issuable;

2.2.11. the forms of the Securities of the Series and whether the Securities will be issuable as Global Securities;

2.2.12. if other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of the Securities of the Series that shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.2;

2.2.13. the currency of denomination of the Securities of the Series, which may be Dollars or any Foreign Currency, and if such currency of denomination is a composite currency, the agency or organization, if any, responsible for overseeing such composite currency;

2.2.14. the designation of the currency, currencies or currency units in which payment of the principal of and interest, if any, on the Securities of the Series will be made;

2.2.15. if payments of principal of or interest, if any, on the Securities of the Series are to be made in one or more currencies or currency units other than that or those in which such Securities are denominated, the manner in which the exchange rate with respect to such payments will be determined;

2.2.16. the manner in which the amounts of payment of principal of or interest, if any, on the Securities of the Series will be determined, if such amounts may be determined by reference to an index based on a currency or currencies or by reference to a commodity, commodity index, stock exchange index or financial index;

2.2.17. the provisions, if any, relating to any security provided for the Securities of the Series;

2.2.18. any addition to, deletion of or change in the Events of Default which applies to any Securities of the Series and any change in the right of the Trustee or the requisite Holders of such Securities to declare the principal amount thereof due and payable pursuant to Section 6.2;

2.2.19. any addition to, deletion of or change in the covenants applicable to Securities of the Series;

 

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2.2.20. any Depositaries, interest rate calculation agents, exchange rate calculation agents or other agents with respect to Securities of such Series if other than those appointed herein;

2.2.21. the provisions, if any, relating to conversion or exchange of any Securities of such Series, including if applicable, the conversion or exchange price, the conversion or exchange period, provisions as to whether conversion or exchange will be mandatory, at the option of the Holders thereof or at the option of the Company, the events requiring an adjustment of the conversion price or exchange price and provisions affecting conversion or exchange if such Series of Securities are redeemed;

2.2.22. any other terms of the Series (which may supplement, modify or delete any provision of this Indenture insofar as it applies to such Series), including any terms that may be required under applicable law or regulations or advisable in connection with the marketing of Securities of that Series; and

2.2.23. whether any of the Company’s direct or indirect Subsidiaries will guarantee the Securities of that Series, including the terms of subordination, if any, of such guarantees.

All Securities of any one Series need not be issued at the same time and may be issued from time to time, consistent with the terms of this Indenture, if so provided by or pursuant to the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officer’s Certificate referred to above.

Section 2.3. Execution and Authentication.

An Officer shall sign the Securities for the Company by manual, facsimile or electronic signature.

If an Officer whose signature is on a Security no longer holds that office at the time the Security is authenticated, the Security shall nevertheless be valid.

A Security shall not be valid until authenticated by the manual signature of the Trustee or an authenticating agent. The signature shall be conclusive evidence that the Security has been authenticated under this Indenture.

The Trustee shall at any time, and from time to time, authenticate Securities for original issue in the principal amount provided in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officer’s Certificate, upon receipt by the Trustee of a Company Order. Each Security shall be dated the date of its authentication.

The aggregate principal amount of Securities of any Series outstanding at any time may not exceed any limit upon the maximum principal amount for such Series set forth in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officer’s Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.2, except as provided in Section 2.8.

 

8


Prior to the issuance of Securities of any Series, the Trustee shall have received and (subject to Section 7.2) shall be fully protected in relying on: (a) the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officer’s Certificate establishing the form of the Securities of that Series or of Securities within that Series and the terms of the Securities of that Series or of Securities within that Series, (b) an Officer’s Certificate complying with Sections 10.4 and 10.5, and (c) an Opinion of Counsel complying with Sections 10.4 and 10.5.

The Trustee shall have the right to decline to authenticate and deliver any Securities of such Series: (a) if the Trustee, being advised by counsel, determines that such action may not be taken lawfully; or (b) if the Trustee in good faith determines that such action may expose the Trustee to personal liability.

The Trustee may appoint an authenticating agent acceptable to the Company to authenticate Securities. An authenticating agent may authenticate Securities whenever the Trustee may do so. Each reference in this Indenture to authentication by the Trustee includes authentication by such agent. An authenticating agent has the same rights as an Agent to deal with the Company or an Affiliate of the Company.

Section 2.4. Registrar, Paying Agent and Notice Agent.

The Company shall maintain, with respect to each Series of Securities, at the place or places specified with respect to such Series pursuant to Section 2.2, an office or agency where Securities of such Series may be presented or surrendered for payment (“Paying Agent”), where Securities of such Series may be surrendered for registration of transfer or exchange (“Registrar”) and where notices and demands to or upon the Company in respect of the Securities of such Series and this Indenture may be delivered (“Notice Agent”). The Registrar shall keep a register with respect to each Series of Securities and to their transfer and exchange. The Company will give prompt written notice to the Trustee of the name and address, and any change in the name or address, of each Registrar, Paying Agent or Notice Agent. If at any time the Company shall fail to maintain any such required Registrar, Paying Agent or Notice Agent or shall fail to furnish the Trustee with the name and address thereof, such presentations, surrenders, notices and demands may be made or served at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and the Company hereby appoints the Trustee as its agent to receive all such presentations, surrenders, notices and demands; provided, however, that any appointment of the Trustee as the Notice Agent shall exclude the appointment of the Trustee or any office of the Trustee as an agent to receive the service of legal process on the Company.

The Company may also from time to time designate one or more co-registrars, additional paying agents or additional notice agents and may from time to time rescind such designations; provided, however, that no such designation or rescission shall in any manner relieve the Company of its obligations to maintain a Registrar, Paying Agent and Notice Agent in each place so specified pursuant to Section 2.2 for Securities of any Series for such purposes. The Company will give prompt written notice to the Trustee of any such designation or rescission and of any change in the name or address of any such co-registrar, additional paying agent or additional notice agent. The term “Registrar” includes any co-registrar; the term “Paying Agent” includes any additional paying agent; and the term “Notice Agent” includes any additional notice agent. The Company or any of its Affiliates may serve as Registrar or Paying Agent.

 

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The Company hereby appoints the Trustee the initial Registrar, Paying Agent and Notice Agent for each Series unless another Registrar, Paying Agent or Notice Agent, as the case may be, is appointed prior to the time Securities of that Series are first issued. The rights, powers, duties, obligations and actions of each Agent under this Indenture are several and not joint or joint and several, and the Agents shall only be obliged to perform those duties expressly set out in this Indenture and shall have no implied duties.

Section 2.5. Paying Agent to Hold Money in Trust.

The Company shall require each Paying Agent other than the Trustee to agree in writing that the Paying Agent will hold in trust, for the benefit of Holders of any Series of Securities or the Trustee, all money held by the Paying Agent for the payment of principal of or interest on the Series of Securities and will notify the Trustee in writing of any default by the Company in making any such payment. While any such default continues, the Trustee may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. The Company at any time may require a Paying Agent to pay all money held by it to the Trustee. Upon payment over to the Trustee, the Paying Agent (if other than the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company) shall have no further liability for the money. If the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company acts as Paying Agent, it shall segregate and hold in a separate trust fund for the benefit of Holders of any Series of Securities all money held by it as Paying Agent. Upon any bankruptcy, reorganization or similar proceeding with respect to the Company, the Trustee shall serve as Paying Agent for the Securities. For the avoidance of doubt, a Paying Agent and the Trustee shall be held harmless and have no liability with respect to payments or disbursements (including to the Holders) until they have confirmed receipt of funds sufficient to make the relevant payment. No money held by an Agent needs to be segregated except as is required by law.

Section 2.6. Holder Lists.

If it is serving as Registrar, the Trustee shall preserve in as current a form as is reasonably practicable the most recent list available to it of the names and addresses of Holders of each Series of Securities and shall otherwise comply with TIA § 312(a). If the Trustee is not the Registrar, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee at least ten days before each interest payment date and at such other times as the Trustee may request in writing a list, in such form and as of such date as the Trustee may reasonably require, of the names and addresses of Holders of each Series of Securities.

Every Holder, by receiving and holding Securities, agrees with the Company and the Trustee that neither the Company nor the Trustee or any agent of either of them shall be held accountable by reason of the disclosure of any such information as to the names and addresses of the Holders in accordance with TIA § 312, regardless of the source from which such information was derived, and that the Trustee shall not be held accountable by reason of mailing any material pursuant to a request made under TIA § 312(b).

 

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Section 2.7. Transfer and Exchange.

Where Securities of a Series are presented to the Registrar or a co-registrar with a request to register a transfer or to exchange them for an equal principal amount of Securities of the same Series, the Registrar shall register the transfer or make the exchange if its requirements for such transactions are met. To permit registrations of transfers and exchanges, the Trustee shall authenticate Securities at the Registrar’s request. No service charge shall be made for any registration of transfer or exchange (except as otherwise expressly permitted herein), but the Company may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable in connection therewith (other than any such transfer tax or similar governmental charge payable upon exchanges pursuant to Sections 2.11, 3.6 or 9.6).

Neither the Company nor the Registrar shall be required (a) to issue, register the transfer of or exchange Securities of any Series for the period beginning at the opening of business 15 days immediately preceding the sending of a notice of redemption of Securities of that Series selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day such notice is sent, (b) to register the transfer of or exchange Securities of any Series selected, called or being called for redemption as a whole or the portion being redeemed of any such Securities selected, called or being called for redemption in part or (c) to register the transfer of or exchange Securities of any Series between a record date and payment date for such Series of Securities.

Section 2.8. Mutilated, Destroyed, Lost and Stolen Securities.

If any mutilated Security is surrendered to the Trustee, the Company shall execute and the Trustee shall authenticate and deliver in exchange therefor a new Security of the same Series and of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding.

If there shall be delivered to the Company and the Trustee (i) evidence to their satisfaction of the destruction, loss or theft of any Security and (ii) such security or indemnity bond as may be required by each of them to hold itself and any of its agents harmless, then, in the absence of notice to the Company or the Trustee that such Security has been acquired by a bona fide purchaser, the Company shall execute and upon receipt of a Company Order the Trustee shall authenticate and make available for delivery, in lieu of any such destroyed, lost or stolen Security, a new Security of the same Series and of like tenor and principal amount and bearing a number not contemporaneously outstanding.

In case any such mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Security has become or is about to become due and payable, the Company in its discretion may, instead of issuing a new Security, pay such Security.

Upon the issuance of any new Security under this Section, the Company may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed in relation thereto and any other expenses (including the fees and expenses of the Trustee) connected therewith.

Every new Security of any Series issued pursuant to this Section in lieu of any destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall constitute an original additional contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the destroyed, lost or stolen Security shall be at any time enforceable by anyone, and shall be entitled to all the benefits of this Indenture equally and proportionately with any and all other Securities of that Series duly issued hereunder.

 

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The provisions of this Section are exclusive and shall preclude (to the extent lawful) all other rights and remedies with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Securities.

Section 2.9. Outstanding Securities.

The Securities outstanding at any time are all the Securities authenticated by the Trustee except for those canceled by it, those delivered to it for cancellation, those reductions in the interest on a Global Security effected by the Trustee in accordance with the provisions hereof and those described in this Section as not outstanding.

If a Security is replaced pursuant to Section 2.8, it ceases to be outstanding until the Trustee receives proof satisfactory to it that the replaced Security is held by a bona fide purchaser.

If the Paying Agent (other than the Company, a Subsidiary of the Company or an Affiliate of the Company) holds on the Maturity of Securities of a Series money sufficient to pay such Securities payable on that date, then on and after that date such Securities of the Series cease to be outstanding and interest on them ceases to accrue.

The Company may purchase or otherwise acquire the Securities, whether by open market purchases, negotiated transactions or otherwise. A Security does not cease to be outstanding because the Company or an Affiliate of the Company holds the Security (but see Section 2.10 below).

In determining whether the Holders of the requisite principal amount of outstanding Securities have given any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver hereunder, the principal amount of a Discount Security that shall be deemed to be outstanding for such purposes shall be the amount of the principal thereof that would be due and payable as of the date of such determination upon a declaration of acceleration of the Maturity thereof pursuant to Section 6.2.

Section 2.10. Treasury Securities.

In determining whether the Holders of the required principal amount of Securities of a Series have concurred in any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver, Securities of a Series owned by the Company or any Affiliate of the Company shall be disregarded, except that for the purposes of determining whether the Trustee shall be protected in relying on any such request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent or waiver only Securities of a Series that a Responsible Officer of the Trustee knows are so owned shall be so disregarded.

Section 2.11. Temporary Securities.

Until definitive Securities are ready for delivery, the Company may prepare and the Trustee shall authenticate temporary Securities upon a Company Order. Temporary Securities shall be substantially in the form of definitive Securities but may have variations that the Company considers appropriate for temporary Securities. Without unreasonable delay, the Company shall prepare and the Trustee upon receipt of a Company Order shall authenticate definitive Securities of the same Series and date of maturity in exchange for temporary Securities. Until so exchanged, temporary securities shall have the same rights under this Indenture as the definitive Securities.

 

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Section 2.12. Cancellation.

The Company at any time may deliver Securities to the Trustee for cancellation. The Registrar and the Paying Agent shall forward to the Trustee any Securities surrendered to them for registration of transfer, exchange or payment. The Trustee shall cancel all Securities surrendered for transfer, exchange, payment, replacement or cancellation and shall destroy such canceled Securities (subject to the record retention requirements of the Exchange Act and the Trustee) and deliver a certificate of such cancellation to the Company upon written request of the Company. The Company may not issue new Securities to replace Securities that it has paid or delivered to the Trustee for cancellation.

Section 2.13. Defaulted Interest.

If the Company defaults in a payment of interest on a Series of Securities, it shall pay the defaulted interest, plus, to the extent permitted by law, any interest payable on the defaulted interest, to the persons who are Holders of the Series on a subsequent special record date. The Company shall fix the record date and payment date. At least ten days before the special record date, the Company shall send to the Trustee and to each Holder of the Series a notice that states the special record date, the payment date and the amount of interest to be paid. The Company may pay defaulted interest in any other lawful manner.

Section 2.14. Global Securities.

2.14.1. Terms of Securities. A Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officer’s Certificate shall establish whether the Securities of a Series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more Global Securities and the Depositary for such Global Security or Securities.

2.14.2. Transfer and Exchange. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary contained in Section 2.7 of the Indenture and in addition thereto, any Global Security shall be exchangeable pursuant to Section 2.7 of the Indenture for Securities registered in the names of Holders other than the Depositary for such Security or its nominee only if (i) such Depositary notifies the Company that it is unwilling or unable to continue as Depositary for such Global Security or if at any time such Depositary ceases to be a clearing agency registered under the Exchange Act, and, in either case, the Company fails to appoint a successor Depositary registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act within 90 days of such event or (ii) the Company executes and delivers to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate to the effect that such Global Security shall be so exchangeable. Any Global Security that is exchangeable pursuant to the preceding sentence shall be exchangeable for Securities registered in such names as the Depositary shall direct in writing in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of the Global Security with like tenor and terms.

 

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Except as provided in this Section 2.14.2, a Global Security may not be transferred except as a whole by the Depositary with respect to such Global Security to a nominee of such Depositary, by a nominee of such Depositary to such Depositary or another nominee of such Depositary or by the Depositary or any such nominee to a successor Depositary or a nominee of such a successor Depositary.

None of the Trustee or any Agent shall have any obligation or duty to monitor, determine or inquire as to compliance with any restrictions on transfer imposed under this Indenture or under applicable law with respect to any transfer of any interest in any Security (including any transfers between or among Depositary participants, members or beneficial owners in any Global Security) other than to require delivery of such certificates and other documentation or evidence as are expressly required by, and to do so if and when expressly required by the terms of, this Indenture, and to examine the same to determine substantial compliance as to form with the express requirements hereof.

None of the Trustee or any Agent shall have any responsibility or obligation to any beneficial owner of a Global Security, a member of, or a participant in the Depositary or other Person with respect to the accuracy of the records of the Depositary or its nominee or of any participant or member thereof, with respect to any ownership interest in any Security or with respect to the delivery to any participant, member, beneficial owner or other Person (other than the Depositary) of any notice (including any notice of optional redemption) or the payment of any amount, under or with respect to such Security.

2.14.3. Legends. Any Global Security issued hereunder shall bear a legend in substantially the following form:

“THIS SECURITY IS A GLOBAL SECURITY WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE INDENTURE HEREINAFTER REFERRED TO AND IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF THE DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY. THIS SECURITY IS EXCHANGEABLE FOR SECURITIES REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF A PERSON OTHER THAN THE DEPOSITARY OR ITS NOMINEE ONLY IN THE LIMITED CIRCUMSTANCES DESCRIBED IN THE INDENTURE, AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED EXCEPT AS A WHOLE BY THE DEPOSITARY TO A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY, BY A NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY TO THE DEPOSITARY OR ANOTHER NOMINEE OF THE DEPOSITARY OR BY THE DEPOSITARY OR ANY SUCH NOMINEE TO A SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY OR A NOMINEE OF SUCH A SUCCESSOR DEPOSITARY.”

In addition, so long as the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) is the Depositary, each Global Security registered in the name of DTC or its nominee shall bear a legend in substantially the following form:

“UNLESS THIS GLOBAL SECURITY IS PRESENTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY, A NEW YORK CORPORATION (“DTC”), TO THE COMPANY OR ITS AGENT FOR REGISTRATION OF TRANSFER, EXCHANGE OR PAYMENT, AND ANY GLOBAL SECURITY ISSUED IS REGISTERED IN THE NAME OF CEDE & CO. OR IN SUCH OTHER NAME AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC (AND ANY PAYMENT IS MADE TO CEDE & CO. OR TO SUCH OTHER ENTITY AS IS REQUESTED BY AN AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF DTC), ANY TRANSFER, PLEDGE OR OTHER USE HEREOF FOR VALUE OR OTHERWISE BY OR TO ANY PERSON IS WRONGFUL INASMUCH AS THE REGISTERED OWNER HEREOF, CEDE & CO., HAS AN INTEREST HEREIN.”

 

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2.14.4. Acts of Holders. The Depositary, as a Holder, may appoint agents and otherwise authorize participants to give or take any request, demand, authorization, direction, notice, consent, waiver or other action which a Holder is entitled to give or take under the Indenture.

2.14.5. Payments. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Indenture, unless otherwise specified as contemplated by Section 2.2, payment of the principal of and interest, if any, on any Global Security shall be made to the Holder thereof.

2.14.6. Agent Members. The registered Holder of a Security will be treated as the owner of such Security for all purposes and only registered Holders shall have rights under this Indenture and the Securities. Members of, or participants in, the Depositary (“Agent Members”) and persons who hold beneficial interests in a Global Security through an Agent Member shall have no rights under this Indenture with respect to any Global Security held on their behalf by the Depositary. The Depositary may be treated by the Company, the Trustee, the Paying Agent, the Registrar and any agent of the foregoing as the absolute owner of the Global Securities for all purposes whatsoever. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing herein shall prevent the Company, the Trustee, the Paying Agent, the Registrar or any agent of the foregoing from giving effect to any written certification, proxy or other authorization furnished by the Depositary or impair, as between the Depositary and its Agent Members, the operation of customary practices of such Depositary governing the exercise of the rights of a Holder of a beneficial interest in any Global Security.

Section 2.15. CUSIP Numbers.

The Company in issuing the Securities may use “CUSIP” numbers (if then generally in use), and, if so, the Trustee shall use “CUSIP” numbers in notices of redemption as a convenience to Holders; provided that any such notice may state that no representation is made as to the correctness of such numbers either as printed on the Securities or as contained in any notice of a redemption and that reliance may be placed only on the other elements of identification printed on the Securities, and any such redemption shall not be affected by any defect in or omission of such numbers.

ARTICLE III.

REDEMPTION

Section 3.1. Notice to Trustee.

The Company may, with respect to any Series of Securities, reserve the right to redeem and pay the Series of Securities or may covenant to redeem and pay the Series of Securities or any part thereof prior to the Stated Maturity thereof at such time and on such terms as provided for in such Securities. If a Series of Securities is redeemable and the Company wants or is obligated to redeem prior to the Stated Maturity thereof all or part of the Series of Securities pursuant to the terms of such Securities, it shall notify the Trustee in writing of the redemption date and the principal amount of the Series of Securities to be redeemed. The Company shall give the notice at least 15 days before the redemption date (or such shorter period as may be acceptable to the Trustee).

 

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Section 3.2. Selection of Securities to be Redeemed.

Unless otherwise indicated for a particular Series by a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officer’s Certificate, if less than all the Securities of a Series are to be redeemed, the Securities of the Series to be redeemed will be selected as follows: (a) if the Securities are in the form of Global Securities, in accordance with the procedures of the Depositary, (b) if the Securities are listed on any national securities exchange, in compliance with the requirements of the principal national securities exchange, if any, on which the Securities are listed or (c) if not otherwise provided for under clause (a) or (b) in the manner that the Trustee deems fair and appropriate, including by lot or other method, unless otherwise required by law or applicable stock exchange requirements, subject, in the case of Global Securities, to the applicable rules and procedures of the Depositary. The Securities to be redeemed shall be selected from Securities of the Series outstanding not previously called for redemption. Portions of the principal of Securities of the Series that have denominations larger than $1,000 may be selected for redemption. Securities of the Series and portions of them it selected for redemption shall be in amounts of $1,000 or whole multiples of $1,000 or, with respect to Securities of any Series issuable in other denominations pursuant to Section 2.2.10, the minimum principal denomination for each Series and the authorized integral multiples thereof. Provisions of this Indenture that apply to Securities of a Series called for redemption also apply to portions of Securities of that Series called for redemption. Neither the Trustee nor the Paying Agent shall be liable for any selection made by it in accordance with this paragraph (including the procedures of the Depositary).

Section 3.3. Notice of Redemption.

Unless otherwise indicated for a particular Series by Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officer’s Certificate, at least 15 days but not more than 60 days before a redemption date, the Company shall send or cause to be sent by first-class mail or electronically, in accordance with the procedures of the Depositary, a notice of redemption to each Holder whose Securities are to be redeemed.

The notice shall identify the Securities of the Series to be redeemed and shall state:

(a) the redemption date;

(b) the redemption price;

(c) the name and address of the Paying Agent;

(d) if any Securities are being redeemed in part, the portion of the principal amount of such Securities to be redeemed and that, after the redemption date and upon surrender of such Security, a new Security or Securities in principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the original Security shall be issued in the name of the Holder thereof upon cancellation of the original Security;

 

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(e) that Securities of the Series called for redemption must be surrendered to the Paying Agent to collect the redemption price;

(f) that interest on Securities of the Series called for redemption ceases to accrue on and after the redemption date unless the Company defaults in the deposit of the redemption price;

(g) the “CUSIP” number, if any; and

(h) any other information as may be required by the terms of the particular Series or the Securities of a Series being redeemed.

At the Company’s request, the Trustee shall give the notice of redemption in the Company’s name and at its expense, provided, however, that the Company has delivered to the Trustee, at least 10 days (unless a shorter time shall be acceptable to the Trustee) prior to the notice date, an Officer’s Certificate requesting that the Trustee give such notice and setting forth the information to be stated in such notice and the form of such notice.

Section 3.4. Effect of Notice of Redemption.

Once notice of redemption is sent as provided in Section 3.3, Securities of a Series called for redemption become due and payable on the redemption date and at the redemption price. Except as otherwise provided in the supplemental indenture, Board Resolution or Officer’s Certificate for a Series, a notice of redemption may not be conditional. Upon surrender to the Paying Agent, such Securities shall be paid at the redemption price plus accrued interest to the redemption date.

Section 3.5. Deposit of Redemption Price.

On or before 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the redemption date, the Company shall deposit with the Paying Agent money sufficient to pay the redemption price of and accrued interest, if any, on all Securities to be redeemed on that date.

Section 3.6. Securities Redeemed in Part.

Upon surrender of a Security that is redeemed in part, the Trustee shall authenticate for the Holder a new Security of the same Series and the same maturity equal in principal amount to the unredeemed portion of the Security surrendered.

ARTICLE IV.

COVENANTS

Section 4.1. Payment of Principal and Interest.

The Company covenants and agrees for the benefit of the Holders of each Series of Securities that it will duly and punctually pay the principal of and interest, if any, on the Securities of that Series in accordance with the terms of such Securities and this Indenture. On or before 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the applicable payment date, the Company shall deposit with the Paying Agent money sufficient to pay the principal of and interest, if any, on the Securities of each Series in accordance with the terms of such Securities and this Indenture.

 

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Section 4.2. SEC Reports.

To the extent any Securities of a Series are outstanding, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee within 15 days after it files them with the SEC copies of the annual reports and of the information, documents and other reports (or copies of such portions of any of the foregoing as the SEC may by rules and regulations prescribe) which the Company is required to file with the SEC pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The Company also shall comply with the other provisions of TIA § 314(a). Reports, information and documents filed with the SEC via the EDGAR system will be deemed to be delivered to the Trustee as of the time of such filing via EDGAR for purposes of this Section 4.2.

Delivery of reports, information and documents to the Trustee under this Section 4.2 is for informational purposes only and the Trustee’s receipt of the foregoing shall not constitute constructive or actual notice of any information contained therein or determinable from information contained therein, including the Company’s compliance with any of the covenants hereunder (as to which the Trustee is entitled to rely exclusively on Officer’s Certificates). All such reports, information or documents referred to in this Section 4.2 that the Company files with the SEC via the SEC’s EDGAR system shall be deemed to be filed with the Trustee and transmitted to Holders at the time such reports, information or documents are filed via the EDGAR system (or any successor system).

Section 4.3. Compliance Certificate.

To the extent any Securities of a Series are outstanding, the Company shall deliver to the Trustee, within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Company, an Officer’s Certificate stating that a review of the activities of the Company and its Subsidiaries during the preceding fiscal year has been made under the supervision of the signing Officer with a view to determining whether the Company has kept, observed, performed and fulfilled its obligations under this Indenture, and further stating, as to such Officer signing such certificate, that to the best of his/her knowledge the Company has kept, observed, performed and fulfilled each and every covenant contained in this Indenture and is not in default in the performance or observance of any of the terms, provisions and conditions hereof (or, if a Default or Event of Default shall have occurred, describing all such Defaults or Events of Default of which the Officer may have knowledge).

Section 4.4. Stay, Extension and Usury Laws.

The Company covenants (to the extent that it may lawfully do so) that it will not at any time insist upon, plead or in any manner whatsoever claim or take the benefit or advantage of, any stay, extension or usury law wherever enacted, now or at any time hereafter in force, which may affect the covenants or the performance of this Indenture or the Securities; and the Company (to the extent it may lawfully do so) hereby expressly waives all benefit or advantage of any such law and covenants that it will not, by resort to any such law, hinder, delay or impede the execution of any power herein granted to the Trustee, but will suffer and permit the execution of every such power as though no such law has been enacted.

 

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ARTICLE V.

SUCCESSORS

Section 5.1. When Company May Merge, Etc.

The Company shall not consolidate with or merge with or into, or convey, transfer or lease all or substantially all of its properties and assets to, any person (a “successor person”) unless:

(a) the Company is the surviving entity or the successor person (if other than the Company) is a corporation, partnership, trust or other entity organized and validly existing under the laws of any U.S. domestic jurisdiction and expressly assumes by supplemental indenture the Company’s obligations on the Securities and under this Indenture; and

(b) immediately after giving effect to the transaction, no Default or Event of Default, shall have occurred and be continuing.

The Company shall deliver to the Trustee prior to the consummation of the proposed transaction an Officer’s Certificate to the foregoing effect and an Opinion of Counsel stating that the proposed transaction and any supplemental indenture comply with this Indenture.

Notwithstanding the above, any Subsidiary of the Company may consolidate with, merge into or transfer all or part of its properties to the Company. Neither an Officer’s Certificate nor an Opinion of Counsel shall be required to be delivered in connection therewith.

Section 5.2. Successor Corporation Substituted.

Upon any consolidation or merger, or any sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company in accordance with Section 5.1, the successor corporation formed by such consolidation or into or with which the Company is merged or to which such sale, lease, conveyance or other disposition is made shall succeed to, and be substituted for, and may exercise every right and power of, the Company under this Indenture with the same effect as if such successor person has been named as the Company herein; provided, however, that the predecessor Company in the case of a sale, conveyance or other disposition (other than a lease) shall be released from all obligations and covenants under this Indenture and the Securities.

 

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ARTICLE VI.

DEFAULTS AND REMEDIES

Section 6.1. Events of Default.

Event of Default,” wherever used herein with respect to Securities of any Series, means any one of the following events, unless in the establishing Board Resolution, supplemental indenture or Officer’s Certificate it is provided that such Series shall not have the benefit of said Event of Default:

(a) default in the payment of any interest on any Security of that Series when it becomes due and payable, and continuance of such default for a period of 30 days (unless the entire amount of such payment is deposited by the Company with the Trustee or with a Paying Agent prior to 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the 30th day of such period);

(b) default in the payment of principal of any Security of that Series at its Maturity;

(c) default in the performance or breach of any covenant or warranty of the Company in this Indenture (other than defaults pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) above or pursuant to a covenant or warranty that has been included in this Indenture solely for the benefit of a Series of Securities other than that Series), which default continues uncured for a period of 60 days after there has been given, by registered or certified mail, to the Company by the Trustee or to the Company and the Trustee by the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series a written notice specifying such default or breach and requiring it to be remedied and stating that such notice is a “Notice of Default” hereunder;

(d) the Company pursuant to or within the meaning of any Bankruptcy Law:

(i) commences a voluntary case,

(ii) consents to the entry of an order for relief against it in an involuntary case,

(iii) consents to the appointment of a Custodian of it or for all or substantially all of its property,

(iv) makes a general assignment for the benefit of its creditors, or

(v) generally is unable to pay its debts as the same become due;

(e) a court of competent jurisdiction enters an order or decree under any Bankruptcy Law that:

(i) is for relief against the Company in an involuntary case,

(ii) appoints a Custodian of the Company or for all or substantially all of its property, or

(iii) orders the liquidation of the Company,

and the order or decree remains unstayed and in effect for 60 days; or

 

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(f) any other Event of Default provided with respect to Securities of that Series, which is specified in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officer’s Certificate, in accordance with Section 2.2.18.

The term “Bankruptcy Law” means title 11, U.S. Code or any similar Federal or State law for the relief of debtors. The term “Custodian” means any receiver, trustee, assignee, liquidator or similar official under any Bankruptcy Law.

The Company will provide the Trustee written notice of any Default or Event of Default within 30 days of becoming aware of the occurrence of such Default or Event of Default, which notice will describe in reasonable detail the status of such Default or Event of Default and what action the Company is taking or proposes to take in respect thereof.

Section 6.2. Acceleration of Maturity; Rescission and Annulment.

If an Event of Default with respect to Securities of any Series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing (other than an Event of Default referred to in Section 6.1(d) or (e)) then in every such case the Trustee or the Holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series may declare the principal amount (or, if any Securities of that Series are Discount Securities, such portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of such Securities) of and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all of the Securities of that Series to be due and payable immediately, by a notice in writing to the Company (and to the Trustee if given by Holders), and upon any such declaration such principal amount (or specified amount) and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, shall become immediately due and payable. If an Event of Default specified in Section 6.1(d) or (e) shall occur, the principal amount (or specified amount) of and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all outstanding Securities shall ipso facto become and be immediately due and payable without any declaration or other act on the part of the Trustee or any Holder.

At any time after such a declaration of acceleration with respect to any Series has been made and before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the Trustee as hereinafter in this Article provided, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series, by written notice to the Company and the Trustee, may rescind and annul such declaration and its consequences if all Events of Default with respect to Securities of that Series, other than the non-payment of the principal and interest, if any, of Securities of that Series which have become due solely by such declaration of acceleration, have been cured or waived as provided in Section 6.13.

No such rescission shall affect any subsequent Default or impair any right consequent thereon.

Section 6.3. Collection of Indebtedness and Suits for Enforcement by Trustee.

The Company covenants that if:

(a) default is made in the payment of any interest on any Security when such interest becomes due and payable and such default continues for a period of 30 days,

 

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(b) default is made in the payment of principal of any Security at the Maturity thereof, or

(c) default is made in the deposit of any sinking fund payment, if any, when and as due by the terms of a Security,

then, the Company will, upon demand of the Trustee, pay to it, for the benefit of the Holders of such Securities, the whole amount then due and payable on such Securities for principal and interest and, to the extent that payment of such interest shall be legally enforceable, interest on any overdue principal and any overdue interest at the rate or rates prescribed therefor in such Securities, and, in addition thereto, such further amount as shall be sufficient to cover the costs and expenses of collection, including the compensation, reasonable expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel.

If the Company fails to pay such amounts forthwith upon such demand, the Trustee, in its own name and as trustee of an express trust, may institute a judicial proceeding for the collection of the sums so due and unpaid, may prosecute such proceeding to judgment or final decree and may enforce the same against the Company or any other obligor upon such Securities and collect the moneys adjudged or deemed to be payable in the manner provided by law out of the property of the Company or any other obligor upon such Securities, wherever situated.

If an Event of Default with respect to any Securities of any Series occurs and is continuing, the Trustee, subject to Article VII hereof, may in its discretion proceed to protect and enforce its rights and the rights of the Holders of Securities of such Series by such appropriate judicial proceedings as the Trustee shall deem most effectual to protect and enforce any such rights, whether for the specific enforcement of any covenant or agreement in this Indenture or in aid of the exercise of any power granted herein, or to enforce any other proper remedy.

Section 6.4. Trustee May File Proofs of Claim.

In case of the pendency of any receivership, insolvency, liquidation, bankruptcy, reorganization, arrangement, adjustment, composition or other judicial proceeding relative to the Company or any other obligor upon the Securities or the property of the Company or of such other obligor or their creditors, the Trustee (irrespective of whether the principal of the Securities shall then be due and payable as therein expressed or by declaration or otherwise and irrespective of whether the Trustee shall have made any demand on the Company for the payment of overdue principal or interest) shall be entitled and empowered, by intervention in such proceeding or otherwise,

(a) to file and prove a claim for the whole amount of principal and interest owing and unpaid in respect of the Securities and to file such other papers or documents as may be necessary or advisable in order to have the claims of the Trustee (including any claim for the compensation, reasonable expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel) and of the Holders allowed in such judicial proceeding, and

 

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(b) to collect and receive any moneys or other property payable or deliverable on any such claims and to distribute the same, and any custodian, receiver, assignee, trustee, liquidator, sequestrator or other similar official in any such judicial proceeding is hereby authorized by each Holder to make such payments to the Trustee and, in the event that the Trustee shall consent to the making of such payments directly to the Holders, to pay to the Trustee any amount due it for the compensation, reasonable expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel and any other amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.7.

Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to authorize the Trustee to authorize or consent to or accept or adopt on behalf of any Holder any plan of reorganization, arrangement, adjustment or composition affecting the Securities or the rights of any Holder thereof or to authorize the Trustee to vote in respect of the claim of any Holder in any such proceeding.

Section 6.5. Trustee May Enforce Claims Without Possession of Securities.

All rights of action and claims under this Indenture or the Securities may be prosecuted and enforced by the Trustee without the possession of any of the Securities or the production thereof in any proceeding relating thereto, and any such proceeding instituted by the Trustee shall be brought in its own name as trustee of an express trust, and any recovery of judgment shall, after provision for the payment of the compensation, reasonable expenses, disbursements and advances of the Trustee, its agents and counsel, be for the ratable benefit of the Holders of the Securities in respect of which such judgment has been recovered.

Section 6.6. Application of Money Collected.

Any money or property collected by the Trustee pursuant to this Article shall be applied in the following order, at the date or dates fixed by the Trustee and, in case of the distribution of such money or property on account of principal or interest, upon presentation of the Securities and the notation thereon of the payment if only partially paid and upon surrender thereof if fully paid:

First: To the payment of all amounts due the Trustee under Section 7.7; and

Second: To the payment of the amounts then due and unpaid for principal of and interest on the Securities in respect of which or for the benefit of which such money has been collected, ratably, without preference or priority of any kind, according to the amounts due and payable on such Securities for principal and interest, respectively; and

Third: To the Company.

Section 6.7. Limitation on Suits.

No Holder of any Security of any Series shall have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to this Indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy hereunder, unless

(a) such Holder has previously given written notice to the Trustee of a continuing Event of Default with respect to the Securities of that Series;

 

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(b) the Holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default in its own name as Trustee hereunder;

(c) such Holder or Holders have offered to the Trustee indemnity or security satisfactory to the Trustee against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by the Trustee in compliance with such request;

(d) the Trustee for 60 days after its receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity has failed to institute any such proceeding; and

(e) no direction inconsistent with such written request has been given to the Trustee during such 60-day period by the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of that Series;

it being understood, intended and expressly covenanted by the Holder of every Security with every other Holder and the Trustee that no one or more of such Holders shall have any right in any manner whatever by virtue of, or by availing of, any provision of this Indenture to affect, disturb or prejudice the rights of any other of such Holders, or to obtain or to seek to obtain priority or preference over any other of such Holders or to enforce any right under this Indenture, except in the manner herein provided and for the equal and ratable benefit of all such Holders of the applicable Series.

Section 6.8. Unconditional Right of Holders to Receive Principal and Interest.

Notwithstanding any other provision in this Indenture, the Holder of any Security shall have the right, which is absolute and unconditional, to receive payment of the principal of and interest, if any, on such Security on the Maturity of such Security, including the Stated Maturity expressed in such Security (or, in the case of redemption, on the redemption date) and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment, and such rights shall not be impaired without the consent of such Holder.

Section 6.9. Restoration of Rights and Remedies.

If the Trustee or any Holder has instituted any proceeding to enforce any right or remedy under this Indenture and such proceeding has been discontinued or abandoned for any reason or has been determined adversely to the Trustee or to such Holder, then and in every such case, subject to any determination in such proceeding, the Company, the Trustee and the Holders shall be restored severally and respectively to their former positions hereunder and thereafter all rights and remedies of the Trustee and the Holders shall continue as though no such proceeding had been instituted.

Section 6.10. Rights and Remedies Cumulative.

Except as otherwise provided with respect to the replacement or payment of mutilated, destroyed, lost or stolen Securities in Section 2.8, no right or remedy herein conferred upon or reserved to the Trustee or to the Holders is intended to be exclusive of any other right or remedy, and every right and remedy shall, to the extent permitted by law, be cumulative and in addition to every other right and remedy given hereunder or now or hereafter existing at law or in equity or otherwise. The assertion or employment of any right or remedy hereunder, or otherwise, shall not, to the extent permitted by law, prevent the concurrent assertion or employment of any other appropriate right or remedy.

 

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Section 6.11. Delay or Omission Not Waiver.

No delay or omission of the Trustee or of any Holder of any Securities to exercise any right or remedy accruing upon any Event of Default shall impair any such right or remedy or constitute a waiver of any such Event of Default or an acquiescence therein. Every right and remedy given by this Article or by law to the Trustee or to the Holders may be exercised from time to time, and as often as may be deemed expedient, by the Trustee or by the Holders, as the case may be.

Section 6.12. Control by Holders.

The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the Trustee, with respect to the Securities of such Series, provided that

(a) such direction shall not be in conflict with any rule of law or with this Indenture,

(b) the Trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the Trustee which is not inconsistent with such direction,

(c) subject to the provisions of Section 7.1, the Trustee shall have the right to decline to follow any such direction if the Trustee in good faith shall, by a Responsible Officer of the Trustee, determine that the proceeding so directed would involve the Trustee in personal liability, and

(d) prior to taking any action as directed under this Section 6.12, the Trustee shall be entitled to indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by it in compliance with such request or direction.

Section 6.13. Waiver of Past Defaults.

The Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series may on behalf of the Holders of all the Securities of such Series, by written notice to the Trustee and the Company, waive any past Default hereunder with respect to such Series and its consequences, except a Default in the payment of the principal of or interest on any Security of such Series (provided, however, that the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from such acceleration). Upon any such waiver, such Default shall cease to exist, and any Event of Default arising therefrom shall be deemed to have been cured, for every purpose of this Indenture; but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other Default or impair any right consequent thereon.

 

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Section 6.14. Undertaking for Costs.

All parties to this Indenture agree, and each Holder of any Security by his acceptance thereof shall be deemed to have agreed, that any court may in its discretion require, in any suit for the enforcement of any right or remedy under this Indenture, or in any suit against the Trustee for any action taken, suffered or omitted by it as Trustee, the filing by any party litigant in such suit of an undertaking to pay the costs of such suit, and that such court may in its discretion assess reasonable costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, against any party litigant in such suit, having due regard to the merits and good faith of the claims or defenses made by such party litigant; but the provisions of this Section shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Company, to any suit instituted by the Trustee, to any suit instituted by any Holder or group of Holders, holding in the aggregate more than 10% in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series, or to any suit instituted by any Holder for the enforcement of the payment of the principal of or interest on any Security on or after the Maturity of such Security, including the Stated Maturity expressed in such Security (or, in the case of redemption, on the redemption date).

ARTICLE VII.

TRUSTEE

Section 7.1. Duties of Trustee.

(a) If an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, the Trustee shall exercise the rights and powers vested in it by this Indenture and use the same degree of care and skill in their exercise as a prudent person would exercise or use under the circumstances in the conduct of such person’s own affairs.

(b) Except during the continuance of an Event of Default:

(i) The Trustee need perform only those duties that are specifically set forth in this Indenture and no others, and no implied covenants or obligations will be read into this Indenture against the Trustee.

(ii) In the absence of bad faith on its part, the Trustee may conclusively rely, as to the truth of the statements and the correctness of the opinions expressed therein, upon Officer’s Certificates or Opinions of Counsel furnished to the Trustee and conforming to the requirements of this Indenture; however, in the case of any such Officer’s Certificates or Opinions of Counsel which by any provisions hereof are specifically required to be furnished to the Trustee, the Trustee shall examine such Officer’s Certificates and Opinions of Counsel to determine whether or not they conform to the form requirements of this Indenture.

(c) The Trustee may not be relieved from liability for its own negligent action, its own negligent failure to act or its own willful misconduct, except that:

(i) This paragraph does not limit the effect of paragraph (b) of this Section.

 

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(ii) The Trustee shall not be liable for any error of judgment made in good faith by a Responsible Officer, unless it is proved that the Trustee was negligent in ascertaining the pertinent facts.

(iii) The Trustee shall not be liable with respect to any action taken, suffered or omitted to be taken by it with respect to Securities of any Series in good faith in accordance with the direction of the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of such Series relating to the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the Trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred upon the Trustee, under this Indenture with respect to the Securities of such Series in accordance with Section 6.12.

(d) Every provision of this Indenture that in any way relates to the Trustee is subject to paragraph (a), (b) and (c) of this Section.

(e) The Trustee may refuse to perform any duty or exercise any right or power unless it receives indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by it in performing such duty or exercising such right or power.

(f) The Trustee shall not be liable for interest on any money received by it except as the Trustee may agree in writing with the Company. Money held in trust by the Trustee need not be segregated from other funds except to the extent required by law.

(g) No provision of this Indenture shall require the Trustee to risk its own funds or otherwise incur any financial liability in the performance of any of its duties or in the exercise of any of its rights or powers, if adequate indemnity against such risk is not assured to the Trustee in its satisfaction.

(h) The Paying Agent, the Notice Agent, the Registrar, any authenticating agent and the Trustee when acting in any other capacity hereunder shall be entitled to the protections and immunities as are set forth in this Article VII.

(i) The rights, privileges, protections, immunities and benefits given to the Trustee, including its right to be indemnified, are extended to, and will be enforceable by, the Trustee in each of its capacities under this Indenture.

Section 7.2. Rights of Trustee.

(a) The Trustee may rely on and shall be protected in acting or refraining from acting upon any document (whether in its original or facsimile form) believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person. The Trustee need not investigate any fact or matter stated in the document.

(b) Before the Trustee acts or refrains from acting, it may require an Officer’s Certificate or an Opinion of Counsel or both. The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith in reliance on such Officer’s Certificate or Opinion of Counsel.

 

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(c) The Trustee may act through agents and shall not be responsible for the misconduct or negligence of any agent appointed with due care. No Depositary shall be deemed an agent of the Trustee, and the Trustee shall not be responsible for any act or omission by any Depositary.

(d) The Trustee shall not be liable for any action it takes or omits to take in good faith which it believes to be authorized or within its rights or powers.

(e) The Trustee may consult with counsel and the advice of such counsel or any Opinion of Counsel shall be full and complete authorization and protection in respect of any action taken, suffered or omitted by it hereunder in good faith and in reliance thereon.

(f) The Trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by this Indenture at the request or direction of any of the Holders of Securities unless such Holders shall have offered to the Trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by it in compliance with such request or direction.

(g) The Trustee shall not be bound to make any investigation into the facts or matters stated in any resolution, certificate, statement, instrument, opinion, report, notice, request, direction, consent, order, bond, debenture, note, other evidence of indebtedness or other paper or document, but the Trustee, in its discretion, may make such further inquiry or investigation into such facts or matters as it may see fit.

(h) The Trustee shall not be deemed to have notice of any Default or Event of Default unless a Responsible Officer of the Trustee has actual knowledge thereof or unless written notice of any event which is in fact such a default is received by a Responsible Officer at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee, and such notice references the Securities generally or the Securities of a particular Series and this Indenture.

(i) In no event shall the Trustee be liable to any person for special, punitive, indirect, consequential or incidental loss or damage of any kind whatsoever (including but not limited to lost profits), even if the Trustee has been advised of the likelihood of such loss or damage.

(j) The permissive right of the Trustee to take the actions permitted by this Indenture shall not be construed as an obligation or duty to do so.

(k) The Trustee will not be required to give any bond or surety in respect of the execution of this Indenture or otherwise.

Section 7.3. Individual Rights of Trustee.

The Trustee in its individual or any other capacity may become the owner or pledgee of Securities and may otherwise deal with the Company or an Affiliate of the Company with the same rights it would have if it were not Trustee. Any Agent may do the same with like rights. The Trustee is also subject to Sections 7.10 and 7.11.

 

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Section 7.4. Trustees Disclaimer.

The Trustee makes no representation as to the validity or adequacy of this Indenture or the Securities. The Trustee shall not be accountable for the Company’s use of the proceeds from the Securities and shall not be responsible for any statement in the Securities other than its certificate of authentication.

Section 7.5. Notice of Defaults.

If a Default or Event of Default occurs and is continuing with respect to the Securities of any Series and if it is known to a Responsible Officer of the Trustee, the Trustee shall send to each Holder of the Securities of that Series notice of a Default or Event of Default within 90 days after it occurs or, if later, after a Responsible Officer of the Trustee has knowledge of such Default or Event of Default. Except in the case of a Default or Event of Default in payment of principal of or interest on any Security of any Series, the Trustee may withhold the notice if and so long as its corporate trust committee or a committee of its Responsible Officers in good faith determines that withholding the notice is in the interests of Holders of that Series. The Trustee will not be deemed to have notice or be charged with knowledge of any Default or Event of Default unless written notice thereof has been received by a Responsible Officer, and such notice references the applicable Series of Securities and this Indenture and states on its face that a Default or Event of Default has occurred.

Section 7.6. Reports by Trustee to Holders.

Within 60 days after each [[ ] commencing [ ], [  ]], the Trustee shall transmit by mail to all Holders, as their names and addresses appear on the register kept by the Registrar, a brief report dated as of such anniversary date, in accordance with, and to the extent required under, TIA § 313.

A copy of each report at the time of its mailing to Holders of any Series shall be filed with the SEC and each national securities exchange on which the Securities of that Series are listed. The Company shall promptly notify the Trustee in writing when Securities of any Series are listed on any national securities exchange.

Section 7.7. Compensation and Indemnity.

The Company shall pay to the Trustee from time to time compensation for its services as the Company and the Trustee shall from time to time agree upon in writing. The Trustee’s compensation shall not be limited by any law on compensation of a trustee of an express trust. The Company shall reimburse the Trustee upon request for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by it. Such expenses shall include the reasonable compensation and expenses of the Trustee’s agents and counsel.

The Company shall indemnify each of the Trustee and any predecessor Trustee (including for the cost of defending itself) against any cost, expense or liability, including taxes (other than taxes based upon, measured by or determined by the income of the Trustee) incurred by it except as set forth in the next paragraph in the performance of its duties under this Indenture as Trustee or Agent. The Trustee shall notify the Company promptly of any claim for which it

 

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may seek indemnity. Failure by the Trustee to so notify the Company shall not relieve the Company of its obligations hereunder, unless and to the extent that the Company is materially prejudiced thereby. The Company shall defend the claim and the Trustee shall cooperate in the defense. The Trustee may have separate counsel, and the Company shall pay the reasonable fees and expenses of such counsel. The Company need not pay for any settlement made without its consent, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld. This indemnification shall apply to officers, directors, employees, shareholders and agents of the Trustee.

The Company need not reimburse any expense or indemnify against any loss or liability incurred by the Trustee or by any officer, director, employee, shareholder or agent of the Trustee through willful misconduct or negligence, as determined by a final decision of a court of competent jurisdiction.

To secure the Company’s payment obligations in this Section, the Trustee shall have a lien prior to the Securities of any Series on all money or property held or collected by the Trustee, except that held in trust to pay principal of and interest on particular Securities of that Series.

When the Trustee incurs expenses or renders services after an Event of Default specified in Section 6.1(d) or (e) occurs, the expenses and the compensation for the services are intended to constitute expenses of administration under any Bankruptcy Law.

The provisions of this Section shall survive the termination of this Indenture and the resignation or removal of the Trustee.

Section 7.8. Replacement of Trustee.

A resignation or removal of the Trustee and appointment of a successor Trustee shall become effective only upon the successor Trustee’s acceptance of appointment as provided in this Section.

The Trustee may resign with respect to the Securities of one or more Series by so notifying the Company at least 30 days prior to the date of the proposed resignation. The Holders of a majority in principal amount of the Securities of any Series may remove the Trustee with respect to that Series by so notifying the Trustee and the Company. The Company may remove the Trustee with respect to Securities of one or more Series if:

(a) the Trustee fails to comply with Section 7.10;

(b) the Trustee is adjudged a bankrupt or an insolvent or an order for relief is entered with respect to the Trustee under any Bankruptcy Law;

(c) a Custodian or public officer takes charge of the Trustee or its property; or

(d) the Trustee becomes incapable of acting.

 

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If the Trustee resigns or is removed or if a vacancy exists in the office of Trustee for any reason, the Company shall promptly appoint a successor Trustee. Within one year after the successor Trustee takes office, the Holders of a majority in principal amount of the then outstanding Securities may appoint a successor Trustee to replace the successor Trustee appointed by the Company.

If a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of any one or more Series does not take office within 60 days after the retiring Trustee resigns or is removed, the retiring Trustee, the Company or the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the Securities of the applicable Series may petition any court of competent jurisdiction for the appointment of a successor Trustee.

A successor Trustee shall deliver a written acceptance of its appointment to the retiring Trustee and to the Company. Immediately after that, the retiring Trustee shall transfer all property held by it as Trustee to the successor Trustee subject to the lien provided for in Section 7.7, the resignation or removal of the retiring Trustee shall become effective, and the successor Trustee shall have all the rights, powers and duties of the Trustee with respect to each Series of Securities for which it is acting as Trustee under this Indenture. A successor Trustee shall send a notice of its succession to each Holder of each such Series. Notwithstanding replacement of the Trustee pursuant to this Section 7.8, the Company’s obligations under Section 7.7 hereof shall continue for the benefit of the retiring Trustee with respect to expenses and liabilities incurred by it for actions taken or omitted to be taken in accordance with its rights, powers and duties under this Indenture prior to such replacement.

Section 7.9. Successor Trustee by Merger, Etc.

Any organization or entity into which the Trustee may be merged or converted or with which it may be consolidated, or any organization or entity resulting from any merger, conversion or consolidation to which the Trustee shall be a party, or any organization or entity succeeding to all or substantially all of the corporate trust business of the Trustee, shall be the successor of the Trustee hereunder, provided such organization or entity shall be otherwise qualified and eligible under Section 7.10, without the execution or filing of any paper or any further act on the part of any of the parties hereto.

Section 7.10. Eligibility; Disqualification.

This Indenture shall always have a Trustee who satisfies the requirements of TIA § 310(a)(1), (2) and (5). The Trustee shall always have a combined capital and surplus of at least $25,000,000 as set forth in its most recent published annual report of condition. The Trustee shall comply with TIA § 310(b).

Section 7.11. Preferential Collection of Claims Against Company.

The Trustee is subject to TIA § 311(a), excluding any creditor relationship listed in TIA § 311(b). A Trustee who has resigned or been removed shall be subject to TIA § 311(a) to the extent indicated.

 

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ARTICLE VIII.

SATISFACTION AND DISCHARGE; DEFEASANCE

Section 8.1. Satisfaction and Discharge of Indenture.

This Indenture shall upon Company Order be discharged with respect to the Securities of any Series and cease to be of further effect as to all Securities of such Series (except as hereinafter provided in this Section 8.1), and the Trustee, at the expense of the Company, shall execute instruments acknowledging satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture, when

(a) either

(i) all Securities of such Series theretofore authenticated and delivered (other than Securities that have been destroyed, lost or stolen and that have been replaced or paid) have been delivered to the Trustee for cancellation; or

(ii) all such Securities of such Series not theretofore delivered to the Trustee for cancellation:

(1) have become due and payable by reason of sending a notice of redemption or otherwise,

(2) will become due and payable at their Stated Maturity within one year,

(3) have been called for redemption or are to be called for redemption within one year under arrangements satisfactory to the Trustee for the giving of notice of redemption by the Trustee in the name, and at the expense, of the Company, or

(4) are deemed paid and discharged pursuant to Section 8.3, as applicable;

and the Company, in the case of (1), (2) or (3) above, has irrevocably deposited or caused to be deposited with the Trustee as trust funds in trust an amount of money or U.S. Government Obligations, which amount shall be sufficient for the purpose of paying and discharging each installment of principal (including mandatory sinking fund payments or analogous payments) of and interest on all the Securities of such Series on the dates such installments of principal or interest are due;

(b) the Company has paid or caused to be paid all other sums payable hereunder by the Company; and

(c) the Company has delivered to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent provided for relating to the satisfaction and discharge contemplated by this Section have been complied with.

 

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Notwithstanding the satisfaction and discharge of this Indenture, (x) the obligations of the Company to the Trustee under Section 7.7, (y) if money shall have been deposited with the Trustee pursuant to clause (a) of this Section, the provisions of Sections 2.4, 2.7, 2.8, 8.2 and 8.5, and (z) the rights, powers, trusts and immunities of the Trustee hereunder and the Company’s obligations in connection therewith shall survive.

Section 8.2. Application of Trust Funds; Indemnification.

(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 8.5, all money and U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations deposited with the Trustee pursuant to Section 8.1, 8.3 or 8.4 and all money received by the Trustee in respect of U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations deposited with the Trustee pursuant to Section 8.1, 8.3 or 8.4, shall be held in trust and applied by it, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and this Indenture, to the payment, either directly or through any Paying Agent (including the Company acting as its own Paying Agent) as the Trustee may determine, to the persons entitled thereto, of the principal and interest for whose payment such money has been deposited with or received by the Trustee or to make mandatory sinking fund payments or analogous payments as contemplated by Sections 8.1, 8.3 or 8.4.

(b) The Company shall pay and shall indemnify the Trustee (which indemnity shall survive termination of this Indenture) against any tax, fee or other charge imposed on or assessed against U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations deposited pursuant to Sections 8.1, 8.3 or 8.4 or the interest and principal received in respect of such obligations other than any payable by or on behalf of Holders.

(c) The Trustee shall deliver or pay to the Company from time to time upon Company Order any U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations or money held by it as provided in Sections 8.3 or 8.4 which, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent certified public accountants or investment bank expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, are then in excess of the amount thereof which then would have been required to be deposited for the purpose for which such U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations or money were deposited or received. This provision shall not authorize the sale by the Trustee of any U.S. Government Obligations or Foreign Government Obligations held under this Indenture.

Section 8.3. Legal Defeasance of Securities of any Series.

Unless this Section 8.3 is otherwise specified, pursuant to Section 2.2, to be inapplicable to Securities of any Series, the Company shall be deemed to have paid and discharged the entire indebtedness on all the outstanding Securities of any Series on the 91st day after the date of the deposit referred to in subparagraph (d) hereof, and the provisions of this Indenture, as it relates to such outstanding Securities of such Series, shall no longer be in effect (and the Trustee, at the expense of the Company, shall, upon receipt of a Company Order, execute instruments acknowledging the same), except as to:

 

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(a) the rights of Holders of Securities of such Series to receive, from the trust funds described in subparagraph (d) hereof, (i) payment of the principal of and each installment of principal of and interest on the outstanding Securities of such Series on the Maturity of such principal or installment of principal or interest and (ii) the benefit of any mandatory sinking fund payments applicable to the Securities of such Series on the day on which such payments are due and payable in accordance with the terms of this Indenture and the Securities of such Series;

(b) the provisions of Sections 2.4, 2.5, 2.7, 2.8, 7.7, 8.2, 8.3, 8.5 and 8.6; and

(c) the rights, powers, trusts and immunities of the Trustee hereunder and the Company’s obligations in connection therewith;

provided that, the following conditions shall have been satisfied:

(d) the Company shall have irrevocably deposited or caused to be deposited (except as provided in Section 8.2(c)) with the Trustee as trust funds specifically pledged as security for and dedicated solely to the benefit of the Holders of such Securities (i) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in Dollars, cash in Dollars and/or U.S. Government Obligations or (ii) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in a Foreign Currency (other than a composite currency), money and/or Foreign Government Obligations, which through the payment of interest and principal in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide (and without reinvestment and assuming no tax liability will be imposed on such Trustee), not later than one day before the due date of any payment of money, an amount in cash, sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent public accountants or investment bank expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, to pay and discharge each installment of principal of and interest, on and any mandatory sinking fund payments in respect of all the Securities of such Series on the dates such installments of principal or interest and such sinking fund payments are due;

(e) such deposit will not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, this Indenture or any other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it is bound;

(f) no Default or Event of Default with respect to the Securities of such Series shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of such deposit or during the period ending on the 91st day after such date;

(g) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that (i) the Company has received from, or there has been published by, the Internal Revenue Service a ruling or (ii) since the date of execution of this Indenture, there has been a change in the applicable Federal income tax law, in either case to the effect that, and based thereon such Opinion of Counsel shall confirm that, the Holders of the Securities of such Series will not recognize income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit, defeasance and discharge and will be subject to Federal income tax on the same amount and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit, defeasance and discharge had not occurred;

 

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(h) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate stating that the deposit was not made by the Company with the intent of defeating, hindering, delaying or defrauding any other creditors of the Company; and

(i) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent provided for relating to the defeasance contemplated by this Section have been complied with.

Section 8.4. Covenant Defeasance.

Unless this Section 8.4 is otherwise specified pursuant to Section 2.2 to be inapplicable to Securities of any Series, the Company may omit to comply with respect to the Securities of any Series with any term, provision or condition set forth under Sections 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 5.1 and, unless otherwise specified therein, any additional covenants specified in a supplemental indenture for such Series of Securities or a Board Resolution or an Officer’s Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.2 (and the failure to comply with any such covenants shall not constitute a Default or Event of Default with respect to such Series under Section 6.1) and the occurrence of any event specified in a supplemental indenture for such Series of Securities or a Board Resolution or an Officer’s Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.2 and designated as an Event of Default shall not constitute a Default or Event of Default hereunder, with respect to the Securities of such Series, but, except as specified above, the remainder of this Indenture and such Securities will be unaffected thereby; provided that the following conditions shall have been satisfied:

(a) with reference to this Section 8.4, the Company has irrevocably deposited or caused to be irrevocably deposited (except as provided in Section 8.2(c)) with the Trustee as trust funds in trust for the purpose of making the following payments specifically pledged as security for, and dedicated solely to, the benefit of the Holders of such Securities (i) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in Dollars, cash in Dollars and/or U.S. Government Obligations or (ii) in the case of Securities of such Series denominated in a Foreign Currency (other than a composite currency), money and/or Foreign Government Obligations, which through the payment of interest and principal in respect thereof in accordance with their terms, will provide (and without reinvestment and assuming no tax liability will be imposed on such Trustee), not later than one day before the due date of any payment of money, an amount in cash, sufficient, in the opinion of a nationally recognized firm of independent certified public accountants or investment bank expressed in a written certification thereof delivered to the Trustee, to pay and discharge each installment of principal (including mandatory sinking fund payments or analogous payments) of and interest on all the Securities of such Series on the dates such installments of principal or interest are due;

(b) such deposit will not result in a breach or violation of, or constitute a default under, this Indenture or any other agreement or instrument to which the Company is a party or by which it is bound;

 

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(c) no Default or Event of Default with respect to the Securities of such Series shall have occurred and be continuing on the date of such deposit;

(d) the Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel to the effect that the Holders of the Securities of such Series will not recognize income, gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes as a result of such deposit and covenant defeasance and will be subject to Federal income tax on the same amount and in the same manner and at the same times as would have been the case if such deposit and covenant defeasance had not occurred;

(e) The Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate stating the deposit was not made by the Company with the intent of defeating, hindering, delaying or defrauding any other creditors of the Company; and

(f) The Company shall have delivered to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel, each stating that all conditions precedent herein provided for relating to the covenant defeasance contemplated by this Section have been complied with.

Section 8.5. Repayment to Company.

Subject to applicable abandoned property law, the Trustee and the Paying Agent shall pay to the Company upon request any money held by them for the payment of principal and interest that remains unclaimed for two years. After that, Holders entitled to the money must look to the Company for payment as general creditors unless an applicable abandoned property law designates another person.

Section 8.6. Reinstatement.

If the Trustee or the Paying Agent is unable to apply any money deposited with respect to Securities of any Series in accordance with Section 8.1 by reason of any legal proceeding or by reason of any order or judgment of any court or governmental authority enjoining, restraining or otherwise prohibiting such application, the obligations of the Company under this Indenture with respect to the Securities of such Series and under the Securities of such Series shall be revived and reinstated as though no deposit had occurred pursuant to Section 8.1 until such time as the Trustee or the Paying Agent is permitted to apply all such money in accordance with Section 8.1; provided, however, that if the Company has made any payment of principal of or interest on any Securities because of the reinstatement of its obligations, the Company shall be subrogated to the rights of the Holders of such Securities to receive such payment from the money or U.S. Government Obligations held by the Trustee or Paying Agent after payment in full to the Holders.

ARTICLE IX.

AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS

Section 9.1. Without Consent of Holders.

The Company and the Trustee may amend or supplement this Indenture or the Securities of one or more Series without the consent of any Holder:

(a) to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency;

 

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(b) to comply with Article V;

(c) to provide for uncertificated Securities in addition to or in place of certificated Securities;

(d) to add guarantees with respect to Securities of any Series or secure Securities of any Series;

(e) to surrender any of the Company’s rights or powers under this Indenture;

(f) to add covenants or events of default for the benefit of the holders of Securities of any Series;

(g) to comply with the applicable procedures of the applicable depositary;

(h) to make any change that does not adversely affect the rights of any Holder;

(i) to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of Securities of any Series as permitted by this Indenture;

(j) to evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment hereunder by a successor Trustee with respect to the Securities of one or more Series and to add to or change any of the provisions of this Indenture as shall be necessary to provide for or facilitate the administration of the trusts hereunder by more than one Trustee; or

(k) to comply with requirements of the SEC in order to effect or maintain the qualification of this Indenture under the TIA.

Section 9.2. With Consent of Holders.

Subject to Section 9.3, the Company and the Trustee may enter into a supplemental indenture with the written consent of the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of each Series affected by such supplemental indenture (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange offer for the Securities of such Series), for the purpose of adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of this Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or of modifying in any manner the rights of the Holders of each such Series. Except as provided in Section 6.13, and subject to Section 9.3, the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any Series by notice to the Trustee (including consents obtained in connection with a tender offer or exchange offer for the Securities of such Series) may waive compliance by the Company with any provision of this Indenture or the Securities with respect to such Series.

It shall not be necessary for the consent of the Holders of Securities under this Section 9.2 to approve the particular form of any proposed supplemental indenture or waiver, but it shall be sufficient if such consent approves the substance thereof. After a supplemental indenture or waiver under this section becomes effective, the Company shall send to the Holders of Securities affected thereby, a notice briefly describing the supplemental indenture or waiver. Any failure by the Company to send such notice, or any defect therein, shall not, however, in any way impair or affect the validity of any such supplemental indenture or waiver.

 

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Section 9.3. Limitations.

Without the consent of each Holder affected, an amendment or waiver may not:

(a) reduce the principal amount of Securities whose Holders must consent to an amendment, supplement or waiver;

(b) reduce the rate of or extend the time for payment of interest (including default interest) on any Security;

(c) reduce the principal or change the Stated Maturity of any Security or reduce the amount of, or postpone the date fixed for, the payment of any sinking fund or analogous obligation;

(d) reduce the principal amount of Discount Securities payable upon acceleration of the maturity thereof;

(e) waive a Default or Event of Default in the payment of the principal of or interest, if any, on any Security (except a rescission of acceleration of the Securities of any Series by the Holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of such Series and a waiver of the payment default that resulted from such acceleration);

(f) make the principal of or interest, if any, on any Security payable in any currency other than that stated in the Security;

(g) make any change in Sections 6.8, 6.13 or 9.3 (this sentence); or

(h) waive a redemption payment with respect to any Security, provided that such redemption is made at the Company’s option.

Section 9.4. Compliance with Trust Indenture Act.

Every amendment to this Indenture or the Securities of one or more Series shall be set forth in a supplemental indenture hereto that complies with the TIA as then in effect.

Section 9.5. Revocation and Effect of Consents.

Until an amendment is set forth in a supplemental indenture or a waiver becomes effective, a consent to it by a Holder of a Security is a continuing consent by the Holder and every subsequent Holder of a Security or portion of a Security that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Security, even if notation of the consent is not made on any Security. However, any such Holder or subsequent Holder may revoke the consent as to his Security or portion of a Security if the Trustee receives the notice of revocation before the date of the supplemental indenture or the date the waiver becomes effective.

 

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Any amendment or waiver once effective shall bind every Holder of each Series affected by such amendment or waiver unless it is of the type described in any of clauses (a) through (h) of Section 9.3. In that case, the amendment or waiver shall bind each Holder of a Security who has consented to it and every subsequent Holder of a Security or portion of a Security that evidences the same debt as the consenting Holder’s Security.

The Company may, but shall not be obligated to, fix a record date for the purpose of determining the Holders entitled to give their consent or take any other action described above or required or permitted to be taken pursuant to this Indenture. If a record date is fixed, then notwithstanding the second immediately preceding paragraph, those Persons who were Holders at such record date (or their duly designated proxies), and only those Persons, shall be entitled to give such consent or to revoke any consent previously given or take any such action, whether or not such Persons continue to be Holders after such record date. No such consent shall be valid or effective for more than 120 days after such record date.

Section 9.6. Notation on or Exchange of Securities.

The Company or the Trustee may, but shall not be obligated to, place an appropriate notation about an amendment or waiver on any Security of any Series thereafter authenticated. The Company in exchange for Securities of that Series may issue and the Trustee shall authenticate upon receipt of a Company Order in accordance with Section 2.3 new Securities of that Series that reflect the amendment or waiver.

Section 9.7. Trustee Protected.

In executing, or accepting the additional trusts created by, any supplemental indenture permitted by this Article or the modifications thereby of the trusts created by this Indenture, the Trustee shall be entitled to receive, upon request, an Officer’s Certificate and/or an Opinion of Counsel complying with Sections 10.4 and 10.5 and (subject to Section 7.1) shall be fully protected in relying upon such Officer’s Certificate and/or Opinion of Counsel. The Trustee shall sign all supplemental indentures upon delivery of such an Officer’s Certificate or Opinion of Counsel or both, except that the Trustee need not sign any supplemental indenture that adversely affects its rights, duties, liabilities or immunities under this Indenture.

ARTICLE X.

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 10.1. Trust Indenture Act Controls.

If any provision of this Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with another provision which is required or deemed to be included in this Indenture by the TIA, such required or deemed provision shall control.

Section 10.2. Notices.

Any notice or communication by the Company or the Trustee to the other, or by a Holder to the Company or the Trustee, is duly given if in writing and delivered in person or mailed by first-class mail (registered or certified, return receipt requested), email or overnight air courier guaranteeing next day delivery, to the others’ address:

 

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if to the Company:

Beyond Meat, Inc.

888 N. Douglas Street, Suite 100

El Segundo, CA 90245

Attention: Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, with a copy to Chief Legal Officer and Secretary

Telephone: (866) 756-4112

with a copy to:

Latham & Watkins LLP

1271 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

Attention: Gregory P. Rodgers / Cathy A. Birkeland / Alexa Berlin

Telephone: (212) 906-1200

if to the Trustee:

U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association

U.S. Bank Tower

633 West 5th Street, 24th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90071

Attention: Global Corporate Trust/Bradley Scarbrough

Telephone: (213) 615-6047

with a copy to:

Shipman & Goodwin LLP

One Constitution Plaza

Hartford, CT 06103

Attention: William G. Rock

Telephone: 860-251-5121

The Company or the Trustee by notice to the other may designate additional or different addresses for subsequent notices or communications.

Any notice or communication to a Holder shall be sent electronically or by first-class mail or overnight air courier to his, her or its address shown on the register kept by the Registrar, in accordance with the procedures of the Depositary. Failure to send a notice or communication to a Holder of any Series or any defect in it shall not affect its sufficiency with respect to other Holders of that or any other Series.

 

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If a notice or communication is sent or published in the manner provided above, within the time prescribed, it is duly given, whether or not the Holder receives it.

If the Company sends a notice or communication to Holders, it shall send a copy to the Trustee and each Agent at the same time.

The Trustee shall not have any duty to confirm that the person sending any notice, instruction or other communication by electronic transmission (including by e-mail, facsimile transmission, web portal or other electronic methods) is, in fact, a person authorized to do so. Electronic signatures believed by the Trustee to comply with the ESIGN Act of 2000 or other applicable law (including electronic images of handwritten signatures and digital signatures provided by DocuSign, Orbit, Adobe Sign or any other digital signature provider acceptable to the Trustee) shall be deemed original signatures for all purposes. The Company assumes all risks arising out of the use of electronic signatures and electronic methods to send communications to the Trustee, including without limitation the risk of the Trustee acting on an unauthorized communication, and the risk of interception or misuse by third parties.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Indenture or any Security, where this Indenture or any Security provides for notice of any event (including any notice of redemption) to a Holder of a Global Security (whether by mail or otherwise), such notice shall be sufficiently given to the Depositary for such Security (or its designee) pursuant to the customary procedures of such Depositary.

Section 10.3. Communication by Holders with Other Holders.

Holders of any Series may communicate pursuant to TIA § 312(b) with other Holders of that Series or any other Series with respect to their rights under this Indenture or the Securities of that Series or all Series. The Company, the Trustee, the Registrar and anyone else shall have the protection of TIA § 312(c).

Section 10.4. Certificate and Opinion as to Conditions Precedent.

Upon any request or application by the Company to the Trustee to take any action under this Indenture, the Company shall furnish to the Trustee:

(a) an Officer’s Certificate stating that, in the opinion of the signers, all conditions precedent, if any, provided for in this Indenture relating to the proposed action have been complied with; and

(b) an Opinion of Counsel stating that, in the opinion of such counsel, all such conditions precedent have been complied with.

Section 10.5. Statements Required in Certificate or Opinion.

Each certificate or opinion with respect to compliance with a condition or covenant provided for in this Indenture (other than a certificate provided pursuant to TIA § 314(a)(4)) shall comply with the provisions of TIA § 314(e) and shall include:

 

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(a) a statement that the person making such certificate or opinion has read such covenant or condition;

(b) a brief statement as to the nature and scope of the examination or investigation upon which the statements or opinions contained in such certificate or opinion are based;

(c) a statement that, in the opinion of such person, such person has made such examination or investigation as is necessary to enable such person to express an informed opinion as to whether or not such covenant or condition has been complied with; and

(d) a statement as to whether or not, in the opinion of such person, such condition or covenant has been complied with.

Section 10.6. Rules by Trustee and Agents.

The Trustee may make reasonable rules for action by or a meeting of Holders of one or more Series. Any Agent may make reasonable rules and set reasonable requirements for its functions.

Section 10.7. Legal Holidays.

If a payment date for any payment made under this Indenture is not a Business Day, payment may be made on the next succeeding Business Day, and no interest shall accrue for the intervening period.

Section 10.8. No Recourse Against Others.

A director, officer, employee or stockholder (past or present), as such, of the Company shall not have any liability for any obligations of the Company under the Securities or the Indenture or for any claim based on, in respect of or by reason of such obligations or their creation. Each Holder by accepting a Security waives and releases all such liability. The waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issue of the Securities.

Section 10.9. Counterparts.

This Indenture may be executed in any number of counterparts and by the parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original and all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. The exchange of copies of this Indenture and of signature pages by facsimile or electronic format (e.g., “.pdf” or “.tif”) transmission shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Indenture as to the parties hereto and may be used in lieu of the original Indenture for all purposes. Signatures of the parties hereto transmitted by facsimile or electronic format (e.g., “.pdf” or “.tif”) shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes.

 

42


Unless otherwise provided herein or in any other Securities, the words “execute”, “execution”, “signed” and “signature” and words of similar import used in or related to any document to be signed in connection with this Indenture, any Securities or any of the transactions contemplated hereby (including amendments, waivers, consents and other modifications) shall be deemed to include electronic signatures and the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature in ink or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping system, as applicable, to the fullest extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act and any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act; provided that, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Trustee is not under any obligation to agree to accept electronic signatures in any form or in any format unless expressly agreed to by such Trustee pursuant to procedures approved by such Trustee.

Section 10.10. Governing Law; Waiver of Jury Trial; Consent to Jurisdiction.

THIS INDENTURE AND THE SECURITIES, INCLUDING ANY CLAIM OR CONTROVERSY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE INDENTURE OR THE SECURITIES, SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

THE COMPANY, THE TRUSTEE AND THE HOLDERS (BY THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF THE SECURITIES) EACH HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS INDENTURE, THE SECURITIES OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY OR THEREBY.

Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Indenture or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the City of New York (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail (to the extent allowed under any applicable statute or rule of court) to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The Company, the Trustee and the Holders (by their acceptance of the Securities) each hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim any such suit, action or other proceeding has been brought in an inconvenient forum.

Section 10.11. No Adverse Interpretation of Other Agreements.

This Indenture may not be used to interpret another indenture, loan or debt agreement of the Company or a Subsidiary of the Company. Any such indenture, loan or debt agreement may not be used to interpret this Indenture.

Section 10.12. Successors.

All agreements of the Company in this Indenture and the Securities shall bind its successor. All agreements of the Trustee in this Indenture shall bind its successor.

 

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Section 10.13. Severability.

In case any provision in this Indenture or in the Securities shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

Section 10.14. Table of Contents, Headings, Etc.

The Table of Contents, Cross Reference Table, headings of the Articles and Sections of this Indenture have been inserted for convenience of reference only, are not to be considered a part hereof and shall in no way modify or restrict any of the terms or provisions hereof.

Section 10.15. Securities in a Foreign Currency.

Unless otherwise specified in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officer’s Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.2 of this Indenture with respect to a particular Series of Securities, whenever for purposes of this Indenture any action may be taken by the Holders of a specified percentage in aggregate principal amount of Securities of all Series or all Series affected by a particular action at the time outstanding and, at such time, there are outstanding Securities of any Series which are denominated in more than one currency, then the principal amount of Securities of such Series which shall be deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of taking such action shall be determined by converting any such other currency into a currency that is designated upon issuance of any particular Series of Securities. Unless otherwise specified in a Board Resolution, a supplemental indenture hereto or an Officer’s Certificate delivered pursuant to Section 2.2 of this Indenture with respect to a particular Series of Securities, such conversion shall be at the spot rate for the purchase of the designated currency as published in The Financial Times in the “Currency Rates” section (or, if The Financial Times is no longer published, or if such information is no longer available in The Financial Times, such source as may be selected in good faith by the Company) on any date of determination. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply in determining the equivalent principal amount in respect of Securities of a Series denominated in currency other than Dollars in connection with any action taken by Holders of Securities pursuant to the terms of this Indenture.

All decisions and determinations provided for in the preceding paragraph shall, in the absence of manifest error, to the extent permitted by law, be conclusive for all purposes and irrevocably binding upon the Trustee and all Holders.

Section 10.16. Judgment Currency.

The Company agrees, to the fullest extent that it may effectively do so under applicable law, that (a) if for the purpose of obtaining judgment in any court it is necessary to convert the sum due in respect of the principal of or interest or other amount on the Securities of any Series (the “Required Currency”) into a currency in which a judgment will be rendered (the “Judgment Currency”), the rate of exchange used shall be the rate at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Trustee could purchase in the City of New York the Required Currency with the Judgment Currency on the day on which final unappealable judgment is entered, unless such day is not a New York Banking Day, then the rate of exchange used shall be the rate

 

44


at which in accordance with normal banking procedures the Trustee could purchase in the City of New York the Required Currency with the Judgment Currency on the New York Banking Day preceding the day on which final unappealable judgment is entered and (b) its obligations under this Indenture to make payments in the Required Currency (i) shall not be discharged or satisfied by any tender, any recovery pursuant to any judgment (whether or not entered in accordance with subsection (a)), in any currency other than the Required Currency, except to the extent that such tender or recovery shall result in the actual receipt, by the payee, of the full amount of the Required Currency expressed to be payable in respect of such payments, (ii) shall be enforceable as an alternative or additional cause of action for the purpose of recovering in the Required Currency the amount, if any, by which such actual receipt shall fall short of the full amount of the Required Currency so expressed to be payable, and (iii) shall not be affected by judgment being obtained for any other sum due under this Indenture. For purposes of the foregoing, “New York Banking Day” means any day except a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday in the City of New York on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law, regulation or executive order to close.

Section 10.17. Force Majeure.

In no event shall the Trustee be responsible or liable for any failure or delay in the performance of its obligations hereunder arising out of or caused by, directly or indirectly, forces beyond its control, including, without limitation, strikes, work stoppages, accidents, acts of war or terrorism, civil or military disturbances, nuclear or natural catastrophes, pandemics, epidemics or other public health emergencies, or acts of God, and interruptions, loss or malfunctions of utilities, communications or computer (software and hardware) services, it being understood that the Trustee shall use reasonable best efforts which are consistent with accepted practices in the banking industry to resume performance as soon as practicable under the circumstances.

Section 10.18. U.S.A. Patriot Act.

The parties hereto acknowledge that in accordance with Section 326 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act, the Trustee is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person or legal entity that establishes a relationship or opens an account with the Trustee. The parties to this Indenture agree that they will provide the Trustee with such information as it may request in order for the Trustee to satisfy the requirements of the U.S.A. Patriot Act.

ARTICLE XI.

SINKING FUNDS

Section 11.1. Applicability of Article.

The provisions of this Article shall be applicable to any sinking fund for the retirement of the Securities of a Series if so provided by the terms of such Securities pursuant to Section 2.2, except as otherwise permitted or required by any form of Security of such Series issued pursuant to this Indenture.

The minimum amount of any sinking fund payment provided for by the terms of the Securities of any Series is herein referred to as a “mandatory sinking fund payment” and any other amount provided for by the terms of Securities of such Series is herein referred to as an “optional sinking fund payment.” If provided for by the terms of Securities of any Series, the cash amount of any sinking fund payment may be subject to reduction as provided in Section 11.2. Each sinking fund payment shall be applied to the redemption of Securities of any Series as provided for by the terms of the Securities of such Series.

 

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Section 11.2. Satisfaction of Sinking Fund Payments with Securities.

The Company may, in satisfaction of all or any part of any sinking fund payment with respect to the Securities of any Series to be made pursuant to the terms of such Securities (1) deliver outstanding Securities of such Series to which such sinking fund payment is applicable (other than any of such Securities previously called for mandatory sinking fund redemption) and (2) apply as credit Securities of such Series to which such sinking fund payment is applicable and which have been repurchased by the Company or redeemed either at the election of the Company pursuant to the terms of such Series of Securities (except pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund) or through the application of permitted optional sinking fund payments or other optional redemptions pursuant to the terms of such Securities, provided that such Securities have not been previously so credited. Such Securities shall be received by the Trustee, together with an Officer’s Certificate with respect thereto, not later than 15 days prior to the date on which the Trustee begins the process of selecting Securities for redemption and shall be credited for such purpose by the Trustee at the price specified in such Securities for redemption through operation of the sinking fund and the amount of such sinking fund payment shall be reduced accordingly. If as a result of the delivery or credit of Securities in lieu of cash payments pursuant to this Section 11.2, the principal amount of Securities of such Series to be redeemed in order to exhaust the aforesaid cash payment shall be less than $100,000, the Trustee need not call Securities of such Series for redemption, except upon receipt of a Company Order that such action be taken, and such cash payment shall be held by the Trustee or a Paying Agent and applied to the next succeeding sinking fund payment, provided, however, that the Trustee or such Paying Agent shall from time to time upon receipt of a Company Order pay over and deliver to the Company any cash payment so being held by the Trustee or such Paying Agent upon delivery by the Company to the Trustee of Securities of that Series purchased by the Company having an unpaid principal amount equal to the cash payment required to be released to the Company.

Section 11.3. Redemption of Securities for Sinking Fund.

Not less than 45 days (unless otherwise indicated in the Board Resolution, supplemental indenture hereto or Officer’s Certificate in respect of a particular Series of Securities) prior to each sinking fund payment date for any Series of Securities, the Company will deliver to the Trustee an Officer’s Certificate specifying the amount of the next ensuing mandatory sinking fund payment for that Series pursuant to the terms of that Series, the portion thereof, if any, which is to be satisfied by payment of cash and the portion thereof, if any, which is to be satisfied by delivering and crediting of Securities of that Series pursuant to Section 11.2, and the optional amount, if any, to be added in cash to the next ensuing mandatory sinking fund payment, and the Company shall thereupon be obligated to pay the amount therein specified. Not less than 30 days (unless otherwise indicated in the Board Resolution, Officer’s Certificate or supplemental indenture in respect of a particular Series of Securities) before each such sinking fund payment date the Securities to be redeemed upon such sinking fund payment date will be selected in the manner specified in Section 3.2, and the Company shall send or cause to be sent a notice of the redemption thereof to be given in the name of and at the expense of the Company in the manner provided in and in accordance with Section 3.3. Such notice having been duly given, the redemption of such Securities shall be made upon the terms and in the manner stated in Sections 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Indenture to be duly executed as of the day and year first above written.

 

BEYOND MEAT, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Its:
U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Trustee
By:  

 

  Name:
  Its:
EX-5.1

Exhibit 5.1

 

  

1271 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10020-1401

Tel: +1.212.906.1200 Fax: +1.212.751.4864

www.lw.com

 

LOGO    FIRM / AFFILIATE OFFICES
   Austin    Milan
   Beijing    Munich
   Boston    New York
   Brussels    Orange County
   Century City    Paris
  

Chicago

Dubai

   Riyadh

San Diego

March 18, 2024
   Düsseldorf    San Francisco
   Frankfurt    Seoul
   Hamburg    Silicon Valley
   Hong Kong    Singapore
  

Houston

London

Los Angeles

Madrid

   Tel Aviv

Tokyo

Washington, D.C.

Beyond Meat, Inc.
888 N. Douglas Street, Suite 100
El Segundo, California 90245   

Re: Registration Statement on Form S-3

To the addressee set forth above:

We have acted as counsel to Beyond Meat, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with its filing on the date hereof with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a registration statement on Form S-3 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”), including a base prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”), which provides that it will be supplemented by one or more prospectus supplements (each such prospectus supplement, together with the Base Prospectus, a “Prospectus”), under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), relating to the registration for issue and sale by the Company of up to $250,000,000 aggregate offering amount of (i) shares of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), (ii) shares of one or more series of the Company’s preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Preferred Stock”), (iii) one or more series of the Company’s debt securities (collectively, “Debt Securities”) to be issued under an indenture to be entered into between the Company, as issuer, and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee (a form of which is included as Exhibit 4.3 to the Registration Statement) and one or more board resolutions, supplements thereto or officer’s certificates thereunder (such indenture, together with the applicable board resolution, supplement or officer’s certificate pertaining to the applicable series of Debt Securities, the “Applicable Indenture”), (iv) warrants to purchase shares of Common stock or shares of Preferred Stock (“Warrants”), (v) purchase contracts (“Purchase Contracts”), and (vi) units consisting of two or more constituent securities of the Company (“Units”), plus any additional Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Debt Securities, Warrants, Purchase Contracts and Units that may be registered pursuant to any subsequent registration statement that the Company may hereafter file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act in connection with the offering by the Company contemplated by the Registration Statement. The Common Stock, Preferred Stock, Debt Securities, Warrants, Purchase Contracts and Units, are referred to herein collectively as the “Securities.”


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This opinion is being furnished in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related applicable Prospectus, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issuance of the Securities.

As such counsel, we have examined such matters of fact and questions of law as we have considered appropriate for purposes of this letter. With your consent, we have relied upon certificates and other assurances of officers of the Company and others as to factual matters without having independently verified such factual matters. We are opining herein as to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), and with respect to the opinions set forth in paragraphs 3 through 6 below, the internal laws of the State of New York, and we express no opinion with respect to the applicability thereto, or the effect thereon, of the laws of any other jurisdiction or, in the case of Delaware, any other laws, or as to any matters of municipal law or the laws of any local agencies within any state.

Subject to the foregoing and the other matters set forth herein, it is our opinion that, as of the date hereof:

1. When an issuance of Common Stock has been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, upon issuance, delivery and payment therefor in an amount not less than the par value thereof in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action, and in total amounts and numbers of shares that do not exceed the respective total amounts and numbers of shares (a) available under the certificate of incorporation, and (b) authorized by the board of directors in connection with the offering contemplated by the applicable Prospectus, such shares of Common Stock will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. In rendering the foregoing opinion, we have assumed that the Company will comply with all applicable notice requirements regarding uncertificated shares provided in the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

2. When a series of Preferred Stock has been duly established in accordance with the terms of the Company’s certificate of incorporation and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, upon issuance, delivery and payment therefor in an amount not less than the par value thereof in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action, and in total amounts and numbers of shares that do not exceed the respective total amounts and numbers of shares (a) available under the certificate of incorporation, and (b) authorized by the board of directors in connection with the offering contemplated by the applicable Prospectus, such shares of such series of Preferred Stock will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. In rendering the foregoing opinion, we have assumed that the Company will comply with all applicable notice requirements regarding uncertificated shares provided in the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

3. When the Applicable Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular


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series of Debt Securities have been duly established in accordance with the terms of the Applicable Indenture and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Debt Securities have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the Applicable Indenture and in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action, such Debt Securities will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.

4. When the applicable warrant agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Warrants have been duly established in accordance with the terms of the applicable warrant agreement and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Warrants have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable warrant agreement and in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of such Warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Warrants will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.

5. When the applicable purchase contract agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issue of Purchase Contracts have been duly authorized in accordance with the terms of the applicable purchase contract agreement and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Purchase Contracts have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable purchase contract agreement and in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable under such Purchase Contracts have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Purchase Contracts will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms.

6. When the applicable unit agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and when the specific terms of a particular issuance of Units have been duly authorized in accordance with the terms of the applicable unit agreement and authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and such Units have been duly executed, authenticated, issued and delivered against payment therefor in accordance with the terms of the applicable unit agreement and in the manner contemplated by the applicable Prospectus and by such corporate action (assuming the securities issuable upon exercise of such Units have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance by all necessary corporate action), such Units will be the legally valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms. Our opinions are subject to: (i) the effect of bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, preference, fraudulent transfer, moratorium or other similar laws relating to or affecting the rights and remedies of creditors; (ii) (a) the effect of general principles of equity, whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law (including the possible unavailability of specific performance or injunctive relief), (b) concepts of materiality, reasonableness, good faith and fair dealing, and (c) the


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discretion of the court before which a proceeding is brought; and (iii) the invalidity under certain circumstances under law or court decisions of provisions providing for the indemnification of or contribution to a party with respect to a liability where such indemnification or contribution is contrary to public policy. We express no opinion as to (a) any provision for liquidated damages, default interest, late charges, monetary penalties, make-whole premiums or other economic remedies to the extent such provisions are deemed to constitute a penalty, (b) consents to, or restrictions upon, governing law, jurisdiction, venue, arbitration, remedies, or judicial relief, (c) waivers of rights or defenses, (d) any provision requiring the payment of attorneys’ fees, where such payment is contrary to law or public policy, (e) any provision permitting, upon acceleration of any Debt Securities, collection of that portion of the stated principal amount thereof which might be determined to constitute unearned interest thereon, (f) the creation, validity, attachment, perfection, or priority of any lien or security interest, (g) advance waivers of claims, defenses, rights granted by law, or notice, opportunity for hearing, evidentiary requirements, statutes of limitation, trial by jury or at law, or other procedural rights, (h) waivers of broadly or vaguely stated rights, (i) provisions for exclusivity, election or cumulation of rights or remedies, (j) provisions authorizing or validating conclusive or discretionary determinations, (k) grants of setoff rights, (l) proxies, powers and trusts, (m) provisions prohibiting, restricting, or requiring consent to assignment or transfer of any right or property, (n) any provision to the extent it requires that a claim with respect to a security denominated in other than U.S. dollars (or a judgment in respect of such a claim) be converted into U.S. dollars at a rate of exchange at a particular date, to the extent applicable law otherwise provides, and (o) the severability, if invalid, of provisions to the foregoing effect.

With your consent, we have assumed (a) that each of the Debt Securities, Warrants, Purchase Contracts and Units and the Applicable Indenture, warrant agreements, purchase contract agreements and unit agreements governing such Securities (collectively, the “Documents”) will be governed by the internal laws of the State of New York, (b) that each of the Documents has been or will be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the parties thereto, (c) that each of the Documents constitutes or will constitute legally valid and binding obligations of the parties thereto other than the Company, enforceable against each of them in accordance with their respective terms, and (d) that the status of each of the Documents as legally valid and binding obligations of the parties will not be affected by any (i) breaches of, or defaults under, agreements or instruments, (ii) violations of statutes, rules, regulations or court or governmental orders, or (iii) failures to obtain required consents, approvals or authorizations from, or to make required registrations, declarations or filings with, governmental authorities.

This opinion is for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement and may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Act. We consent to your filing this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm contained in the Prospectus under the heading “Legal Matters.” We further consent to the incorporation by reference of this letter and consent into any registration statement or post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Act with respect to the Securities. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

Sincerely,

/s/ Latham & Watkins LLP

EX-23.2

Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-3 of our reports dated March 1, 2024, relating to the financial statements of Beyond Meat, Inc. and the effectiveness of Beyond Meat, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting, appearing in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Beyond Meat, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2023. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

Los Angeles, California

March 18, 2024

EX-25.1

Exhibit 25.1

 

 

 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM T-1

 

 

STATEMENT OF ELIGIBILITY UNDER

THE TRUST INDENTURE ACT OF 1939 OF A

CORPORATION DESIGNATED TO ACT AS TRUSTEE

 

Check if an Application to Determine Eligibility of a Trustee Pursuant to Section 305(b)(2)

 

 

U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

(Exact name of Trustee as specified in its charter)

 

 

91-1821036

I.R.S. Employer Identification No.

 

800 Nicollet Mall

Minneapolis, Minnesota

  55402
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

Bradley E. Scarbrough

U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association

633 West 5th Street, 24th Floor,

Los Angeles, CA 90071

(213) 615-6047

(Name, address and telephone number of agent for service)

 

 

Beyond Meat, Inc.

(Issuer with respect to the Securities)

 

 

 

Delaware   26-4087597

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

 

888 N. Douglas Street, Suite 100

El Segundo, CA

  90245
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

 

 

Debt Securities

(Title of the Indenture Securities)

 

 

 


FORM T-1

 

Item 1.

GENERAL INFORMATION. Furnish the following information as to the Trustee.

 

  a)

Name and address of each examining or supervising authority to which it is subject.

Comptroller of the Currency

Washington, D.C.

 

  b)

Whether it is authorized to exercise corporate trust powers.

Yes

 

Item 2.

AFFILIATIONS WITH THE OBLIGOR. If the obligor is an affiliate of the Trustee, describe each such affiliation.

None

 

Items 3-15

Items 3-15 are not applicable because to the best of the Trustee’s knowledge, the obligor is not in default under any Indenture for which the Trustee acts as Trustee.

 

Item 16.

LIST OF EXHIBITS: List below all exhibits filed as a part of this statement of eligibility and qualification.

 

  1.

A copy of the Articles of Association of the Trustee, attached as Exhibit 1.

 

  2.

A copy of the certificate of authority of the Trustee to commence business, attached as Exhibit 2.

 

  3.

A copy of the authorization of the Trustee to exercise corporate trust powers, included as Exhibit 2.

 

  4.

A copy of the existing bylaws of the Trustee, attached as Exhibit 4.

 

  5.

A copy of each Indenture referred to in Item 4. Not applicable.

 

  6.

The consent of the Trustee required by Section 321(b) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, attached as Exhibit 6.

 

  7.

Report of Condition of the Trustee as of December 31, 2023, published pursuant to law or the requirements of its supervising or examining authority, attached as Exhibit 7.


SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, the Trustee, U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, a national banking association organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America, has duly caused this statement of eligibility and qualification to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, all in the City of Los Angeles, State of California on the 18th of March, 2024.

 

By:   /s/ Bradley E. Scarbrough
  Bradley E. Scarbrough
  Vice President


Exhibit 1

ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION

OF

U. S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

For the purpose of organizing an association (the “Association”) to perform any lawful activities of national banks, the undersigned enter into the following Articles of Association:

FIRST. The title of this Association shall be U. S. Bank Trust Company, National Association.

SECOND. The main office of the Association shall be in the city of Portland, county of Multnomah, state of Oregon. The business of the Association will be limited to fiduciary powers and the support of activities incidental to the exercise of those powers. The Association may not expand or alter its business beyond that stated in this article without the prior approval of the Comptroller of the Currency.

THIRD. The board of directors of the Association shall consist of not less than five nor more than twenty-five persons, the exact number to be fixed and determined from time to time by resolution of a majority of the full board of directors or by resolution of a majority of the shareholders at any annual or special meeting thereof. Each director shall own common or preferred stock of the Association or of a holding company owning the Association, with an aggregate par, fair market, or equity value of not less than $1,000, as of either (i) the date of purchase, (ii) the date the person became a director, or (iii) the date of that person’s most recent election to the board of directors, whichever is more recent. Any combination of common or preferred stock of the Association or holding company may be used.

Any vacancy in the board of directors may be filled by action of a majority of the remaining directors between meetings of shareholders. The board of directors may increase the number of directors up to the maximum permitted by law. Terms of directors, including directors selected to fill vacancies, shall expire at the next regular meeting of shareholders at which directors are elected, unless the directors resign or are removed from office. Despite the expiration of a director’s term, the director shall continue to serve until his or her successor is elected and qualified or until there is a decrease in the number of directors and his or her position is eliminated.

Honorary or advisory members of the board of directors, without voting power or power of final decision in matters concerning the business of the Association, may be appointed by resolution of a majority of the full board of directors, or by resolution of shareholders at any annual or special meeting. Honorary or advisory directors shall not be counted to determined the number of directors of the Association or the presence of a quorum in connection with any board action, and shall not be required to own qualifying shares.

FOURTH. There shall be an annual meeting of the shareholders to elect directors and transact whatever other business may be brought before the meeting. It shall be held at the main office or any other convenient place the board of directors may designate, on the day of each year specified therefor in the Bylaws, or if that day falls on a legal holiday in the state in which the

 

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Association is located, on the next following banking day. If no election is held on the day fixed or in the event of a legal holiday on the following banking day, an election may be held on any subsequent day within 60 days of the day fixed, to be designated by the board of directors, or, if the directors fail to fix the day, by shareholders representing two-thirds of the shares issued and outstanding. In all cases, at least 10 days’ advance notice of the meeting shall be given to the shareholders by first-class mail.

In all elections of directors, the number of votes each common shareholder may cast will be determined by multiplying the number of shares he or she owns by the number of directors to be elected. Those votes may be cumulated and cast for a single candidate or may be distributed among two or more candidates in the manner selected by the shareholder. On all other questions, each common shareholder shall be entitled to one vote for each share of stock held by him or her.

A director may resign at any time by delivering written notice to the board of directors, its chairperson, or to the Association, which resignation shall be effective when the notice is delivered unless the notice specifies a later effective date.

A director may be removed by the shareholders at a meeting called to remove him or her, when notice of the meeting stating that the purpose or one of the purposes is to remove him or her is provided, if there is a failure to fulfill one of the affirmative requirements for qualification, or for cause; provided, however, that a director may not be removed if the number of votes sufficient to elect him or her under cumulative voting is voted against his or her removal.

FIFTH. The authorized amount of capital stock of the Association shall be 1,000,000 shares of common stock of the par value of ten dollars ($10) each; but said capital stock may be increased or decreased from time to time, according to the provisions of the laws of the United States. The Association shall have only one class of capital stock.

No holder of shares of the capital stock of any class of the Association shall have any preemptive or preferential right of subscription to any shares of any class of stock of the Association, whether now or hereafter authorized, or to any obligations convertible into stock of the Association, issued, or sold, nor any right of subscription to any thereof other than such, if any, as the board of directors, in its discretion, may from time to time determine and at such price as the board of directors may from time to time fix.

Transfers of the Association’s stock are subject to the prior written approval of a federal depository institution regulatory agency. If no other agency approval is required, the approval of the Comptroller of the Currency must be obtained prior to any such transfers.

Unless otherwise specified in the Articles of Association or required by law, (1) all matters requiring shareholder action, including amendments to the Articles of Association must be approved by shareholders owning a majority voting interest in the outstanding voting stock, and (2) each shareholder shall be entitled to one vote per share.

 

- 2 -


Unless otherwise specified in the Articles of Association or required by law, all shares of voting stock shall be voted together as a class, on any matters requiring shareholder approval.

Unless otherwise provided in the Bylaws, the record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of and to vote at any meeting is the close of business on the day before the first notice is mailed or otherwise sent to the shareholders, provided that in no event may a record date be more than 70 days before the meeting.

The Association, at any time and from time to time, may authorize and issue debt obligations, whether subordinated, without the approval of the shareholders. Obligations classified as debt, whether subordinated, which may be issued by the Association without the approval of shareholders, do not carry voting rights on any issue, including an increase or decrease in the aggregate number of the securities, or the exchange or reclassification of all or part of securities into securities of another class or series.

SIXTH. The board of directors shall appoint one of its members president of this Association and one of its members chairperson of the board and shall have the power to appoint one or more vice presidents, a secretary who shall keep minutes of the directors’ and shareholders’ meetings and be responsible for authenticating the records of the Association, and such other officers and employees as may be required to transact the business of this Association. A duly appointed officer may appoint one or more officers or assistant officers if authorized by the board of directors in accordance with the Bylaws.

The board of directors shall have the power to:

 

(1)

Define the duties of the officers, employees, and agents of the Association.

 

(2)

Delegate the performance of its duties, but not the responsibility for its duties, to the officers, employees, and agents of the Association.

 

(3)

Fix the compensation and enter employment contracts with its officers and employees upon reasonable terms and conditions consistent with applicable law.

 

(4)

Dismiss officers and employees.

 

(5)

Require bonds from officers and employees and to fix the penalty thereof.

 

(6)

Ratify written policies authorized by the Association’s management or committees of the board.

 

(7)

Regulate the manner any increase or decrease of the capital of the Association shall be made; provided that nothing herein shall restrict the power of shareholders to increase or decrease the capital of the Association in accordance with law, and nothing shall raise or lower from two-thirds the percentage required for shareholder approval to increase or reduce the capital.

 

- 3 -


(8)

Manage and administer the business and affairs of the Association.

 

(9)

Adopt initial Bylaws, not inconsistent with law or the Articles of Association, for managing the business and regulating the affairs of the Association.

 

(10)

Amend or repeal Bylaws, except to the extent that the Articles of Association reserve this power in whole or in part to the shareholders.

 

(11)

Make contracts.

 

(12)

Generally perform all acts that are legal for a board of directors to perform.

SEVENTH. The board of directors shall have the power to change the location of the main office to any authorized branch within the limits of the city of Portland, Oregon, without the approval of the shareholders, or with a vote of shareholders owning two-thirds of the stock of the Association for a location outside such limits and upon receipt of a certificate of approval from the Comptroller of the Currency, to any other location within or outside the limits of the city of Portland, Oregon, but not more than thirty miles beyond such limits. The board of directors shall have the power to establish or change the location of any office or offices of the Association to any other location permitted under applicable law, without approval of shareholders, subject to approval by the Comptroller of the Currency.

EIGHTH. The corporate existence of this Association shall continue until termination according to the laws of the United States.

NINTH. The board of directors of the Association, or any shareholder owning, in the aggregate, not less than 25 percent of the stock of the Association, may call a special meeting of shareholders at any time. Unless otherwise provided by the Bylaws or the laws of the United States, or waived by shareholders, a notice of the time, place, and purpose of every annual and special meeting of the shareholders shall be given by first-class mail, postage prepaid, mailed at least 10, and no more than 60, days prior to the date of the meeting to each shareholder of record at his/her address as shown upon the books of the Association. Unless otherwise provided by the Bylaws, any action requiring approval of shareholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting.

TENTH. These Articles of Association may be amended at any regular or special meeting of the shareholders by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the stock of the Association, unless the vote of the holders of a greater amount of stock is required by law, and in that case by the vote of the holders of such greater amount; provided, that the scope of the Association’s activities and services may not be expanded without the prior written approval of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Association’s board of directors may propose one or more amendments to the Articles of Association for submission to the shareholders.

 

- 4 -


In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 11th of June, 1997.

 

LOGO


Exhibit 2

 

LOGO


Exhibit 4

U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS

ARTICLE I

Meetings of Shareholders

Section 1.1. Annual Meeting. The annual meeting of the shareholders, for the election of directors and the transaction of any other proper business, shall be held at a time and place as the Chairman or President may designate. Notice of such meeting shall be given not less than ten (10) days or more than sixty (60) days prior to the date thereof, to each shareholder of the Association, unless the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) determines that an emergency circumstance exists. In accordance with applicable law, the sole shareholder of the Association is permitted to waive notice of the meeting. If, for any reason, an election of directors is not made on the designated day, the election shall be held on some subsequent day, as soon thereafter as practicable, with prior notice thereof. Failure to hold an annual meeting as required by these Bylaws shall not affect the validity of any corporate action or work a forfeiture or dissolution of the Association.

Section 1.2. Special Meetings. Except as otherwise specially provided by law, special meetings of the shareholders may be called for any purpose, at any time by a majority of the board of directors (the “Board”), or by any shareholder or group of shareholders owning at least ten percent of the outstanding stock.

Every such special meeting, unless otherwise provided by law, shall be called upon not less than ten (10) days nor more than sixty (60) days prior notice stating the purpose of the meeting.

Section 1.3. Nominations for Directors. Nominations for election to the Board may be made by the Board or by any shareholder.

Section 1.4. Proxies. Shareholders may vote at any meeting of the shareholders by proxies duly authorized in writing. Proxies shall be valid only for one meeting and any adjournments of such meeting and shall be filed with the records of the meeting.

Section 1.5. Record Date. The record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice and to vote at any meeting will be thirty days before the date of such meeting, unless otherwise determined by the Board.


Section 1.6. Quorum and Voting. A majority of the outstanding capital stock, represented in person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of shareholders, unless otherwise provided by law, but less than a quorum may adjourn any meeting, from time to time, and the meeting may be held as adjourned without further notice. A majority of the votes cast shall decide every question or matter submitted to the shareholders at any meeting, unless otherwise provided by law or by the Articles of Association.

Section 1.7. Inspectors. The Board may, and in the event of its failure so to do, the Chairman of the Board may appoint Inspectors of Election who shall determine the presence of quorum, the validity of proxies, and the results of all elections and all other matters voted upon by shareholders at all annual and special meetings of shareholders.

Section 1.8. Waiver and Consent. The shareholders may act without notice or a meeting by a unanimous written consent by all shareholders.

Section 1.9. Remote Meetings. The Board shall have the right to determine that a shareholder meeting not be held at a place, but instead be held solely by means of remote communication in the manner and to the extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

ARTICLE II

Directors

Section 2.1. Board of Directors. The Board shall have the power to manage and administer the business and affairs of the Association. Except as expressly limited by law, all corporate powers of the Association shall be vested in and may be exercised by the Board.

Section 2.2. Term of Office. The directors of this Association shall hold office for one year and until their successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier resignation or removal.

Section 2.3. Powers. In addition to the foregoing, the Board shall have and may exercise all of the powers granted to or conferred upon it by the Articles of Association, the Bylaws and by law.

Section 2.4. Number. As provided in the Articles of Association, the Board of this Association shall consist of no less than five nor more than twenty-five members, unless the OCC has exempted the Association from the twenty-five-member limit. The Board shall consist of a number of members to be fixed and determined from time to time by resolution of the Board or the shareholders at any meeting thereof, in accordance with the Articles of Association. Between meetings of the shareholders held for the purpose of electing directors, the Board


by a majority vote of the full Board may increase the size of the Board but not to more than a total of twenty-five directors, and fill any vacancy so created in the Board; provided that the Board may increase the number of directors only by up to two directors, when the number of directors last elected by shareholders was fifteen or fewer, and by up to four directors, when the number of directors last elected by shareholders was sixteen or more. Each director shall own a qualifying equity interest in the Association or a company that has control of the Association in each case as required by applicable law. Each director shall own such qualifying equity interest in his or her own right and meet any minimum threshold ownership required by applicable law.

Section 2.5. Organization Meeting. The newly elected Board shall meet for the purpose of organizing the new Board and electing and appointing such officers of the Association as may be appropriate. Such meeting shall be held on the day of the election or as soon thereafter as practicable, and, in any event, within thirty days thereafter, at such time and place as the Chairman or President may designate. If, at the time fixed for such meeting, there shall not be a quorum present, the directors present may adjourn the meeting until a quorum is obtained.

Section 2.6. Regular Meetings. The regular meetings of the Board shall be held, without notice, as the Chairman or President may designate and deem suitable.

Section 2.7. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board may be called at any time, at any place and for any purpose by the Chairman of the Board or the President of the Association, or upon the request of a majority of the entire Board. Notice of every special meeting of the Board shall be given to the directors at their usual places of business, or at such other addresses as shall have been furnished by them for the purpose. Such notice shall be given at least twelve hours (three hours if meeting is to be conducted by conference telephone) before the meeting by telephone or by being personally delivered, mailed, or electronically delivered. Such notice need not include a statement of the business to be transacted at, or the purpose of, any such meeting.

Section 2.8. Quorum and Necessary Vote. A majority of the directors shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Board, except when otherwise provided by law; but less than a quorum may adjourn any meeting, from time to time, and the meeting may be held as adjourned without further notice. Unless otherwise provided by law or the Articles or Bylaws of this Association, once a quorum is established, any act by a majority of those directors present and voting shall be the act of the Board.


Section 2.9. Written Consent. Except as otherwise required by applicable laws and regulations, the Board may act without a meeting by a unanimous written consent by all directors, to be filed with the Secretary of the Association as part of the corporate records.

Section 2.10. Remote Meetings. Members of the Board, or of any committee thereof, may participate in a meeting of such Board or committee by means of conference telephone, video or similar communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other and such participation shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

Section 2.11. Vacancies. When any vacancy occurs among the directors, the remaining members of the Board may appoint a director to fill such vacancy at any regular meeting of the Board, or at a special meeting called for that purpose.

ARTICLE III

Committees

Section 3.1. Advisory Board of Directors. The Board may appoint persons, who need not be directors, to serve as advisory directors on an advisory board of directors established with respect to the business affairs of either this Association alone or the business affairs of a group of affiliated organizations of which this Association is one. Advisory directors shall have such powers and duties as may be determined by the Board, provided, that the Board’s responsibility for the business and affairs of this Association shall in no respect be delegated or diminished.

Section 3.2. Trust Audit Committee. At least once during each calendar year, the Association shall arrange for a suitable audit (by internal or external auditors) of all significant fiduciary activities under the direction of its trust audit committee, a function that will be fulfilled by the Audit Committee of the financial holding company that is the ultimate parent of this Association. The Association shall note the results of the audit (including significant actions taken as a result of the audit) in the minutes of the Board. In lieu of annual audits, the Association may adopt a continuous audit system in accordance with 12 C.F.R. § 9.9(b).


The Audit Committee of the financial holding company that is the ultimate parent of this Association, fulfilling the function of the trust audit committee:

(1) Must not include any officers of the Association or an affiliate who participate significantly in the administration of the Association’s fiduciary activities; and

(2) Must consist of a majority of members who are not also members of any committee to which the Board has delegated power to manage and control the fiduciary activities of the Association.

Section 3.3. Executive Committee. The Board may appoint an Executive Committee which shall consist of at least three directors and which shall have, and may exercise, to the extent permitted by applicable law, all the powers of the Board between meetings of the Board or otherwise when the Board is not meeting.

Section 3.4. Trust Management Committee. The Board of this Association shall appoint a Trust Management Committee to provide oversight of the fiduciary activities of the Association. The Trust Management Committee shall determine policies governing fiduciary activities. The Trust Management Committee or such sub-committees, officers or others as may be duly designated by the Trust Management Committee shall oversee the processes related to fiduciary activities to assure conformity with fiduciary policies it establishes, including ratifying the acceptance and the closing out or relinquishment of all trusts. The Trust Management Committee will provide regular reports of its activities to the Board.

Section 3.5. Other Committees. The Board may appoint, from time to time, committees of one or more persons who need not be directors, for such purposes and with such powers as the Board may determine; however, the Board will not delegate to any committee any powers or responsibilities that it is prohibited from delegating under any law or regulation. In addition, either the Chairman or the President may appoint, from time to time, committees of one or more officers, employees, agents or other persons, for such purposes and with such powers as either the Chairman or the President deems appropriate and proper. Whether appointed by the Board, the Chairman, or the President, any such committee shall at all times be subject to the direction and control of the Board.

Section 3.6. Meetings, Minutes and Rules. An advisory board of directors and/or committee shall meet as necessary in consideration of the purpose of the advisory board of directors or committee, and shall maintain minutes in sufficient detail to indicate actions taken or recommendations made; unless required by the members, discussions, votes or other specific details need not be reported. An advisory board of directors or a committee may, in consideration of its purpose, adopt its own rules for the exercise of any of its functions or authority.


ARTICLE IV

Officers

Section 4.1. Chairman of the Board. The Board may appoint one of its members to be Chairman of the Board to serve at the pleasure of the Board. The Chairman shall supervise the carrying out of the policies adopted or approved by the Board; shall have general executive powers, as well as the specific powers conferred by these Bylaws; and shall also have and may exercise such powers and duties as from time to time may be conferred upon or assigned by the Board.

Section 4.2. President. The Board may appoint one of its members to be President of the Association. In the absence of the Chairman, the President shall preside at any meeting of the Board. The President shall have general executive powers, and shall have and may exercise any and all other powers and duties pertaining by law, regulation or practice, to the office of President, or imposed by these Bylaws. The President shall also have and may exercise such powers and duties as from time to time may be conferred or assigned by the Board.

Section 4.3. Vice President. The Board may appoint one or more Vice Presidents who shall have such powers and duties as may be assigned by the Board and to perform the duties of the President on those occasions when the President is absent, including presiding at any meeting of the Board in the absence of both the Chairman and President.

Section 4.4. Secretary. The Board shall appoint a Secretary, or other designated officer who shall be Secretary of the Board and of the Association, and shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings. The Secretary shall attend to the giving of all notices required by these Bylaws to be given; shall be custodian of the corporate seal, records, documents and papers of the Association; shall provide for the keeping of proper records of all transactions of the Association; shall, upon request, authenticate any records of the Association; shall have and may exercise any and all other powers and duties pertaining by law, regulation or practice, to the Secretary, or imposed by these Bylaws; and shall also perform such other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Board. The Board may appoint one or more Assistant Secretaries with such powers and duties as the Board, the President or the Secretary shall from time to time determine.


Section 4.5. Other Officers. The Board may appoint, and may authorize the Chairman, the President or any other officer to appoint, any officer as from time to time may appear to the Board, the Chairman, the President or such other officer to be required or desirable to transact the business of the Association. Such officers shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as pertain to their several offices, or as may be conferred upon or assigned to them by these Bylaws, the Board, the Chairman, the President or such other authorized officer. Any person may hold two offices.

Section 4.6. Tenure of Office. The Chairman or the President and all other officers shall hold office until their respective successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal from office, subject to the right of the Board or authorized officer to discharge any officer at any time.

ARTICLE V

Stock

Section 5.1. The Board may authorize the issuance of stock either in certificated or in uncertificated form. Certificates for shares of stock shall be in such form as the Board may from time to time prescribe. If the Board issues certificated stock, the certificate shall be signed by the President, Secretary or any other such officer as the Board so determines. Shares of stock shall be transferable on the books of the Association, and a transfer book shall be kept in which all transfers of stock shall be recorded. Every person becoming a shareholder by such transfer shall, in proportion to such person’s shares, succeed to all rights of the prior holder of such shares. Each certificate of stock shall recite on its face that the stock represented thereby is transferable only upon the books of the Association properly endorsed. The Board may impose conditions upon the transfer of the stock reasonably calculated to simplify the work of the Association for stock transfers, voting at shareholder meetings, and related matters, and to protect it against fraudulent transfers.

ARTICLE VI

Corporate Seal

Section 6.1. The Association shall have no corporate seal; provided, however, that if the use of a seal is required by, or is otherwise convenient or advisable pursuant to, the laws or regulations of any jurisdiction, the following seal may be used, and the Chairman, the President, the Secretary and any Assistant Secretary shall have the authority to affix such seal:


ARTICLE VII

Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 7.1. Execution of Instruments. All agreements, checks, drafts, orders, indentures, notes, mortgages, deeds, conveyances, transfers, endorsements, assignments, certificates, declarations, receipts, discharges, releases, satisfactions, settlements, petitions, schedules, accounts, affidavits, bonds, undertakings, guarantees, proxies and other instruments or documents may be signed, countersigned, executed, acknowledged, endorsed, verified, delivered or accepted on behalf of the Association, whether in a fiduciary capacity or otherwise, by any officer of the Association, or such employee or agent as may be designated from time to time by the Board by resolution, or by the Chairman or the President by written instrument, which resolution or instrument shall be certified as in effect by the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Association. The provisions of this section are supplementary to any other provision of the Articles of Association or Bylaws.

Section 7.2. Records. The Articles of Association, the Bylaws as revised or amended from time to time and the proceedings of all meetings of the shareholders, the Board, and standing committees of the Board, shall be recorded in appropriate minute books provided for the purpose. The minutes of each meeting shall be signed by the Secretary, or other officer appointed to act as Secretary of the meeting.

Section 7.3. Trust Files. There shall be maintained in the Association files all fiduciary records necessary to assure that its fiduciary responsibilities have been properly undertaken and discharged.

Section 7.4. Trust Investments. Funds held in a fiduciary capacity shall be invested according to the instrument establishing the fiduciary relationship and according to law. Where such instrument does not specify the character and class of investments to be made and does not vest in the Association a discretion in the matter, funds held pursuant to such instrument shall be invested in investments in which corporate fiduciaries may invest under law.

Section 7.5. Notice. Whenever notice is required by the Articles of Association, the Bylaws or law, such notice shall be by mail, postage prepaid, e- mail, in person, or by any other means by which such notice can reasonably be expected to be received, using the address of the person to receive such notice, or such other personal data, as may appear on the records of the Association.

Except where specified otherwise in these Bylaws, prior notice shall be proper if given not more than 30 days nor less than 10 days prior to the event for which notice is given.


ARTICLE VIII

Indemnification

Section 8.1. The Association shall indemnify such persons for such liabilities in such manner under such circumstances and to such extent as permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as now enacted or hereafter amended. The Board may authorize the purchase and maintenance of insurance and/or the execution of individual agreements for the purpose of such indemnification, and the Association shall advance all reasonable costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred in defending any action, suit or proceeding to all persons entitled to indemnification under this Section 8.1. Such insurance shall be consistent with the requirements of 12 C.F.R. § 7.2014 and shall exclude coverage of liability for a formal order assessing civil money penalties against an institution-affiliated party, as defined at 12 U.S.C. § 1813(u).

Section 8.2. Notwithstanding Section 8.1, however, (a) any indemnification payments to an institution-affiliated party, as defined at 12 U.S.C. § 1813(u), for an administrative proceeding or civil action initiated by a federal banking agency, shall be reasonable and consistent with the requirements of 12 U.S.C. § 1828(k) and the implementing regulations thereunder; and (b) any indemnification payments and advancement of costs and expenses to an institution-affiliated party, as defined at 12 U.S.C. § 1813(u), in cases involving an administrative proceeding or civil action not initiated by a federal banking agency, shall be in accordance with Delaware General Corporation Law and consistent with safe and sound banking practices.

ARTICLE IX

Bylaws: Interpretation and Amendment

Section 9.1. These Bylaws shall be interpreted in accordance with and subject to appropriate provisions of law, and may be added to, altered, amended, or repealed, at any regular or special meeting of the Board.

Section 9.2. A copy of the Bylaws and all amendments shall at all times be kept in a convenient place at the principal office of the Association, and shall be open for inspection to all shareholders during Association hours.


ARTICLE X

Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 10.1. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Association shall begin on the first day of January in each year and shall end on the thirty-first day of December following.

Section 10.2. Governing Law. This Association designates the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended from time to time, as the governing law for its corporate governance procedures, to the extent not inconsistent with Federal banking statutes and regulations or bank safety and soundness.

***

(February 8, 2021)


Exhibit 6

CONSENT

In accordance with Section 321(b) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the undersigned, U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION hereby consents that reports of examination of the undersigned by Federal, State, Territorial or District authorities may be furnished by such authorities to the Securities and Exchange Commission upon its request therefor.

Dated: March 18, 2024

 

By:   /s/ Bradley E. Scarbrough
  Bradley E. Scarbrough
  Vice President


Exhibit 7

U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association

Statement of Financial Condition

as of 12/31/2023

($000’ s)

 

     12/31/2023  

Assets

  

Cash and Balances Due From

   $ 1,171,838  

Depository Institutions

  

Securities

     4,441  

Federal Funds

     0  

Loans & Lease Financing Receivables

     0  

Fixed Assets

     1,409  

Intangible Assets

     578,492  

Other Assets

     218,268  
  

 

 

 

Total Assets

   $ 1,974,448  

Liabilities

  

Deposits

   $ 0  

Fed Funds

     0  

Treasury Demand Notes

     0  

Trading Liabilities

     0  

Other Borrowed Money

     0  

Acceptances

     0  

Subordinated Notes and Debentures

     0  

Other Liabilities

     255,900  
  

 

 

 

Total Liabilities

   $ 255,900  

Equity

  

Common and Preferred Stock

     200  

Surplus

     1,171,635  

Undivided Profits

     546,713  

Minority Interest in Subsidiaries

     0  
  

 

 

 

Total Equity Capital

   $ 1,718,548  

Total Liabilities and Equity Capital

   $ 1,974,448  
EX-FILING FEES

Exhibit 107

Calculation of Filing Fee Table

Form S-3

(Form Type)

Beyond Meat, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Table 1: Newly Registered and Carry Forward Securities

 

                         
    Security Type   Security

Class Title

  Fee

Calculation

or Carry
Forward

Rule

  Amount

Registered(3)

  Proposed

Maximum

Offering
Price Per

Unit

  Maximum

Aggregate
Offering Price(3)

  Fee Rate   Amount of

Registration

Fee

  Carry

Forward

Form

Type

  Carry

Forward

File

Number

  Carry

Forward

Initial

Effective

Date

 

Filing Fee

Previously

Paid In

Connection

with

Unsold

Securities

to be

Carried

Forward

 
Newly Registered Securities
                         

Fees to

Be Paid

  Equity   Common
Stock, par
value

$0.0001
per share(1)

                             
  Equity   Preferred
Stock, par
value

$0.0001
per share(1)

                             
  Debt   Debt

Securities

                             
  Other   Warrants                              
  Other   Purchase

Contracts

                             
  Other   Units                              
  Unallocated
(Universal)
Shelf
  (2)   457(o)   $250,000,000     $250,000,000   0.0001476   $36,900                
                         

Fees

Previously

Paid

  N/A   N/A   N/A   N/A   N/A   N/A       N/A                
                 
Total Offering Amounts       $250,000,000(3)       $36,900                
                 
Total Fees Previously Paid                              
                 
Total Fee Offsets               $22,040(4)                
                 
Net Fee Due               $14,860                

 

(1)

Includes rights to acquire Common Stock or Preferred Stock of the Company under any shareholder rights plan then in effect, if applicable under the terms of any such plan.

(2)

The proposed maximum offering price per class of security will be determined from time to time by the Registrant in connection with the issuance by the Registrant of the securities registered hereunder and is not specified as to each class of security pursuant to Instruction 2.A.iii.b of the Instructions to the Calculation of Filing Fee Tables and related disclosure on Form S-3.

(3)

Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. No separate consideration will be received for shares of Common Stock that are issued upon conversion of Debt Securities or Preferred Stock or upon exercise of Common Stock Warrants registered hereunder. The aggregate maximum offering price of all securities issued pursuant to this registration statement will not exceed $250,000,000.

(4)

See Table 2, below.


Table 2: Fee Offset Claims and Sources

 

                       
   

Registrant

or Filer

Name

 

Form or

Filing

Type

 

File

Number

 

Initial

Filing

Date

 

Filing

Date

 

Fee

Offset

Claimed

 

Security

Type

Associated

with Fee

Offset

Claimed

 

Security

Title

Associated

with Fee

Offset Claimed

 

Unsold

Securities

Associated

with Fee

Offset

Claimed

 

Unsold

Aggregate

Offering

Amount

Associated

with Fee

Offset

Claimed

 

Fee Paid

with Fee

Offset

Source

 
Rule 457(p)
                       

Fee

Offset

Claims

 

Beyond Meat, Inc.

  424b(5)  

333-

271809

  May 10, 2023     $22,040   Equity  

Common

Stock, $0.0001

par value per

share

  (6)   $200,000,000  
                       

Fees

Offset

Sources

 

Beyond Meat, Inc.

  424b5(5)  

333-

271809

    May 10, 2023             $22,040

 

(5)

The Registrant has terminated or completed any offering that included the unsold securities in this Table 2 under the prior registration statement.

(6)

The Registrant previously filed a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement”), dated May 11, 2023 to a prospectus, dated May 10, 2023, constituting part of its registration statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-271809) relating to the offer and sale of up to $200,000,000 of its common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), for which a filing fee of $22,040 was paid based on the fee rate then in effect. All such shares of Common Stock remain unsold, resulting in an offset fee amount of $22,040. The Registrant hereby confirms that the offering that included such unsold securities has been terminated. Pursuant to Rule 457(p), the Registrant is offsetting $22,040 of the fees associated with this registration statement from the filing fee previously paid in connection with the Prospectus Supplement.