Item 5.03 | Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year. |
On October 10, 2022, the Board of Directors of Orthofix approved an amendment and restatement (the “Amendment and Restatement”) of the Bylaws of Orthofix (the “Bylaws”), which became effective immediately. Among other things, the Amendment and Restatement:
| • | | provides that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the exclusive forum for legal actions arising under the Securities Act of 1933 will be federal court; |
| • | | provides that if any action that is the subject of the forum provision in Section 10 of the Bylaws is filed in a court other than the courts in the State of Delaware, the stockholder filing the suit will be deemed to have consented to the personal jurisdiction of state and federal courts in the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought to enforce the forum provision; and |
| • | | confirms that the forum provision in Section 10 of the Bylaws will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or any claim for which the federal courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction. |
The foregoing description of the Amendment and Restatement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the text of the Amendment and Restatement, marked to show the October 10, 2022 changes, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 3.1 hereto and the terms of which are incorporated herein by reference.
On October 11, 2022, Orthofix and SeaSpine issued a joint press release announcing the execution of the Merger Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 99.1 hereto and incorporated herein by reference.
Forward-Looking Statement
This report contains statements which, to the extent they are not statements of historical or present fact, constitute “forward-looking statements” under the securities laws. From time to time, oral or written forward-looking statements may also be included in other information released to the public. These forward-looking statements are intended to provide Orthofix’s and SeaSpine’s respective management’s current expectations or plans for our future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “believe,” “expect,” “expectations,” “plans,” “strategy,” “prospects,” “estimate,” “project,” “target,” “anticipate,” “will,” “should,” “see,” “guidance,” “outlook,” “confident,” “on track” and other words of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements may include, among other things, statements relating to future sales, earnings, cash flow, results of operations, uses of cash, tax rates, R&D spend, other measures of financial performance, potential future plans, strategies or transactions, credit ratings and net indebtedness, other anticipated benefits of the proposed merger, including estimated synergies and cost savings resulting from the proposed merger, the expected timing of completion of the proposed merger, estimated costs associated with such transaction and other statements that are not historical facts. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation: (1) the effect of economic conditions in the industries and markets in which Orthofix and SeaSpine operate in the U.S. and globally and any changes therein, including financial market conditions, fluctuations in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates, and the levels of market demand in the health care segments in which our products are purchased and utilized; (2) challenges in the development, regulatory approval, commercialization, reimbursement, market acceptance, performance and realization of the anticipated benefits of new products of the combined company; (3) the scope, nature, impact or timing of the proposed merger, including among other things the integration of the businesses and realization of synergies and opportunities for growth and innovation and incurrence of related costs and expenses; (4) future levels of indebtedness, capital spending and research and development spending; (5) future availability of credit and factors that may affect such availability, including credit market conditions and our capital structure; (6) delays and disruption in delivery of materials and services from suppliers; (7) cost reduction efforts and restructuring costs and savings; (8) new business and investment opportunities; (9) the ability to realize the intended benefits of organizational changes; (10) the anticipated benefits of diversification and balance of operations across product lines, regions and industries; (11) the effect of changes in political conditions in the U.S. and other countries