ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
of
HuntsmanClariant Ltd
Muttenz, · , 2017
Note:
This is a translation from the German version. The German version prevails in any case of discrepancy.
Section 1 Company Name, Registered Office, Object and Duration
Section 2 Share Capital
The registered shares are issued as uncertificated securities unless already issued in certificated form. The Company may convert at any time uncertificated securities into share certificates including global certificates, one kind of certificate into another one, or share certificates including global certificates into uncertificated securities.
The Company is at liberty to invalidate issued share certificates without any obligation to replace them. Each shareholder is entitled to request from the Company a confirmation stating its shares as registered in the share register.
Any transfer of shares issued as book-entry securities and any pledge thereon is regulated by the rules of the Swiss Federal Act on Book-Entry Securities. An assignment of book-entry securities is excluded.
The transfer restrictions foreseen in Art. 6 of these Articles of Association apply irrespectively of the form and manner in which the registered shares are certificated and of the rules applicable to their transfer.
Conversion rights shall be available for a maximum of 10 years and warrant rights for 5 years from the time of issue.
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Persons who do not expressly declare in the registration application that they are holding the shares on their own account (hereinafter: nominees) shall forthwith be entered on the share register as shareholders with voting rights up to a maximum of 2% of the currently issued share capital. Beyond that limit, registered shares of nominees shall only be entered as voting if the nominees in question confirm in writing that they are willing to disclose the names, addresses and shareholdings of the persons on whose account they hold 0.5% or more of the currently issued share capital. The 2% limit shall apply mutatis mutandis to nominees related by common capital, voting, management or otherwise.
After hearing the person concerned, the Board of Directors may delete entries from the share register retroactively from the date of entry, if such entries were based on false information from the acquirer, who shall immediately be informed of such deletion. The Board of Directors may delegate these powers.
Voting and related rights pertaining to a registered share may only be exercised vis-à-vis the Company by the shareholder or beneficiary, as the case may be. This shall not affect the provisions of Art. 7 concerning persons entitled by law to the voting right of a share which they do not own and of Art. 12 para. 2 concerning representation of one shareholder by another shareholder at the General Meeting.
The General Meeting may revoke shareholder subscription rights for important reasons as per Art. 652b, para. 2 of the Swiss Code of Obligations.
Section 3 Bodies of the Company
A. General Meeting
It shall be convened by the Board of Directors, which shall state the matters for discussion and motions to be put to it by the Board of Directors, shareholders, and, when necessary, by the Auditors, at least 20 days before the date of the meeting by a single announcement in the Company's organ of publication.
Minutes shall be taken of proceedings and signed by the Chairman and the minuting secretary.
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Any shareholder may be represented by the independent proxy at the General Meeting.
In the invitation to the General Meeting or in regulations or guidelines pursuant to the provisions of this Article, the Board of Directors shall issue procedural instructions concerning participation and representation at the General Meeting and set out the requirements with regard to powers of attorney and instructions (including powers of attorney and instructions issued via electronic means).
Unless the law or the Articles of Association prescribe otherwise, the General Meeting shall make its decisions and conduct its elections by majority of the votes cast, with abstentions and blank or invalid votes not counting toward the majority.
Unless the General Meeting has decided that votes should be cast in writing, the Chairman may decide whether votes are to be cast electronically, in writing, or by open consultation. Should the Chairman harbor doubts as to the result of the vote, he may order that the voting procedure be repeated. In such event the vote cast in the initial procedure shall be considered null and void.
Members of the Board of Directors, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, and the members of the Compensation Committee shall be elected in separate votes.
Extraordinary General Meetings shall also be summoned by decision of a General Meeting or when one or more shareholders who together represent at least one-tenth of the share capital submit a signed application requesting such a meeting and stating the matters for discussion and motions to be put to it.
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The Board of Directors may submit for approval by the General Meeting deviating or additional proposals relating to the same or different periods.
If the General Meeting refuses to approve a total compensation amount, the Board of Directors may submit a new motion at the same meeting. In the absence of any new motion or if the new motion is rejected, the Board of Directors must convene an extraordinary General Meeting within 9 months and submit new motions for approval. Alternatively, it can have the new compensation amounts approved retrospectively by the next Annual General Meeting.
The Company or companies controlled by it may pay or grant compensation prior to approval by the General Meeting subject to subsequent approval.
Each year, the Annual General Meeting holds a consultative vote (without binding effect) on the compensation report.
B. The Board of Directors
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General Meeting. Election or re-election is possible up to the age of 70 with the exception of all members of the Board of Directors who are appointed at the time of the consummation of the merger between Huntsman and the Company and who are 70 or older at such time (the "Grandfathered Directors"). The Grandfathered Directors can be re-elected irrespective of the age limit provided for in this provision for a maximum of 5 terms with the exception of the former Chairman of Huntsman, Mr. Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., who can be re-elected as member of the Board of Directors of the Company without any time or age constraints.
The Board of Directors shall appoint a Vice-Chairman and his Secretary, who need not be a Board member.
Attendance by at least half the members of the Board of Directors shall be required to form a quorum. If such an attendance quorum is not formed, the Board shall nevertheless be quorate, provided that all absent members subsequently give their written consent to the relevant motion. No attendance quorum shall be required for decision-making by the Board of Directors on a report concerning a capital increase and for decisions requiring public recording.
In accordance with the provisions set forth in these Articles of Association, the Board of Directors shall establish the procedure regarding the adoption of resolutions, including regarding the applicable quorum regarding decision making, in the Organizational Regulations. The Chairman shall have no casting vote.
Decisions may also be made by telephone conference, as well as by circular mailing, e-mail, and fax. The Organizational Regulations shall govern the details.
If the office of Chairman of the Board of Directors is vacant, if the Compensation Committee is not complete, or if the Company does not have an independent proxy, the Board of Directors shall appoint a replacement who will serve until the end of the next Annual General Meeting.
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With the exception of the role of independent proxy, the replacement must be a serving member of the Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors may, in addition, rule on all matters not assigned by these Articles of Association to the General Meeting.
The Compensation Committee has the following duties and responsibilities with regard to compensation matters concerning the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee:
The Board of Directors shall set out any further duties and responsibilities vested on the Compensation Committee in the Group Organizational Regulations.
C. Auditors
Section 4 Compensation and Related Provisions
A. Compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee
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compensation elements only. Total compensation shall take into account position and level of responsibility of the recipient.
Subject to approval by the General Meeting, members of the Board of Directors may receive remuneration in cash at the customary market rates for advisory services rendered outside their capacity as Board members for the benefit of the Company or for other Group companies.
Fixed compensation comprises the base salary and may consist of other compensation elements and benefits. Variable compensation may comprise short-term and long-term variable compensation elements. Total compensation shall take into account position and level of responsibility of the recipient.
Short-term variable compensation elements shall be governed by performance metrics that take into account the performance of the Company, the group and/or parts thereof, targets in relation to the market, other companies or comparable benchmarks and/or individual targets, and achievement of which is generally measured during a one-year period. The annual target amount of the short-term variable compensation elements shall be fixed as a multiple of the base salary; depending on achieved performance, the compensation may amount to a multiplier of the target amount.
Long-term variable compensation elements shall be governed by performance metrics that take into account strategic and/or financial objectives of the Company, the group and/or parts thereof and/or targets in relation to the market, other companies or comparable benchmarks and/or the Company's share price development, achievement of which is generally measured during a perennial period, as well as retention elements. The annual target amount of the long-term variable compensation elements shall be fixed as a multiple of the base salary; depending on achieved performance, the compensation may amount to a multiplier of the target amount. The Board of Directors or, to the extent delegated to it, the Compensation Committee shall determine vesting, exercise, restriction and forfeiture conditions and periods.
The Board of Directors or, to the extent delegated to it, the Compensation Committee shall determine the performance metrics, performance targets and target amounts of the short- and long-term variable compensation elements, as well as their achievement.
The Board of Directors or, to the extent delegated to it, the Compensation Committee may establish share-based plans (the "Share-Based Plans") which allow members of the Executive Committee to participate in Share-Based Plans or use parts of their compensation to purchase registered shares of the Company at a discount and, if applicable, receive matching shares from the Company based on the number of shares received or purchased under Share-Based Plans.
The Board of Directors or, to the extent delegated to it, the Compensation Committee shall determine grant, vesting, exercise, restriction and/or forfeiture conditions and periods. In particular, they may provide for continuation, acceleration or removal of vesting, exercise, restriction and forfeiture conditions and periods, for payment or grant of compensation based upon assumed target achievement, or for forfeiture, in each case in the event of
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pre-determined events such as a change-of-control or termination of an employment or mandate agreement.
The option of the extra overall compensation may be employed only if the total amount of compensation approved by the General Meeting for members of the Executive Committee for the year in question is insufficient to cover the remuneration of the new members. The General Meeting is not required to hold a separate vote on the additional amount used.
B. External Mandates and the Contracts on which Remuneration is based
Mandates held in several legal entities each operating under the same management or same beneficial owner are deemed to be a single mandate.
Subject to prior approval by the Board of Directors, members of the Executive Committee may hold no more than the following number of mandates each:
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Section 5 Financial Year and Appropriation of Balance-Sheet Profits
Section 6 Notices
Unless otherwise stipulated by law, notices and announcements by the Company to shareholders are made via publication in the Swiss Commercial Gazette (Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt).
Section 7 Contributions in kind and Acquisition of Assets
Muttenz, · , 2017
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