Description of Con Edison's Common Shares ($.10 par value)

The Common Shares ($0.10 par value per share) of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (“Con Edison”) are registered under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Con Edison has no other class of securities that is registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Con Edison’s authorized capital stock consists of 500,000,000 Common Shares ($0.10 par value per share) and 6,000,000 preferred shares ($1.00 par value per share) (“Preferred Shares”). The number of Common Shares outstanding as of the latest practicable date prior to the filing of Con Edison’s Annual Report on Form 10-K is shown on the cover page of the Form 10-K. No Preferred Shares have been issued. Con Edison’s Board of Directors is authorized from time to time to issue the Preferred Shares as Preferred Shares of any series and, in connection with the creation of each such series, to fix by the resolution or resolutions providing for the issuance thereof the number of shares of such series and the designations, relative rights, preferences and limitations (including dividend, liquidation and voting rights, preferences and limitations) of such series to the full extent permitted by the law of the State of New York, except that holders of the Preferred Shares shall not be entitled to more than one vote for each Preferred Share held. The Preferred Shares will have no voting rights, except as so fixed or as required by applicable law.

The following description of the Common Shares does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to Con Edison’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation, Con Edison’s By-Laws and applicable provisions of the New York Business Corporation Law.

Dividends. Subject to any prior rights of Preferred Shares (if any should become outstanding), Common Shares are entitled to dividends when, as and if declared by Con Edison’s Board of Directors, and Con Edison may purchase or otherwise acquire outstanding Common Shares out of funds legally available therefor.

Liquidation Rights. Subject to any prior rights of Preferred Shares (if any should become outstanding), upon liquidation of Con Edison, any remaining net assets of Con Edison are distributable pro rata to the holders of Common Shares.

 

Voting Rights. Holders of Common Shares are entitled to one vote for each share. There are no cumulative voting rights. Holders of Preferred Shares shall have no voting rights unless, in connection with the issuance of Preferred Shares, Con Edison’s Board of Directors provides voting rights (in which event the voting rights shall not be more than one vote for each Preferred Share held) or unless otherwise required by law.

No Preemptive Rights. Holders of the Common Shares are not entitled to preemptive rights.

Transfer Agent and Registrar. The transfer agent and registrar for the Common Shares is Computershare, P.O. Box 30170, College Station, TX ###-###-####.

Certain provisions of Con Edison’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation and by-laws and New York law may have the effect of encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or unilateral takeover proposals for Con Edison to negotiate with the Board of Directors and could thereby have an effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of Con Edison. These provisions include:

Authorized But Unissued Shares. As of July 31, 2018, 165,686,311 Common Shares and 6,000,000 Preferred Shares were authorized but unissued and 23,210,700 Common Shares were held by

Con Edison or Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. as treasury shares. Such shares could be issued without stockholder approval in transactions that might prevent or render more difficult or costly the completion of a takeover transaction. In this regard, Con Edison’s Restated Certificate of Incorporation grants the Board of Directors broad corporate power to establish the rights and preferences of preferred stock, one or more classes or series of which could be issued which would entitle holders to exercise rights which could have the effect of impeding a takeover, including rights to convert or exchange the stock into Common Shares or other securities or to demand redemption of the stock at a specified price under prescribed circumstances related to a change of control.

Advance Notice By-law. Under Con Edison’s by-laws, written notice of any proposal to be presented by any shareholder or any person to be nominated by any shareholder for election as a director must be received by Con Edison’s Secretary at Con Edison’s principal executive offices not less than 90 nor more than 120 days prior to the anniversary date of the previous year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that if no annual meeting was held in the previous year, or if the date of the applicable annual meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the anniversary date of the prior year’s annual meeting, such notice shall be received by the Secretary no more than ten days following the date Con Edison publicly announces the date of the applicable annual meeting.

Section 912. Con Edison is subject to Section 912 of the New York Business Corporation Law. Accordingly, Con Edison may not engage in a business combination, such as a merger, consolidation, recapitalization, asset sale or disposition of stock, with any “interested shareholder” for a period of five years from the date that the interested shareholder first became an interested shareholder unless:

 

 

 

An “interested shareholder” is any person that is the beneficial owner of 20% or more of the outstanding voting stock of Con Edison or is an affiliate or associate of Con Edison that at any time during the prior five years was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 20% or more of the then outstanding voting stock of Con Edison.