INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

This security is one of a duly authorized issue of unsecured debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness of the Company (hereinafter called the “Securities”), of the series hereinafter specified, all issued or to be issued under an indenture dated as of October 1, 1993, duly executed and delivered by the Company to The Bank of New York Mellon, a New York banking corporation, as trustee (hereinafter called the “Trustee”), as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture dated as of December 15, 1995, between the Company and the Trustee, as trustee (hereinafter called the “Indenture”), to which Indenture and all indentures supplemental thereto reference is hereby made for a description of the respective rights and duties thereunder of the Trustee, the Company and the holders of the Securities.  The Securities may be issued in one or more series, which different series may be issued in various aggregate principal amounts, may mature at different times, may bear interest at different rates, may have different conversion prices (if any), may be subject to different redemption provisions, may be subject to different sinking, purchase or analogous funds, may be subject to different covenants and Events of Default and may otherwise vary as in the Indenture provided.  This Security is one of a series designated as the 0.550% Notes due 2015 of the Company (hereinafter called the “Notes”) issued under the Indenture.

The Notes may be redeemed, as a whole or in part, at the Company’s option, at any time or from time to time, upon mailing a notice of such redemption not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days prior to the date fixed for redemption to holders of the Notes at their last registered addresses, all as provided in the Indenture, at a redemption price equal to the greater of: (i) 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued interest, if any, to the redemption date; or (ii) the sum of the present values of the Remaining Scheduled Payments, as defined below, discounted, on a semiannual basis, assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months, at the Treasury Rate, as defined below, plus 10 basis points, plus accrued interest to the date of redemption which has not been paid.

“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any redemption date for the Notes: (i) the yield, under the heading which represents the average for the immediately preceding week, appearing in the most recently published statistical release designated “H.15(519)” or any successor publication which is published weekly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and which establishes yields on actively traded United States Treasury securities adjusted to constant maturity under the caption “Treasury Constant Maturities,” for the maturity corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue; provided that if no maturity is within three months before or after the maturity date for the Notes, yields for the two published maturities most closely corresponding to the Comparable Treasury Issue will be determined and the Treasury Rate will be interpolated or extrapolated from those yields on a straight line basis rounding to the nearest month; or (ii) if that release, or any successor release, is not published during the week preceding the calculation date or does not contain such yields, the rate per annum equal to the semiannual equivalent yield to maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue, calculated using a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for that redemption date. The Treasury Rate will be calculated on the third business day preceding the redemption date.

“Comparable Treasury Issue” means the United States Treasury security selected by an Independent Investment Banker as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financial practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of such Notes.

“Independent Investment Banker” means one of the Reference Treasury Dealers, appointed by the Company.

“Comparable Treasury Price” means, with respect to any redemption date for the Notes: (i) the average of the Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for that redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest of such Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations; or (ii) if the Trustee obtains fewer than four Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, the average of all quotations obtained by the Trustee.

“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Trustee, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue, expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount, quoted in writing to the Trustee by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 3:30 p.m., New York City time on the third business day preceding such redemption date.

“Reference Treasury Dealer” means each of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, and their respective successors; provided, however, that if any of the foregoing shall cease to be a primary U.S. Government securities dealer (a “Primary Treasury Dealer”) the Company will substitute therefor another nationally recognized investment banking firm that is a Primary Treasury Dealer.

“Remaining Scheduled Payments” means, with respect to each Note to be redeemed, the remaining scheduled payments of the principal thereof and interest thereon that would be due after the related redemption date but for such redemption; provided, however, that, if such redemption date is not an interest payment date with respect to such Note, the amount of the next succeeding scheduled interest payment thereon will be deemed to be reduced by the amount of interest accrued thereon to such redemption date.

On and after the redemption date, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes or any portion thereof called for redemption, unless the Company defaults in the payment of the redemption price and accrued interest. On or before the redemption date, the Company will deposit with a Paying Agent, or the Trustee, money sufficient to pay the redemption price of and accrued interest on the Notes to be redeemed on such date. If less than all of the Notes are to be redeemed, the Notes to be redeemed shall be selected by the Trustee by such method as the Trustee shall deem fair and appropriate.

In case an Event of Default with respect to the Notes, as defined in the Indenture, shall have occurred and be continuing, the principal hereof together with interest accrued thereon, if any, may be declared, and upon such declaration shall become, due and payable, in the manner, with the effect and subject to the conditions provided in the Indenture.

The Indenture contains provisions permitting the Company and the Trustee, with the consent of the holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities at the time outstanding of all series to be affected (acting as one class), to execute supplemental indentures adding any provisions to or changing in any manner or eliminating any of the provisions of the Indenture or of any supplemental indenture or modifying in any manner the rights of the holders of the Securities of such series to be affected; provided, however, that no such supplemental indenture shall, among other things, (i) change the fixed maturity of the principal of, or any installment of principal of or interest on, or the currency of payment of, any Security; (ii) reduce the principal amount thereof or the rate of interest thereon or any premium payable upon the redemption thereof; (iii) impair the right to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment on or after the fixed maturity thereof (or, in the case of redemption, on or after the redemption date); (iv) reduce the percentage in principal amount of the outstanding Securities of any series, the consent of whose holders is required for any such supplemental indenture, or the consent of whose holders is required for any waiver (of compliance with certain provisions of the Indenture or certain defaults thereunder and their consequences) provided for in the Indenture; (v) change any obligation of the Company, with respect to outstanding Securities of a series, to maintain an office or agency in the places and for the purposes specified in the Indenture for such series; or (vi) modify any of the foregoing provisions or the provisions for the waiver of certain covenants and defaults, except to increase any applicable percentage of the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Securities the consent of the holders of which is required or to provide with respect to any particular series the right to condition the effectiveness of any supplemental indenture as to that series on the consent of the holders of a specified percentage of the aggregate principal amount of outstanding Securities of such series or to provide that certain other provisions of the Indenture cannot be modified or waived without the consent of the holder of each outstanding Security affected thereby.  It is also provided in the Indenture that the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the Securities of a series at the time outstanding may on behalf of the holders of all the Securities of such series waive any past default under the Indenture with respect to such series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest, if any, on any Security of such series or in respect of a covenant or provision which cannot be modified without the consent of the Holder of each outstanding Security of the series affected.  Any such consent or waiver by the holder of this Note shall be conclusive and binding upon such holder and upon all future holders and owners of this Note and any Notes which may be issued in exchange or substitution herefor, irrespective of whether or not any notation thereof is made upon this Note or such other Notes.

No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Note or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on this Note at the place, at the respective times, at the rate and in the coin or currency herein prescribed.

 

If the Company shall, in accordance with Section 901 of the Indenture, consolidate with or merge into any other corporation or convey or transfer its properties and assets substantially as an entirety to any Person, the successor shall succeed to, and be substituted for, the Person named as the “Company” on the face of this Note, all on the terms set forth in the Indenture.

 

The Notes are issuable in registered form without coupons in denominations of $100,000 and any integral multiple of $1,000.  In the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, but without the payment of any service charge, Notes may be exchanged for an equal aggregate principal amount of Notes of other authorized denominations at the office or agency of the Company maintained for such purpose in the Borough of Manhattan, The City and State of New York.

 

Upon due presentation for registration of transfer of this Note at the office or agency of the Company for such registration in the Borough of Manhattan, The City and State of New York, or any other office or agency designated by the Company for such purpose, a new Note or Notes of authorized denominations for an equal aggregate principal amount will be issued to the transferee in exchange herefor, subject to the limitations provided in the Indenture, without charge except for any tax or other governmental charge imposed in connection therewith.

 

Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer of this Note, the Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee may deem and treat the registered holder hereof as the absolute owner of this Note (whether or not this Note shall be overdue) for the purpose of receiving payment of the principal of, premium, if any, and interest on this Note, as herein provided, and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Trustee nor any agent of the Company or the Trustee shall be affected by any notice of the contrary.  All payments made to or upon the order of such registered holder shall, to the extent of the sum or sums paid, effectually satisfy and discharge liability for moneys payable on this Note.

 

No recourse for the payment of the principal of, premium, if any, or interest on this Note, or for any claim based hereon or otherwise in respect hereof, and no recourse under or upon any obligation, covenant or agreement of the Company in the Indenture or any indenture supplemental thereto or in any Note, or because of the creation of any indebtedness represented thereby, shall be had against any incorporator, stockholder, officer or director, as such, past, present or future, of the Company or of any successor corporation, either directly or through the Company or any successor corporation, whether by virtue of any constitution, statute or rule of law or by the enforcement of any assessment or penalty or otherwise, all such liability being, by the acceptance hereof and as part of the consideration for the issue hereof, expressly waived and released.