Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 6, 2018

Contract Categories: Mergers & Acquisitions - Merger Agreements
EX-2.1 2 nxgn-ex21_32.htm EX-2.1 nxgn-ex21_32.htm

 

Exhibit 2.1

 

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

OF

NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC.,
(a California corporation)

WITH AND INTO

QUALITY SYSTEMS, INC.
(a California corporation)

This AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Agreement”) is entered into as of September 6, 2018 by and between Quality Systems, Inc., a California corporation (the “Surviving Corporation”), and NextGen Healthcare, Inc., a California corporation (the “Merging Corporation”).

WHEREAS, the Merging Corporation filed its articles of incorporation in the office of the

Secretary of State of the State of California on August 23, 2018;

WHEREAS, the Surviving Corporation filed its articles of incorporation in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of California on April 24, 1974;

WHEREAS, the Merging Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Surviving Corporation;

WHEREAS, the Merging Corporation desires to merge itself with and into the Surviving Corporation, and the Surviving Corporation desires that the Merging Corporation be merged with and into the Surviving Corporation, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Merging Corporation and the Board of Directors of the Surviving Corporation have each approved and authorized, respectively, by resolutions adopted thereby, this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, in accordance with the applicable provisions of the California Corporations Code (the “Code”).

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing premises and the undertakings herein contained and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as follows:

1.   The Merger. At the Effective Time (as defined below), the Merging Corporation shall be merged with and into the Surviving Corporation in accordance with Section 1110 of the Code. The Surviving Corporation shall survive the merger herein contemplated. The separate existence of the Merging Corporation shall cease to exist at the Effective Time in accordance with the provisions of the Code. The merger of the Merging Corporation with and into the Surviving Corporation shall herein be referred to as the “Merger.”

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2.   Merger Filings. At the Closing (as defined below), the parties shall cause the Merger to be effectuated by filing with the Secretary of State of the State of California a Certificate of Ownership, in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the “Certificate of Ownership”), with the date and the time of the acceptance of the Certificate of Ownership, or such later date and time as may be specified in the Certificate of Ownership, being the “Effective Time.”

3.   Closing. The closing with respect to the Merger (the “Closing”) shall take place at such time and place as the parties hereto may agree.

4.   Name Change and Articles of Incorporation. Upon the Effective Time of the Merger, the name of the Surviving Corporation shall be changed from “Quality Systems, Inc.” to “NextGen Healthcare, Inc.” pursuant to section 1110(d) of the California Corporations Code. The Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended, of the Surviving Corporation, attached hereto as Exhibit B, (the “Articles of Incorporation”), in effect immediately prior to the Effective Time of the Merger shall continue to be the Articles of Incorporation of the Surviving Corporation; except as provided by the Certificate of Ownership changing the Surviving Corporation’s name.

5.   Amendment to Bylaws. The title of the bylaws of the Surviving Corporation (the “Bylaws) shall be amended to read in full as follows:

AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS

for the regulation, except

as otherwise provided by statute or

the Articles of Incorporation

of

NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC.
(a California corporation)

Attached hereto as Exhibit C is a copy of the Bylaws of the Surviving Corporation as the same shall be in force and effect at the Effective Time, and said Bylaws shall continue to be the Bylaws of the Surviving Corporation until amended and changed pursuant to the provisions of the Code.

6.   Address. The business address of the Surviving Corporation shall be 18111 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 800, Irvine, California 92612.

7.   Merging Corporation Stock. At the Effective Time, all shares of stock of the Merging Corporation issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, be automatically canceled without consideration.

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8.   Further Assurances and Authority.

a.   From time to time, as and when required by the Surviving Corporation or by its successors and assigns, there shall be executed and delivered on behalf of the Merging Corporation such deeds and other instruments, and there shall be taken or caused to be taken by the Merging Corporation such further and other action, as shall be appropriate or necessary in order to vest or perfect in or to confirm of record or otherwise in the Surviving Corporation the title to and possession of all the property, interests, assets, rights, privileges, immunities, powers, franchises, and authority of the Merging Corporation, and otherwise to carry out the purposes of this Agreement, any respective officer of the Merging Corporation is fully authorized in the name and on behalf of the Merging Corporation or otherwise to take any and all such action and to execute and deliver any and all such deeds and other instruments.

b.   Any respective director or officer of the Surviving Corporation and each director and officer of the Merging Corporation is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed to do any and all acts and things, and to make, execute, deliver, file, and record any and all instruments, papers, and documents which shall be or become necessary, proper, or convenient to carry out or put into effect any of the provisions of this Agreement or of the Merger herein provided for.

9.   Transfer of Rights and Obligations. At the Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation shall succeed to all of the rights, privileges, debts, liabilities, powers, and property of the Merging Corporation in the manner of and as more fully set forth in the Code. Without limiting the foregoing, at the Effective Time, all property, rights, privileges, franchises, registrations, and other assets of every kind and description of the Merging Corporation shall be transferred to, vested in, and devolved upon the Surviving Corporation without further act or deed and all property, rights, and every other interest of the Merging Corporation and the Surviving Corporation shall be the property of the Surviving Corporation with all rights and privileges and other attributes of ownership as such property was held by the Merging Corporation and the Surviving Corporation, respectively. All rights of creditors of the Merging Corporation and all liens upon any property of the Merging Corporation shall be preserved unimpaired, and all debts, liabilities, and duties of the Merging Corporation, shall attach to the Surviving Corporation and may be enforced against it to the same extent as if said debts, liabilities, and duties had been incurred or contracted by it.

10.   Termination. At any time prior to the Effective Time, this Agreement may be terminated and the Merger may be abandoned by any one of the following constituent groups (i) the Board of Directors of the Merging Corporation, or (ii) the Board of Directors of the Surviving Corporation, notwithstanding the prior approval of this Agreement by each of the aforementioned constituent groups.

11.   Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

12.   Amendment. This Agreement may not be amended except by written instrument executed on behalf of each of the parties hereto.

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13.   Counterparts; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts and by different parties hereto in separate counterparts, with the same effect as if all parties had signed the same document. All such counterparts shall be deemed an original, shall be construed together, and shall constitute one and the same instrument. This Agreement shall become effective when each party hereto shall have received counterparts hereof signed by all of the other parties hereto.

14.   Entire Agreement. This Agreement (together with the documents and instruments delivered by the parties in connection with this Agreement) contains the entire agreement among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof and such Agreement supersedes and replaces all other prior agreements, written or oral, among the parties hereto with respect to the subject matter hereof and thereof.

[Signature Page Follows]

 

 

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Agreement is hereby executed on behalf of the Surviving Corporation and the Merging Corporation by their respective duly authorized representatives.

 

 

SURVIVING CORPORATION:

 

Quality Systems, Inc.

a California corporation

 

 

By:

/s/ James R. Arnold, Jr.

 

 

James R. Arnold, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

 

MERGING CORPORATION:

 

NextGen Healthcare, Inc.

a California corporation

 

 

By:

/s/ James R. Arnold, Jr.

 

 

James R. Arnold, Jr., Chief Financial Officer

 

 

 

 

[Signature Page to Agreement and Plan of Merger]

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EXHIBIT A

CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP

(see attached)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Exhibit A to Agreement and Plan of Merger]

 

 

 

 

[Exhibit A to Agreement and Plan of Merger]

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CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP

Rusty Frantz and Jeffrey D. Linton certify that:

1.   They are the President and Chief Executive Officer, and the Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, respectively, of Quality Systems, Inc., a California corporation (the “Corporation”).

2.   This Corporation owns 100% of the outstanding shares of NextGen Healthcare, Inc., a California corporation.

3.   The board of directors of this Corporation duly adopted the following resolutions:

RESOLVED, that this Corporation merge NextGen Healthcare, Inc., its wholly-owned subsidiary corporation, into itself and assume all its obligations pursuant to California Corporations Code section 1110; and

RESOLVED FURTHER, that Article First of the Corporation’s Restated Articles of Incorporation, as amended, shall be amended in its entirety to read as follows:

FIRST:  The name of this corporation is

NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC.

We further declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the matters set forth in this certificate are true and correct of our own knowledge.

 

Date:  September 6, 2018

 

 

 

 

/s/ Rusty Frantz

 

Rusty Frantz

 

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

 

 

/s/ Jeffrey D. Linton

 

Jeffrey D. Linton

 

Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

 

 

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EXHIBIT B

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

(see attached)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Exhibit B to Agreement and Plan of Merger]

 

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NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC.

 

RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION

Sheldon Razin and Janet Razin certify that:

1.   They are the duly elected and acting President and Secretary, respectively, of NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC., a California corporation.

2.   The Articles of Incorporation of this corporation are amended and restated to read in their entirety as follows:

"FIRST: The name of this corporation is

NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC.

SECOND: The purpose of the corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which a corporation may be organized under the General Corporation Law of California other than the banking business, the trust company business or the practice of a profession permitted to be incorporated by the California Corporations Code.

THIRD: This corporation is authorized to issue only one class of shares, to be called "Common Stock." The total number of such shares which this corporation shall have authority to issue is TWENTY MILLION (20,000,000) and each such share shall have a par value of one cent ($.01).

FOURTH: The corporation elects to be governed by all of the provisions of Division 1 of Title 1 of the California Corporations Code (as amended by act of the California Legislature, 1975-1976 regular session, effective January 1, 1977, as defined in Section 2300 of the California General Corporation Law) not otherwise applicable to the corporation under Chapter 23 of said Division 1.

FIFTH: (A) The liability of the directors of the corporation for monetary damages shall be eliminated to the fullest extent permissible under California law. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provision of this Article FIFTH by the shareholders of this corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of this corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.

(B) The corporation is authorized to provide indemnification of agents (as defined in Section 317 of the Corporations Code) for breach of duty to the corporation and its shareholders through bylaw provisions or through agreements with the agents, or both, in excess of the indemnification otherwise permitted by Section 317 of the Corporations Code, subject to the limits on such excess indemnification set forth in Section 204 of the Corporations Code. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provision of this Article FIFTH by the shareholders of this corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of any agent of this corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification."

3.   The foregoing amendment and restatement of the Articles of Incorporation of this corporation has been duly approved by the board of directors of the corporation.

 


 

4.   The foregoing amendment and restatement of the Articles of Incorporation of this corporation has been duly approved by the required vote of shareholders in accordance with Section 902 of the California Corporations Code. The total number of outstanding shares of the corporation is 4,184,116. The number of shares voting in favor of the amendment equaled or exceeded the vote required. The percentage vote required was more than 50%.

We further declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the matters set forth in this certificate are true and correct of our own knowledge.

Executed this 7th day of September 1989, at Tustin, California.

 

 

/S/ Sheldon Razin

 

Sheldon Razin, President

 

 

 

/S/ Janet Razin

 

Janet Razin, President

 

 

 

 


 

EXHIBIT C

BYLAWS

(see attached)

 

 

 

 


 

AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS

for the regulation, except

as otherwise provided by statute or

the Articles of Incorporation,

of

NEXTGEN HEALTHCARE, INC.
(a California corporation)

ARTICLE I OFFICES

Section 1.

PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICE.

The corporation’s principal executive office is fixed and located at 18111 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 600, Irvine, California 92612. The Board of Directors (herein called the “Board”) is granted full power and authority to change said principal executive office from one location to another. Any such change shall be noted on the Bylaws opposite this Section, or this Section may be amended to state the new location.

Section 2.

OTHER OFFICES.

Branch or subordinate offices may be established at any time by the Board at any place or places.

ARTICLE II SHAREHOLDERS

Section 1.

PLACE OF MEETINGS.

Meetings of shareholders shall be held either at the principal executive office of the corporation or at any other place within or without the State of California which may be designated either by the Board or by the written consent of all persons entitled to vote thereat, given either before or after the meeting and filed with the Secretary.

Section 2.

ANNUAL MEETING.

 

a)

The annual meeting of shareholders shall be held each year on a date and at a time designated by the Board. At each annual meeting, directors shall be elected and any other proper business may be transacted.

 

b)

At an annual meeting of shareholders, only such business shall be conducted, and only such proposals shall be acted upon, as shall have been brought before the annual meeting by or at the direction of a majority of the directors or by any shareholder of the corporation who is a shareholder of record at the time of giving of the notice provided for in this Section 2(b), who shall be entitled to vote at such meeting and who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2(b). For a proposal to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a shareholder, the shareholder must have given timely notice thereof in writing to the secretary of the corporation.

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To be timely, a shareholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the corporation not less than sixty (60) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the scheduled annual meeting, regardless of any postponements, deferrals or adjournments of that meeting to a later date; provided, however, that if less than seventy (70) days notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the scheduled annual meeting is given or made, notice by the shareholder, to be timely, must be so delivered or received not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the earlier of the day on which such notice of the date of the scheduled annual meeting was mailed or the day on which such public disclosure was made. A shareholder’s notice to the secretary shall set forth as to each matter the shareholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting (i) a brief description of the proposal desired to be brought before the annual meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting, (ii) the name and address, as they appear on the corporation’s books, of the shareholder proposing such business and any other shareholders known by such shareholder to be supporting such proposal, (iii) the class and number of shares of the corporation’s stock which are beneficially owned by the shareholder on the date of such shareholder notice and by any other shareholders known by such shareholder to be supporting such proposal on the date of such shareholder notice, and (iv) any financial interest of the shareholder in such proposal. The presiding officer of the annual meeting shall determine and declare at the annual meeting whether the shareholder proposal was made in accordance with the terms of this Section 2(b). Notwithstanding anything in the bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted at an annual meeting except in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2(b). If the presiding officer determines that a shareholder proposal was not made in accordance with the terms of this Section 2(b), he or she shall so declare at the annual meeting and any such proposal shall not be acted upon at the annual meeting. This provision shall not prevent the consideration and approval or disapproval at the annual meeting of reports of officers, directors and committees of the Board, but, in connection with such reports, no new business shall be acted upon at such annual meeting unless stated, filed and received as herein provided. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 2(b), a shareholder shall also comply with all applicable additional requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “SEC Requirements”) with respect to the matters set forth in this Section 2(b) and that this Section 2(b) is intended as an additional requirement to the SEC Requirements.

 

c)

Only persons who are nominated in accordance with the following procedures shall be eligible for election as directors. Nominations of persons for election to the Board may be made at a meeting of shareholders by or at the direction of the Board, by any nominating committee or person appointed by the Board or by any shareholder of the corporation entitled to vote for the election of directors at the meeting who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2(c). Such nominations, other than those made by or at the direction of the Board, shall be made pursuant to timely notice in writing to the secretary of the corporation. To be timely, a shareholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the principal executive offices of the corporation not less than sixty (60) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days prior to the scheduled annual meeting, regardless of any postponements, deferrals or adjournments of that meeting to a later date, provided, however, that if

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less than seventy (70) days notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the scheduled annual meeting is given or made, notice by the shareholder, to be timely, must be so delivered or received not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the earlier of the day on which such notice of the date of the scheduled annual meeting was mailed or the day on which such public disclosure was made. A shareholder’s notice to the secretary shall set forth (i) as to each person whom the shareholder proposes to nominate for election or re-election as a director, (A) the name, age, business address and residence address of the person, (B) the principal occupation or employment of the person (C) the class and number of shares of capital stock of the corporation which are beneficially owned by the person and (D) any other information relating to the person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations for proxies for election of directors pursuant to applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and (ii) as to the shareholder giving the notice (A) the name and address, as they appear on the corporation’s books, of the shareholder and (B) the class and number of shares of the corporation’s stock which are beneficially owned by the shareholder on the date of such shareholder notice. The corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as may reasonably be required by the corporation to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as director of the corporation. No person shall be eligible to serve as a director of the corporation unless nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2(c). The presiding officer of the annual meeting shall determine and declare at the annual meeting whether the nomination was made in accordance with the terms of the Section 2(c). If the presiding officer determines that a nomination was not made in accordance with the terms of this Section 2(c), he or she shall so declare at the annual meeting and any such defective nomination shall be disregarded. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 2(c), a shareholder shall also comply with all applicable additional provisions of the SEC Requirements with respect to the matters set forth in the Section 2(c) and that this Section 2(c) is intended as an additional requirement to the SEC Requirements.

Section 3.

SPECIAL MEETING.

 

a)

A special meeting of the shareholders may be called at any time by the Board, or by the chairman of the board, or by the president, or by one or more shareholders holding shares in the aggregate entitled to cast not less than ten percent (10%) of the votes at that meeting.

 

b)

For a special meeting of shareholders to be properly called by any person or persons other than the Board, the request must be in writing, specifying the date and time of such meeting and the information set forth in Section 3(c) hereof, and must be delivered to, or mailed and received by, the chairman of the board, the president or the secretary of the corporation not less than thirty-five (35) nor more than sixty (60) days prior to the date requested for such meeting. The officer receiving the request shall cause notice to be promptly given to the shareholders entitled to vote, in accordance with the provisions of Sections 4 and 5 of this Article II, that a meeting will be held at the time requested by the person or persons calling the meeting. If the notice is not given within twenty (20) days after receipt of the request, the person or persons requesting the meeting may give the notice. Nothing contained in this paragraph of this Section 3 shall be construed as limiting, fixing or affecting the time when a meeting of shareholders called by action of the Board may be held.

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c)

Any request for a special meeting submitted by a shareholder pursuant to Section 3(b) hereof shall set forth as to each matter the shareholder proposes to bring before the special meeting (i) a brief description of the proposal desired to be brought before the special meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the special meeting, (ii) the name and address, as they appear on the corporation’s books, of the shareholder proposing such business and any other shareholders known by such shareholder to be supporting such proposal, (iii) the class and number of shares of the corporation’s stock which are beneficially owned by the shareholder on the date of such shareholder request and by any other shareholders known by such shareholder to be supporting such proposal on the date of such shareholder request, and (iv) any financial interest of the shareholder in such proposal. In addition to whatever other limitations are imposed by applicable law, no person may be nominated for election to the Board by any of the person or persons making a request for a special meeting pursuant to Section 3(b) hereof unless the request sets forth as to each person whom the requesting person or persons propose to nominate for election as a director, (A) the name, age, business address and residence address of the person, (B) the principal occupation or employment of the person, (C) the class and number of shares of capital stock of the corporation which are beneficially owned by the person and (D) any other information relating to the person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations for proxies for election of directors pursuant to applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Section 4.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL OR SPECIAL MEETINGS.

Written notice of each annual or special meeting of shareholders shall be given not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each shareholder entitled to vote thereat. Such notice shall state the place, date and hour of the meeting and (a) in the case of a special meeting, the general nature of the business to be transacted, and no other business may be transacted, or (b) in the case of the annual meeting, those matters which the Board, at the time of the mailing of the notice, intends to present for action by the shareholders, but, subject to the provisions of applicable law, any proper matter may be presented at the meeting for such action. The notice of any meeting at which directors are to be elected shall include the names of nominees intended at the time of the notice to be presented by the Board for election.

Notice of a shareholders’ meeting shall be given either personally or by mail or by other means of written communication, addressed to the shareholder at the address of such shareholder appearing on the books of the corporation or given by the shareholder to the corporation for the purpose of notice, or, if no such address appears or is given, at the place where the principal executive office of the corporation is located or by publication at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the principal executive office is located. Notice by mail shall be deemed to have been given at the time a written notice is deposited in the United States mails, postage prepaid. Any other written notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time it is personally delivered to the recipient or is delivered to a common carrier for transmission, or actually transmitted by the person giving the notice by electronic means, to the recipient.

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Section 5.

QUORUM.

A majority of the shares entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of shareholders. If a quorum is present, the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares represented and voting at the meeting (which shares voting affirmatively also constitute at least a majority of the required quorum) shall be the act of the shareholders, unless the vote of a greater number or voting by classes is required by law or by the Articles of Incorporation, except as provided in the following sentence. The shareholders present at a duly called or held meeting at which a quorum is present may continue to do business until adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal of enough shareholders to leave less than a quorum, if any action taken (other than adjournment) is approved by at least a majority of the shares required to constitute a quorum.

Section 6.

ADJOURNED MEETINGS AND NOTICE THEREOF.

Any shareholders’ meeting, whether or not a quorum is present, may be adjourned from time to time by the vote of a majority of the shares represented either in person or by proxy, but in the absence of a quorum (except as provided in Section 5 of this Article) no other business may be transacted at such meeting.

It shall not be necessary to give any notice of the time and place of the adjourned meeting or of the business to be transacted thereat, other than by announcement at the meeting at which such adjournment is taken; provided, however, when any shareholders’ meeting is adjourned for more than 45 days or, if after adjournment a new record date is fixed for the adjourned meeting, notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original meeting.

Section 7.

VOTING.

The shareholders entitled to notice of any meeting or to vote at any such meeting shall be only persons in whose name shares stand on the stock records of the corporation on the record date determined in accordance with Section 8 of this Article.

Subject to the following sentence and to the provisions of Section 708 of the California General Corporation Law, every shareholder entitled to vote at any election of directors may cumulate such shareholder’s votes and give one candidate a number of votes equal to the number of directors to be elected multiplied by the number of votes to which the shareholder’s shares are entitled, or distribute the shareholder’s votes on the same principle among as many candidates as the shareholder thinks fit. No shareholder shall be entitled to cumulate votes for any candidate or candidates pursuant to the preceding sentence unless such candidate or candidates’ names have been placed in nomination prior to the voting and the shareholder has given notice at the meeting prior to the voting of the shareholder’s intention to cumulate the shareholder’s votes. If any one shareholder has given such notice, all shareholders may cumulate their votes for candidates in nomination.

Elections need not be by ballot; provided, however, that all elections for directors must be by ballot upon demand made by a shareholder at the meeting and before the voting begins.

In any election of directors, the candidates receiving the highest number of votes of the shares entitled to be voted for them up to the number of directors to be elected by such shares are elected.

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Voting shall in all cases be subject to the provisions of Chapter 7 of the California General Corporation Law, and to the following provisions:

 

a)

Subject to clause (g), shares held by an administrator, executor, guardian, conservator or custodian may be voted by such holder either in person or by proxy, without a transfer of such shares into the holder’s name; and shares standing in the name of a trustee may be voted by the trustee, either in person or by proxy, but no trustee shall be entitled to vote shares held by such trustee without a transfer of such shares into the trustee’s name.

 

b)

Shares standing in the name of a receiver may be voted by such receiver, and shares held by or under the control of a receiver may be voted by such a receiver without the transfer thereof into the receiver’s name if authority to do so is contained in the order of the court by which such receiver was appointed.

 

c)

Subject to the provisions of Section 705 of the California General Corporation Law and except where otherwise agreed in writing between the parties, a shareholder whose shares are pledged shall be entitled to vote such shares until the shares have been transferred into the name of the pledgee, and thereafter the pledgee shall be entitled to vote the shares so transferred.

 

d)

Shares standing in the name of a minor may be voted and the corporation may treat all rights incident thereto as exercisable by the minor, in person or by proxy, whether or not the corporation has notice, actual or constructive, of the nonage, unless a guardian of the minor’s property has been appointed and written notice of such appointment given to the corporation.

 

e)

Shares standing in the name of another corporation, domestic or foreign, may be voted by such officer, agent or proxyholder as the bylaws of such other corporation may prescribe or, in the absence of such provision, as the Board of Directors of such other corporation may determine or, in the absence of such determination, by the chairman of the board, president or any vice president of such other corporation, or by any other person authorized to do so by the chairman of the board, president or any vice president of such other corporation. Shares which are purported to be voted or any proxy purported to be executed in the name of a corporation (whether or not any title of the person signing is indicated) shall be presumed to be voted or the proxy executed in accordance with the provisions of this clause, unless the contrary is shown.

 

f)

Shares of the corporation owned by any subsidiary shall not be entitled to vote on any matter.

 

g)

Shares held by the corporation in a fiduciary capacity, and shares of the issuing corporation held in a fiduciary capacity by any subsidiary, shall not be entitled to vote on any matter, except to the extent that the settlor or beneficial owner possesses and exercises a right to vote or to give the corporation binding instructions as to how to vote such shares.

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If shares stand of record in the names of two or more persons, whether fiduciaries, members of a partnership, joint tenants, tenants in common, husband and wife as community property, tenants by the entirety, voting trustees, persons entitled to vote under a shareholder voting agreement or otherwise, or if two or more persons (including proxyholders) have the same fiduciary relationship respecting the same shares, unless the secretary of the corporation is given written notice to the contrary and is furnished with a copy of the instrument or order appointing them or creating the relationship wherein it is so provided, their acts with respect to voting shall have the following effect:

 

i.

If only one votes, such act binds all;

 

ii.

If more than one vote, the act of the majority so voting binds all;

 

iii.

If more than one vote, but the vote is evenly split on any particular matter, each faction may vote the securities in question proportionately.

If the instrument so filed or the registration of the shares shows that any such tenancy is held in unequal interests, a majority or even split for the purpose of this section shall be a majority or even split in interest.

Section 8.

RECORD DATE.

The Board may fix, in advance, a record date for the determination of the shareholders entitled to notice of any meeting or to vote or entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution, or any allotment or rights, or to exercise rights in respect of any other lawful action. The record date so fixed shall be not more than 60 days nor less than 10 days prior to the date of the meeting nor more than 60 days prior to any other action. When a record date is so fixed, only shareholders of record on that date are entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting or to receive the dividend, distribution, or allotment of rights, or to exercise of the rights, as the case may be, notwithstanding any transfer of shares on the books of the corporation after the record date. A determination of shareholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of shareholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting unless the Board fixes a new record date for the adjourned meeting. The Board shall fix a new record date if the meeting is adjourned for more than 45 days.

If no record date is fixed by the Board, the record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of shareholders shall be at the close of business on the business day next preceding the day on which notice is given or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the business day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. The record date for determining shareholders for any purpose other than set forth in this Section 8 or Section 10 of this Article shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board adopts the resolution relating thereto, or the sixtieth (60th) day prior to the date of such other action, whichever is later.

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Section 9.

CONSENT OF ABSENTEES.

The transactions of any meeting of shareholders, however called and noticed, and wherever held, are as valid as though had at a meeting duly held after regular call and notice, if a quorum is present either in person or by proxy, and if, either before or after the meeting, each of the persons entitled to vote, not present in person or by proxy, signs a written waiver of notice, or a consent to the holding of the meeting or an approval of the minutes thereof. All such waivers, consents or approvals shall be filed with the corporate records or made a part of the minutes of the meeting. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of and presence at such meeting, except when the person objects, at the beginning of the meeting, to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened and except that attendance at a meeting is not a waiver of any right to object to the consideration of matters required by the California General Corporation Law to be included in the notice but not so included, if such objection is expressly made at the meeting. Neither the business to be transacted at nor the purpose of any regular or special meeting of shareholders need be specified in any written waiver of notice, consent to the holding of the meeting or approval of the minutes thereof, except as provided in Section 601(f) of the California General Corporation Law.

Section 10.

ACTION WITHOUT MEETING.

Subject to Section 603 of the California General Corporation Law, any action which, under any provision of the California General Corporation Law, may be taken at any annual or special meeting of shareholders, may be taken without a meeting and without prior notice if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of outstanding shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote thereon were present and voted. Unless a record date for voting purposes be fixed as provided in Section 8 of this Article, the record date for determining shareholders entitled to give consent pursuant to this Section 10, when no prior action by the Board has been taken, shall be the day on which the first written consent is given.

Section 11.

PROXIES.

Every person entitled to vote shares has the right to do so either in person or by one or more persons authorized by a written proxy executed by such shareholder and filed with the Secretary. Any proxy duly executed is not revoked and continues in full force and effect until revoked by the person executing it prior to the vote pursuant thereto. Such revocation may be effected either (i) by a writing delivered to the Secretary of the Corporation stating that the proxy is revoked, (ii) by a subsequent proxy executed by the person executing the prior proxy and presented to the meeting, or (iii) by attendance at the meeting and voting in person by the person executing the proxy; provided, however, that no proxy shall be valid after the expiration of eleven months from the date of its execution unless otherwise provided in the proxy.

Section 12.

INSPECTORS OF ELECTION.

In advance of any meeting of shareholders, the Board may appoint inspectors of election to act at such meeting and any adjournment thereof. If inspectors of election be not so appointed, or if any persons so appointed fail to appear or refuse to act, the chairman of any such meeting may, and on the request of any shareholder or shareholder’s proxy shall, make such appointment at the meeting. The number of inspectors shall be either one or three. If appointed at a meeting on the request of one or more shareholders or proxies, the majority of shares present shall determine whether one or three inspectors are to be appointed.

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The duties of such inspectors shall be as prescribed by Section 707(b) of the California General Corporation Law and shall include: determining the number of shares outstanding and the voting power of each; determining the shares represented at the meeting; determining the existence of a quorum; determining the authenticity, validity, and effect of proxies; receiving votes, ballots or consents; hearing and determining all challenges and questions in any way arising in connection with the right to vote; counting and tabulating all votes or consents; determining when the polls shall close; determining the result; and doing such acts as may be proper to conduct the election or vote with fairness to all shareholders. If there are three inspectors of election, the decision, act or certificate of a majority is effective in all respects as the decision, act or certificate of all.

Section 13.

CONDUCT OF MEETING.

The President shall preside as chairman at all meetings of the shareholders. The chairman shall conduct each such meeting in a businesslike and fair manner, but shall not be obligated to follow any technical, formal or parliamentary rules or principles of procedure. The chairman’s rulings on procedural matters shall be conclusive and binding on all shareholders, unless at the time of a ruling a request for a vote is made to the shareholders holding shares entitled to vote and which are represented in person or by proxy at the meeting, in which case the decision of a majority of such shares shall be conclusive and binding on all shareholders. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the chairman shall have all of the powers usually vested in the chairman of a meeting of shareholders.

ARTICLE III DIRECTORS

Section 1.

POWERS.

Subject to limitations of the Articles of Incorporation, of these Bylaws and of the California General Corporation Law relating to action required to be approved by the shareholders or by the outstanding shares, the business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed and all corporate powers shall be exercised by or under the direction of the Board. The Board may delegate the management of the day-to-day operation of the business of the corporation to a management company or other person provided that the business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed and all corporate powers shall be exercised under the ultimate direction of the Board. Without prejudice to such general powers, but subject to the same limitations, it is hereby expressly declared that the Board shall have the following powers in addition to the other powers enumerated in these Bylaws:

 

a.

To select and remove all the other officers, agents and employees of the corporation, prescribe the powers and duties for them as may not be inconsistent with law, the Articles of Incorporation or these Bylaws, fix their compensation and require from them security for faithful service.

 

b.

To conduct, manage and control the affairs and business of the corporation and to make such rules and regulations therefor not inconsistent with law, the Articles of Incorporation or these Bylaws, as the Board may deem best.

 

c.

To adopt, make and use a corporate seal, and to prescribe the forms of certificates of stock, and to alter the form of such seal and of such certificates from time to time as they may deem best.

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d.

To authorize the issuance of shares of stock of the corporation from time to time, upon such terms and for such consideration as may be lawful.

 

e.

To borrow money and incur indebtedness for the purposes of the corporation, and to cause to be executed and delivered therefor, in the corporate name, promissory notes, bonds, debentures, deeds of trust, mortgages, pledges, hypothecations or other evidences of debt and securities therefor.

Section 2.

NUMBER OF DIRECTORS.

The authorized number of directors shall be not less than five (5) nor more than nine (9) until changed by amendment of the Articles of Incorporation or by a Bylaw duly adopted by approval of the outstanding shares. The exact number of directors shall be fixed, within the limits specified, by amendment of the next sentence duly adopted either by the Board or the shareholders. The exact number of directors shall be nine (9) until changed as provided in this Section 2.

Section 3.

ELECTION AND TERM OF OFFICE.

The directors shall be elected at each annual meeting of the shareholders, but if any such meeting is not held or the directors are not elected thereat, the directors may be elected at any special meetings of shareholders held for that purpose. Each director shall hold office until the next annual meeting and until a successor had been elected and qualified.

Section 4.

VACANCIES.

Any director may resign effective upon giving written notice to the Chairman of the Board, the President, the Secretary or the Board, unless the notice specifies a later time for the effectiveness of such resignation. If the resignation is effective at a future time, a successor may be elected to take office when the resignation becomes effective.

Vacancies in the Board, except those existing as a result of a removal of a director, may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors, though less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director, and each director so elected shall hold office until the next annual meeting and until such director’s successor has been elected and qualified.

A vacancy or vacancies in the Board shall be deemed to exist in case of the death, resignation or removal of any director, or if the authorized number of directors be increased, or if the shareholders fail, at any annual or special meeting of shareholders at which any director or directors are elected, to elect the full authorized number of directors to be voted for at that meeting.

The Board may declare vacant the office of a director who has been declared of unsound mind by an order of court or convicted of a felony.

The shareholders may elect a director or directors at any time to fill any vacancy or vacancies not filled by the directors. Any such election by written consent other than to fill a vacancy created by removal requires the consent of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote. Any such election by written consent to fill a vacancy created by removal requires unanimous consent.

No reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of removing any director prior to the expiration of the director’s term of office.

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Section 5.

PLACE OF MEETING.

Regular or special meetings of the Board shall be held at any place within or without the State of California which have been designated from time to time by the Board. In the absence of such designation, regular meetings shall be held at the principal executive office of the corporation.

Section 6.

REGULAR MEETINGS.

Immediately following each annual meeting of shareholders the Board shall hold a regular meeting for the purpose of organization, election of officers and the transaction of other business.

Other regular meetings of the Board shall be held without call on such dates and at such times as may be fixed by the Board. Call and notice of all regular meetings of the Board are hereby dispensed with.

Section 7.

SPECIAL MEETINGS.

Special meetings of the Board for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the Chairman of the Board, the President, any Vice President, the Secretary or by any two directors.

Special meetings of the Board shall be held upon four days written notice or forty-eight hours notice given personally or by telephone, including a voice messaging system or other system or technology designed to record and communicate messages, telegraph, facsimile, electronic mail, or other electronic means. Any such notice shall be addressed or delivered to each director at such director’s address as it is shown upon the records of the corporation or as may have been given to the corporation by the director for purposes of notice or, if such address is not shown on such records or is not readily ascertainable, at the place in which the meetings of the directors are regularly held.

Notice by mail shall be deemed to have been given at the time a written notice is deposited in the United States mails, postage prepaid. Any other written notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time it is personally delivered to the recipient or is delivered to a common carrier for transmission, or actually transmitted by the person giving the notice by electronic means, to the recipient. Oral notice shall be deemed to have been given at the time it is communicated, in person or by telephone or wireless, to the recipient or to a person at the office of the recipient who the person giving the notice has reason to believe will promptly communicate it to the recipient, or when communicated to a voice messaging system or other system or technology designed to record and communicate messages where the person giving the notice has reason to believe the recipient will promptly receive the message.

Section 8.

QUORUM.

A majority of the authorized number of directors constitutes a quorum of the Board for the transaction of business, except to adjourn as provided in Section 11 of this Article. Every act or decision done or made by a majority of the directors present at a meeting duly held at which a quorum is present shall be regarded as the act of the Board, unless a greater number be required by law or by the Articles of Incorporation, except as provided in the next sentence. A meeting at which a quorum is initially present may continue to transact business notwithstanding the withdrawal of directors, if any action taken is approved by at least a majority of the required quorum for such meeting.

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Section 9.

PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS BY CONFERENCE TELEPHONE.

Members of the Board may participate in a meeting through use of conference telephone, electronic video screen communication, or other communications equipment. Participation in a meeting through use of conference telephone constitutes presence in person at that meeting as long as all members participating in the meeting are able to hear one another. Participation in the meeting through the use of electronic video screen communication or other communications equipment, other than conference telephone, constitutes presence in person at that meeting if all of the following apply:

 

a)

Each member participating in the meeting can communicate with all of the other members concurrently.

 

b)

Each member is provided the means of participating in all matters before the board, including, without limitation, the capacity to propose, or to interpose an objection to, a specific action to be taken by the corporation.

 

c)

The corporation adopts and implements some means of verifying both of the following: (i) A person participating in the meeting is a director or other person entitled to participate in the Board meeting; and (ii) All actions of, or votes by, the Board are taken or cast only by the directors and not by persons who are not directors.

Section 10.

WAIVER OF NOTICE.

Notice of a meeting need not be given to any director who signs a waiver of notice or a consent to holding the meeting or an approval of the minutes thereof, whether before or after the meeting, or who attends the meeting without protesting, prior thereto or at its commencement, the lack of notice to such director. All such waivers, consents and approvals shall be filed with the corporate records or made a part of the minutes of the meeting.

Section 11.

ADJOURNMENT.

A majority of the directors present, whether or not a quorum is present, may adjourn any directors’ meeting to another time and place. Notice of the time and place of holding an adjourned meeting need not be given to absent directors if the time and place be fixed at the meeting adjourned, except as provided in the next sentence. If the meeting is adjourned for more than 24 hours, notice of any adjournment to another time or place shall be given prior to the time of the adjourned meeting to the directors who were not present at the time of the adjournment.

Section 12.

FEES AND COMPENSATION.

Directors and members of committee may receive such compensation, if any, for their services, and such reimbursement for expenses, as may be fixed or determined by the Board.

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Section 13.

ACTION WITHOUT MEETING.

Any action required or permitted to be taken by the Board may be taken without a meeting if all members of the Board shall individually or collectively consent in writing to such action. Such consent or consents shall have the same effect as a unanimous vote of the Board and shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board.

Section 14.

RIGHTS OF INSPECTION.

Every director shall have the absolute right at any reasonable time to inspect and copy all books, records and documents of every kind and to inspect the physical properties of the corporation and also of its subsidiary corporations, domestic or foreign. Such inspection by a director may be made in person or by agent or attorney and includes the right to copy and obtain extracts.

Section 15.

COMMITTEES.

The Board may appoint one or more committees, each consisting of two or more directors, and delegate to such committees any of the authority of the Board except with respect to:

 

a)

The approval of any action for which the General Corporation Law also requires shareholders’ approval or approval of the outstanding shares;

 

b)

The filling of vacancies in the Board or on any committee;

 

c)

The fixing of compensation of the directors for serving on the Board or on any committee;

 

d)

The amendment or repeal of bylaws or the adoption of new bylaws;

 

e)

The amendment or repeal of any resolution of the Board which by its express terms is not so amendable or repealable;

 

f)

A distribution to the shareholders of the corporation except at a rate or in a periodic amount or within a price range determined by the Board; or

 

g)

The appointment of other committee of the Board or the members thereof.

Any such committee must be designated, and the members or alternate members thereof appointed, by resolution adopted by a majority of the authorized number of directors and any such committee may be designated an Executive Committee or by such other name as the Board shall specify. Alternate members of a committee may replace any absent member at any meeting of the committee. The Board shall have the power to prescribe the manner in which proceedings of any such committee shall be conducted. In the absence of any such prescription, such committee shall have the power to prescribe the manner in which its proceedings shall be conducted. Unless the Board or such committee shall otherwise provide, the regular and special meetings and other actions of any such committee shall be governed by the provisions of this Article applicable to meetings and actions of the Board. Minutes shall be kept of each meeting of each committee.

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ARTICLE IV OFFICERS

Section 1.

OFFICERS.

The officers of the corporation shall be a President, a Secretary and a Chief Financial Officer. The corporation may also have, at the discretion of the Board, a Chairman of the Board, one or more Vice Presidents, one or more Assistant Secretaries, one or more Assistant Treasurers, and such other officers as may be elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 of this Article; provided, however, that the Chairman of the Board shall not be an officer of the Corporation unless affirmatively and specifically authorized to act in such capacity by the Board.

Section 2.

ELECTION.

The officers of the corporation, except such officers as may be elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of Section 3 or Section 5 of this Article, shall be chosen annually by, and shall serve at the pleasure of, the Board, and shall hold their respective offices until their resignation, removal, or other disqualification from service, or until their respective successors shall be elected.

Section 3.

SUBORDINATE OFFICERS.

The Board may elect, and may empower the President to appoint, such other officers as the business of the corporation may require, each of whom shall hold office for such period, have such authority and perform such duties as are provided in these Bylaws or as the Board may from time to time determine.

Section 4.

REMOVAL AND RESIGNATION.

Any officer may be removed, either with or without cause, by the Board at any time or, except in the case of an officer chosen by the Board, by any officer upon whom such power of removal may be conferred by the Board. Any such removal shall be without prejudice to the rights, if any, of the officer under any contract of employment of the officer.

Any officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the corporation, but without prejudice to the rights, if any, of the corporation under any contract to which the officer is a party. Any such resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of such notice or at any later time specified therein and, unless otherwise specified therein, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective.

Section 5.

VACANCIES.

A vacancy in any office because of death, resignation, removal, disqualification or any other cause shall be filled in the manner prescribed in these Bylaws for regular election or appointment to such office.

Section 6.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD.

The Chairman of the Board, if there shall be such an officer, shall, if present, preside at all meetings of the Board and exercise and perform such other powers and duties as may be from time to time assigned by the Board.

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Section 7.

PRESIDENT.

Subject to such powers, if any, as may be given by the Board to the Chairman of the Board, if there be such an officer, the President is the general manager and chief executive officer of the corporation and has, subject to the control of the Board, general supervision, direction and control of the business and officers of the corporation. The President shall preside at all meetings of the shareholders and, in the absence of the Chairman of the Board, or if there be none, at all meetings of the Board. The President has the general powers and duties of management usually vested in the office of president and general manager of a corporation and such other powers and duties as may be prescribed by the Board.

Section 8.

VICE PRESIDENTS.

In the absence or disability of the President, the Vice Presidents in order of their rank as fixed by the Board or, if not ranked, the Vice President designated by the Board, shall perform all the duties of the President and, when so acting, shall have all the powers of, and be subject to all the restrictions upon, the President. The Vice Presidents shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as from time to time may be prescribed for them respectively by the Board.

Section 9.

SECRETARY.

The Secretary shall keep or cause to be kept, at the principal executive office and such other place as the Board may order, a book of minutes of all meetings of shareholders, the Board and its committees, with the time and place of holding, whether regular or special, and if special, how authorized, the notice thereof given, the names of those present at Board and committee meetings, the number of shares present or represented at shareholders’ meetings, and the proceedings thereof. The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept, a copy of the Bylaws of the corporation at the principal executive office or business office in accordance with Section 213 of the California General Corporation Law.

The Secretary shall keep, or cause to be kept, at the principal executive office or at the office of the corporation’s transfer agent or registrar, if one be appointed, a share register, or a duplicate share register, showing the names of the shareholders and their addresses, the number and classes of shares held by each, the number and date of certificates issued for the same, and the number and date of cancellation of every certificate surrendered for cancellation.

The Secretary shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the shareholders and of the Board and any committees thereof required by these Bylaws or by law to be given, shall keep the seal of the corporation in safe custody, and shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board.

Section 10.

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER.

The Chief Financial Officer of the corporation shall keep and maintain, or cause to be kept and maintained, adequate and correct accounts of the properties and business transactions of the corporation, and shall send or cause to be sent to the shareholders of the corporation such financial statements and reports as are by law or these Bylaws required to be sent to them. The books of account shall at all times be open to inspection by any director.

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The Chief Financial Officer shall deposit all moneys and other valuables in the name and to the credit of the corporation with such depositaries as may be designated by the Board. The Chief Financial Officer shall disburse the funds of the corporation as may be ordered by the Board, shall render to the President and the directors, whenever they request it, an account of all transactions as Chief Financial Officer and of the financial condition of the corporation, and shall have such other powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board.

ARTICLE V OTHER PROVISIONS

Section 1.

INSPECTION OF CORPORATE RECORDS.

 

a)

A shareholder or shareholders holding at least five percent in the aggregate of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation or who hold at least one percent of such voting shares and have filed a Schedule 14A with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission shall have an absolute right to do either or both of the following:

 

i.

Inspect and copy the record of shareholders’ names and addresses and shareholdings during usual business hours upon five business days’ prior written demand upon the corporation; or

 

ii.

Obtain from the transfer agent, if any, for the corporation, upon written demand and upon the tender of its usual charges for such a list (the amount of which charges shall be stated to the shareholder by the transfer agent upon request), a list of the shareholders’ names and addresses who are entitled to vote for the election of directors and their shareholdings, as of the most recent record date for which it has been compiled or as of a date specified by the shareholder subsequent to the date of demand. The list shall be made available on or before the later of five business days after the demand is received or the date specified therein as the date as of which the list is to be compiled.

 

b)

The record of shareholders shall also be open to inspection and copying by any shareholder or holder of a voting trust certificate at any time during usual business hours upon written demand on the corporation, for a purpose reasonably related to such holder’s interest as a shareholder or holder of a voting trust certificate.

 

c)

The accounting books and records and minutes of proceedings of the shareholders and the Board and committees of the Board shall be open to inspection upon written demand on the corporation of any shareholder or holder of voting trust certificate at any reasonable time during usual business hours, for a purpose reasonably related to such holder’s interests as a shareholder or as a holder of such voting trust certificate.

 

d)

Any inspection and copying under this Article may be made in person or by agent or attorney.

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Section 2.

INSPECTION OF BYLAWS.

The corporation shall keep in its principal executive office in the State of California, or if its principal executive office is not in such State at its principal business office in such State, the original or a copy of these Bylaws as amended to date, which shall be open to inspection by shareholders at all reasonable times during office hours. If the principal executive office of the corporation is located outside the State of California and the corporation has no principal business office in such state, it shall upon the written request of any shareholder furnish to such shareholder a copy of these Bylaws as amended to date.

Section 3.

ENDORSEMENT OF DOCUMENTS; CONTRACTS.

Subject to provisions of applicable law, any note, mortgage, evidence of indebtedness, contract, share certificate, conveyance or other instrument in writing and any assignment or endorsements thereof executed or entered into between the corporation and any other person, when signed by the Chairman of the Board, the President or any Vice President and the Secretary, any Assistant Secretary, the Chief Financial Officer or any Assistant Chief Financial Officer of the corporation is not invalidated as to the corporation by any lack of authority of the signing officers in the absence of actual knowledge on the part of the other person that the signing officers had no authority to execute the same. Any such instruments may be signed by any other person or persons and in such manner as from time to time shall be determined by the Board, and, unless so authorized by the Board, no officer, agent or employee shall have any power or authority to bind the corporation by any contract or engagement or to pledge its credit or to render it liable for any purpose or amount.

Section 4.

CERTIFICATES OF STOCK.

The shares of capital stock of the corporation shall be represented by a certificate, unless and until the Board of Directors of the corporation adopts a resolution permitting shares to be uncertificated as well. Notwithstanding the adoption of any such resolution providing for uncertificated shares, every holder of capital stock of the corporation theretofore represented by certificates and, upon request, every holder of uncertificated shares, shall be entitled to have a certificate for shares of capital stock of the corporation signed by, or in the name of the Corporation by, (a) the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, the President or any Executive Vice President, and (b) the Chief Financial Officer, the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary, certifying the number of shares owned by such stockholder in the corporation. Any or all of the signatures on the certificate may be facsimile. If any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the corporation with the same effect as if such person were an officer, transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.

Certificates for shares may be issued prior to full payment under such restrictions and for such purposes as the Board may provide; provided, however, that on any certificate issued to represent any partly paid shares, the total amount of the consideration to be paid therefor and the amount paid thereon shall be stated.

Except as provided in this Section, no new certificate for shares shall be issued in lieu of an old one unless the latter is surrendered and cancelled at the same time. The Board may, however, if any certificate for shares is alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, authorize the issuance of a new certificate in lieu thereof, and the corporation may require that the corporation be given a bond or other adequate security sufficient to indemnify it against any claim that may be made against it (including expense or liability) on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate.

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Section 5.

REPRESENTATION OF SHARES OF OTHER CORPORATIONS.

The President or any other officer or officers authorized by the Board or the President are each authorized to vote, represent and exercise on behalf of the corporation all rights incident to any and all shares of any other corporation or corporations standing in the name of the corporation. The authority herein granted may be exercised either by any such officer in person or by any other person authorized so to do by proxy or power of attorney duly executed by said officer.

Section 6.

STOCK PURCHASE PLANS.

The corporation may adopt and carry out a stock purchase plan or agreement or stock option plan or agreement providing for the issue and sale for such consideration as may be fixed of its unissued shares, or of issued shares acquired or to be acquired, to one or more of the employees or directors of the corporation or of a subsidiary or to a trustee on their behalf and for the payment for such shares in installments or at one time, and may provide for aiding any such persons in paying for such shares by compensation for services rendered, promissory notes or otherwise.

Any such stock purchase plan or agreement or stock option plan or agreement may include, among other features, the fixing of eligibility for participation therein, the class and price of shares to be issued or sold under the plan or agreement, the number of shares which may be subscribed for, the method of payment therefor, the reservation of title until full payment therefor, the effect of the termination of employment, an option or obligation on the part of the corporation to repurchase the shares upon termination of employment (subject to the provisions of Chapter 5 of the California General Corporation Law), restrictions upon transfer of the shares, the time limits of and termination of the plan, and any other matters, not in violation of applicable law, as may be included in the plan as approved or authorized by the Board or any committee of the Board.

Section 7.

CONSTRUCTION AND DEFINITIONS.

Unless the context otherwise requires, the general provisions, rules of construction and definitions contained in the General Provisions of the California Corporations Code and in the California General Corporation Law shall govern the construction of these Bylaws.

Section 8.

AMENDMENTS.

These Bylaws may be amended or repealed either by approval of the outstanding shares (as defined in Section 152 of the California General Corporation Law) or by the approval of the Board; provided, however, that after the issuance of shares, a bylaw specifying or changing a fixed number of directors or the maximum or minimum number or changing from a fixed to a variable number of directors or vice versa may be adopted only by approval of the outstanding shares, and a bylaw reducing the fixed number or the minimum number of directors to a number less than five shall be subject to the provisions of Section 212 (a) of the California General Corporation Law.

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ARTICLE VI INDEMNIFICATION

Section 1.

DEFINITIONS.

For the purposes of this Article, “agent” means any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or other agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another foreign or domestic corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, or was a director, officer, employee or agent of a foreign or domestic corporation which was a predecessor corporation of the corporation or of another enterprise at the request of such predecessor corporation; “proceeding” means any threatened, pending or completed action or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative; and “expenses” includes without limitation attorneys fees and any expenses of establishing a right to indemnification under Sections 4 or 5 (d) of this Article.

Section 2.

INDEMNIFICATION IN ACTIONS BY THIRD PARTIES.

The corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor) by reason of the fact that such person is or was an agent of the corporation, against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements, and other amounts actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation and, in the case of a criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct of such person was unlawful. The termination of any proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation or that the person had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.

Section 3.

INDEMNIFICATION IN ACTIONS BY OR IN THE RIGHT OF THE CORPORATION.

The corporation shall have the power 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 by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person is or was an agent of the corporation, against expenses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action if such person acted in good faith, in a manner such person believed to be in the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders.

No indemnification shall be made under this Section 3:

 

a)

In respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation in the performance of such person’s duty to the corporation and its shareholders, unless and only to the extent that the court in which such proceeding is or was pending shall determine upon application that, in view of all the circumstance of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for the expenses which such court shall determine;

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b)

Of amounts paid in settling or otherwise disposing of a pending action, without court approval; or

 

c)

Of expenses incurred in defending a pending action which is settled or otherwise disposed of without court approval.

Section 4.

INDEMNIFICATION AGAINST EXPENSES.

To the extent that an agent of the corporation has been successful on the merits in defense of any proceeding referred to in Sections 2 or 3 of this Article or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, the agent shall be indemnified against expenses actually and reasonably incurred by the agent in connection therewith.

Section 5.

REQUIRED DETERMINATIONS.

Except as provided in Section 4 of this Article, any indemnification under this Article shall be made by the corporation only if authorized in the specific case, upon a determination that indemnification of the agent is proper in the circumstances because the agent has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in Sections 2 or 3 of this Article, by:

 

a)

A majority vote of a quorum consisting of directors who are not parties to such proceeding;

 

b)

If such a quorum of directors is not obtainable, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion;

 

c)

Approval of the shareholders, with the shares owned by the person to be indemnified not being entitled to vote thereon; or

 

d)

The court in which such proceeding is or was pending upon application made by the corporation or the agent or the attorney or other person rendering services in connection with the defense, whether or not such application by the agent, attorney or other person is opposed by the corporation.

Section 6.

ADVANCE OF EXPENSES.

Expenses incurred in defending any proceeding may be advanced by the corporation prior to the final disposition of such proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the agent to repay such amount if it shall be determined ultimately that the agent is not entitled to be indemnified as authorized in this Article.

Section 7.

OTHER INDEMNIFICATION.

No provision made by the corporation to indemnify its or its subsidiary’s directors or officers for the defense of any proceeding, whether contained in the Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, a resolution of shareholders or directors, an agreement or otherwise, shall be valid unless consistent with this Article. Nothing contained in this Article shall affect any right to indemnification to which persons other than such directors and officers may be entitled by contract or otherwise.

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Section 8.

FORMS OF INDEMNIFICATION NOT PERMITTED.

No indemnification or advance shall be made under this Article, except as provided in Sections 4 or 5 (d), in any circumstance where it appears:

 

a)

That it would be inconsistent with a provision of the Articles of Incorporation, these Bylaws, a resolution of the shareholders or an agreement in effect at the time of the accrual of the alleged cause of action asserted in the proceeding in which the expenses were incurred or other amounts were paid, which prohibits or otherwise limits indemnification; or

 

b)

That it would be inconsistent with any condition expressly imposed by a court in approving a settlement.

Section 9.

INSURANCE.

The corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any agent of the corporation against any liability asserted against or incurred by the agent in such capacity or arising out of the agent’s status as such whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify the agent against such liability under the provisions of this Article.

Section 10.

NONAPPLICABILITY TO FIDUCIARIES OF EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS.

This Article does not apply to any proceeding against any trustee, investment manager or other fiduciary of an employee benefit plan in such person’s capacity as such, even though such person may also be an agent of the corporation as defined in Section 1 of this Article. The corporation shall have power to indemnify such trustee, investment manager or other fiduciary to the extent permitted by subdivision (f) of Section 207 of the California General Corporation Law.

Section 11.

INDEMNIFICATION MANDATORY.

The corporation shall indemnify each director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation to the fullest extent that the corporation has power to indemnify such persons under applicable provisions of California law and the Articles of Incorporation of the corporation with respect to any matter which might be subject to indemnification under this Article VI. Any repeal or modification of the provisions of this Article VI shall not adversely affect any rights or protections of any director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification.

 

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EXHIBIT A

NextGen Healthcare, Inc.

Corporate Governance Provisions
(as made part of Bylaws)

1.

At least a majority of the members of the board of directors (the “Board”) shall be independent directors as defined below.

An “independent director” means a person other than an executive officer or employee of the Company or any other individual having a relationship which, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. The following persons shall not be considered independent:

 

a.

a director who is, or at any time during the past three years was, employed by the Company;

 

b.

a director who accepted or who has a family member who accepted any compensation from the Company in excess of $120,000 during any period of twelve consecutive months within the three years preceding the determination of independence, other than the following:

 

i.

compensation for Board or Board committee service;

 

ii.

compensation paid to a family member who is an employee (other than an executive officer) of the Company; or

 

iii.

benefits under a tax-qualified retirement plan, or non-discretionary compensation.

Provided, however, that in addition to the requirements contained in this paragraph (b), audit committee members are also subject to additional, more stringent requirements under Nasdaq Rule 4350(d).

 

c.

a director who is a family member of an individual who is, or at any time during the past three years was, employed by the Company as an executive officer;

 

d.

a director who is, or has a family member who is, a partner in, or a controlling shareholder or an executive officer of, any organization to which the Company made, or from which the Company received, payments for property or services in the current or any of the past three fiscal years that exceed 5% of the recipient’s consolidated gross revenues for that year, or $200,000, whichever is more, other than the following: \

 

i.

payments arising solely from investments in the Company’s securities; or

 

ii.

payments under non-discretionary charitable contribution matching programs.

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e.

a director of the Company who is, or has a family member who is, employed as an executive officer of another entity where at any time during the past three years any of the executive officers of the Company served on the compensation committee of such other entity; or

 

f.

a director who is, or has a family member who is, a current partner of the Company’s outside auditor, or was a partner or employee of the Company’s outside auditor who worked on the Company’s audit at any time during any of the past three years.

A “family member” for these purposes means a person’s spouse, parents, children and siblings, whether by blood, marriage or adoption, or anyone residing in such person’s home.

2.

There shall be an Audit Committee of the Board, composed entirely of independent directors, which shall oversee the Company’s financial reporting process and internal controls, review compliance with laws and accounting standards, recommend the appointment of public accountants, and provide a direct channel of communication to the Board for public accountants, internal auditors and finance officers. The Audit Committee shall be responsible for reviewing all related-party transactions involving the Company.

3.

There shall be a Nominating Committee of the Board, composed entirely of independent directors, which shall be responsible for the evaluation and nomination of Board members.

4.

There shall be a Compensation Committee of the Board, composed entirely of independent directors, which shall be responsible for (i) ensuring that senior management will be accountable to the Board through the effective application of compensation policies, and (ii) monitoring the effectiveness of both senior management and the Board (including committees thereof). The Compensation Committee shall establish compensation policies applicable to the Company’s executive officers. A fair summary of such policies and the relationship of corporate performance to executive compensation, including the factors and criteria upon which the Chief Executive Officer’s compensation was based, shall be disclosed to shareholders in the Company’s proxy statement for the annual meeting.

5.

There shall be a Transaction Committee of the Board, composed entirely of independent directors, which shall be responsible for considering and making recommendations to the full Board with respect to all proposals involving (i) a change in control, or (ii) the purchase or sale of assets constituting more than 10% of the Company’s total assets. Additionally, the Transaction Committee shall be responsible for reviewing all transactions or proposed transactions that trigger the Company’s Shareholder Rights Plan, if any.

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6.

If at any time the Chairman of the Board shall be an executive officer of the Company, or for any other reason shall not be an independent director, a non-executive Lead Director shall be selected by the independent directors. The Lead Director shall be one of the independent directors, shall be a member of the Audit Committee and of the Executive Committee, if there is such a committee, and shall be responsible for coordinating the activities of the independent directors. He shall assist the Board in assuring compliance with these corporate governance procedures and policies, and shall coordinate, develop the agenda for, and moderate executive sessions of the Board’s independent directors. Such executive sessions shall be held immediately following each regular meeting of the Board, and may be held at other times as designated by the Lead Director. The Lead Director shall approve, in consultation with the other Independent Directors, the retention of consultants who report directly to the Board. If at any time the Chairman of the Board is one of the independent directors, then he or she shall perform the duties of the Lead Director.

7.

The foregoing provisions are adopted as part of the Bylaws of the Company and cannot be amended or repealed without either (a) approval of the outstanding shares (as defined in Section 152 of the California General Corporation Law) of the Company, or (b) approval by a two-thirds majority of all the authorized number of directors of the Company including two-thirds of the independent directors. Any inconsistent provisions of the Bylaws are hereby modified to be consistent with these provisions. The foregoing provisions, insofar as they establish eligibility to serve as a director or as a committee member, shall not have the effect of removing any director or committee member from office but shall be given effect at the next election of directors and the next selection of committee members, as the case may be. The foregoing provisions shall not be construed to limit or restrict the effective exercise of statutory cumulative voting rights by any shareholder, but the Nominating Committee shall not nominate candidates for election to the Board except as may be consistent with such provisions, and no corporate funds may be expended for the solicitation of proxies which are inconsistent with the foregoing provisions.

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