EX-3.1 12 v064858_ex3-1.htm
AMENDED AND RESTATED ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
OF
STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
(the “Corporation”)
PURSUANT TO THE MARSHALL ISLANDS BUSINESS CORPORATIONS ACT

A. | The name of the Corporation shall be:

STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.

B. | The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may now or hereafter be organized under the Marshall Islands Business Corporations Act (the “BCA”).

C. | The registered address of the Corporation in the Marshall Islands is Trust Company Complex, Ajeltake Road, Ajeltake Island, P.O. Box 1405, Majuro, Marshall Islands MH96960. The name of the Corporation’s registered agent at such address is The Trust Company of the Marshall Islands, Inc. However, the Board of Directors may establish branches, offices or agencies in any place in the world and may appoint legal representatives anywhere in the world.

D. | The aggregate number of shares of stock that the Corporation is authorized to issue is one hundred twenty-five million (125,000,000) registered shares of stock, consisting of:

| (a) | one hundred million (100,000,000) registered common shares with a par value of one cent (US$0.01) per share; and

| (b) | twenty-five million (25,000,000) registered preferred shares with a par value of one cent (US$0.01) per share. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to issue all or any of the preferred shares in one or more classes or series with such voting powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions as shall be stated in the resolutions providing for the issue of such class or series of preferred shares.

E. | No holder of shares of the Corporation shall, by reason thereof, have any preemptive or other preferential right to acquire, by subscription or otherwise, any unissued or treasury shares of the Corporation, or any other share of any class or series of the Corporation’s shares to be issued because of an increase in the authorized capital stock of the Corporation, or any bonds, certificates of indebtedness, debentures or other securities convertible into shares of the Corporation. However, the Board of Directors may issue or dispose of any such unissued or treasury shares, or any such additional authorized issue of new shares or securities convertible into shares upon such terms as the Board of Directors may, in its discretion, determine, without offering to shareholders then of record, or any class of shareholders, any thereof, on the same terms or any terms.

F. | The Corporation shall have every power which a corporation now or hereafter organized under the BCA may have.

G. | The name and address of the incorporator is:

Name Majuro Nominees, Ltd. | Post Office Address P.O. Box 1405 Majuro, Marshall Islands MH96960

H. | Corporate existence commenced on December 13, 2006 and shall continue upon filing these Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (these “Articles”) with the Registrar of Corporations responsible for non-resident corporations.

I. (a) The Board of Directors shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal in number as the then total number of directors constituting the entire Board of Directors permits, with the term of office of one or another of the three classes expiring each year. The shareholders of the Corporation shall divide the Board of Directors into three classes, with the term of office of the first class to expire at the 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the term of office of the second class to expire at the 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and the term of office of the third class to expire at the 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Commencing with the 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, the directors elected at an annual meeting of shareholders to succeed those whose terms then expire shall be identified as being directors of the same class as the directors whom they succeed, and each of them shall hold office until the third succeeding annual meeting of shareholders and until such director’s successor is elected and has qualified. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and except as otherwise required by law, whenever the holders of any one or more series of preferred stock shall have the right, voting separately as a class, to elect one or more directors of the Corporation, the provisions of this section (a) of this Article I shall not apply to such holders of preferred stock with respect to the director or directors elected by such holders of preferred stock.
(b) Any vacancies in the Board of Directors for any reason, and any created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors, may be filled by the vote of a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, and any directors so chosen shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such directors shall have been chosen and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. No decrease in the number of directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and except as otherwise required by law, whenever the holders of any one or more series of preferred stock shall have the right, voting separately as a class, to elect one or more directors of the Corporation, the then authorized number of directors shall be increased by the number of directors so to be elected, and the terms of the director or directors elected by such holders shall expire at the next succeeding annual meeting of shareholders.
2

(c) Notwithstanding any other provisions of these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation (and notwithstanding the fact that some lesser percentage may be specified by law, these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation), any director or the entire Board of Directors of the Corporation may be removed at any time, but only for cause and by the affirmative vote of the holders of 70% or more of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (considered for this purpose as one class) cast at a meeting of the shareholders called for that purpose. Notwithstanding the foregoing, and except as otherwise required by law, whenever the holders of any one or more series of preferred stock shall have the right, voting separately as a class, to elect one or more directors of the Corporation, the provisions of this section (c) of this Article I shall apply only to such holders of preferred stock with respect to the director or directors elected by such holders of preferred stock.
Except as otherwise provided by applicable law, cause for the removal of a director shall be deemed to exist only if the director whose removal is proposed: (i) has been found to have been negligent or guilty of misconduct in the performance of his duties to the Corporation in any matter of substantial importance to the Corporation by the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the directors then in office, other than the director whose removal is being sought, at any meeting of the Board called for that purpose or (ii) has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be mentally incompetent, which mental incompetence directly affects his ability to serve as a director of the Corporation.
No proposal by a shareholder to remove a director shall be voted upon at a meeting of the shareholders unless such shareholder has given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary. To be timely, a shareholder’s notice to the Secretary must be delivered to or mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than 120 days nor more than 180 days prior to the one year anniversary of the mailing date of the proxy materials for the immediately preceding annual meeting of shareholders or any such later deadline as may be required in the rules promulgated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding the solicitation of proxies. To be in proper written form, a shareholder’s notice must set forth: (a) a statement of the grounds, if any, on which such director is proposed to be removed, (b) evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Secretary, of such shareholder’s status as such and of the number of shares of each class of capital stock of the Corporation beneficially owned by such shareholder, and (c) a list of the names and addresses of other shareholders of the Corporation, if any, with whom such shareholder is acting in concert, and the number of shares of each class of capital stock of the Corporation beneficially owned by each such shareholder.
No shareholder proposal to remove a director shall be voted upon at an annual meeting of the shareholders unless proposed in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Article I. If the Chairman of the meeting determines, based on the facts, that a shareholder proposal to remove a director was not made in accordance with the foregoing procedures, the Chairman shall declare to the meeting that a proposal to remove a director of the Corporation was not made in accordance with the procedures prescribed by these Articles, and such defective proposal shall be disregarded.
3

All of the foregoing provisions of this Article I are subject to the terms of any preferred stock with respect to the directors to be elected solely by the holders of such preferred stock.
(d) Directors shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast at a meeting of shareholders by the holders of shares entitled to vote in the election. Cumulative voting, as defined in Division 7, Section 71(2) of the BCA, shall not be used to elect directors.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation (and notwithstanding the fact that some lesser percentage may be specified by law, these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation), the affirmative vote of the holders of 70% or more of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (considered for this purpose as one class) shall be required to amend, alter, change or repeal this Article I.

J. | The Board of Directors of the Corporation is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend or repeal Bylaws of the Corporation by the vote of at least 66 2/3% of the directors then in office, and the shareholders may, subject to compliance with the provisions of Article II of the Bylaws concerning the nature of business to be transacted at a meeting of the shareholders, by the vote of the holders of 70% or more of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (considered for this purpose as one class), amend, alter, change or repeal any Bylaws adopted by the Board of Directors or make any additional Bylaws or amend or repeal any existing Bylaws. Notwithstanding any other provisions of these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation (and notwithstanding the fact that some lesser percentage may be specified by law, these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation), the affirmative vote of the holders of 70% or more of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (considered for this purpose as one class) shall be required to amend, alter, change or repeal this Article J.

K. | (a) | The Corporation may not engage in any Business Combination with any Interested Shareholder for a period of three years following the time of the transaction in which the person became an Interested Shareholder, unless:

| (1) | prior to such time, the Board of Directors of the Corporation approved either the Business Combination or the transaction which resulted in the shareholder becoming an Interested Shareholder;

| (2) | upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the shareholder becoming an Interested Shareholder, the Interested Shareholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the Corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

4

| (3) | at or subsequent to such time, the Business Combination is approved by the Board of Directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of shareholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 70% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested shareholder; or

| (4) | the shareholder became an Interested Shareholder prior to the consummation of the initial public offering of the Corporation’s common stock under the Securities Act.

| (b) | The restrictions contained in this section shall not apply if:

| (1) | A shareholder becomes an Interested Shareholder inadvertently and (i) as soon as practicable divests itself of ownership of sufficient shares so that the shareholder ceases to be an Interested Shareholder; and (ii) would not, at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to a Business Combination between the Corporation and such shareholder, have been an Interested Shareholder but for the inadvertent acquisition of ownership; or

| (2) | The Business Combination is proposed prior to the consummation or abandonment of and subsequent to the earlier of the public announcement or the notice required hereunder of a proposed transaction which (i) constitutes one of the transactions described in the following sentence; (ii) is with or by a person who either was not an Interested Shareholder during the previous three years or who became an Interested Shareholder with the approval of the Board; and (iii) is approved or not opposed by a majority of the members of the Board then in office (but not less than one) who were Directors prior to any person becoming an Interested Shareholder during the previous three years or were recommended for election or elected to succeed such Directors by a majority of such Directors. The proposed transactions referred to in the preceding sentence are limited to:

| (i) | a merger or consolidation of the Corporation (except for a merger in respect of which, pursuant to the BCA, no vote of the shareholders of the Corporation is required);

| (ii) | a sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), whether as part of a dissolution or otherwise, of assets of the Corporation or of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation (other than to any direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary or to the Corporation) having an aggregate market value equal to 50% or more of either that aggregate market value of all of the assets of the Corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding shares; or

5

| (iii) | a proposed tender or exchange offer for 50% or more of the outstanding voting shares of the Corporation.

The Corporation shall give not less than 20 days notice to all Interested Shareholders prior to the consummation of any of the transactions described in clause (i) or (ii) of section (b)(2) of this Article K.

| (c) | For the purpose of this Article K only, the term:

| (1) | “Affiliate” means a person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls, or is controlled by, or is under common control with, another person.

| (2) | “Associate,” when used to indicate a relationship with any person, means: (i) Any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity of which such person is a director, officer or partner or is, directly or indirectly, the owner of 20% or more of any class of voting shares; (ii) any trust or other estate in which such person has at least a 20% beneficial interest or as to which such person serves as trustee or in a similar fiduciary capacity; and (iii) any relative or spouse of such person, or any relative of such spouse, who has the same residence as such person.

| (3) | “Business Combination,” when used in reference to the Corporation and any Interested Shareholder of the Corporation, means:

| (i) | Any merger or consolidation of the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation with (A) the Interested Shareholder or any of its affiliates, or (B) with any other corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity if the merger or consolidation is caused by the Interested Shareholder.

| (ii) | Any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), except proportionately as a shareholder of the Corporation, to or with the Interested Shareholder, whether as part of a dissolution or otherwise, of assets of the Corporation or of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which assets have an aggregate market value equal to 10% or more of either the aggregate market value of all the assets of the Corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding shares;

6

| (iii) | Any transaction which results in the issuance or transfer by the Corporation or by any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation of any shares, or any share of such subsidiary, to the Interested Shareholder, except: (A) pursuant to the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into shares, or shares of any such subsidiary, which securities were outstanding prior to the time that the Interested Shareholder became such; (B) pursuant to a merger with a direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Corporation solely for purposes of forming a holding company; (C) pursuant to a dividend or distribution paid or made, or the exercise, exchange or conversion of securities exercisable for, exchangeable for or convertible into shares, or shares of any such subsidiary, which security is distributed, pro rata to all holders of a class or series of shares subsequent to the time the Interested Shareholder became such; (D) pursuant to an exchange offer by the Corporation to purchase shares made on the same terms to all holders of said shares; or (E) any issuance or transfer of shares by the Corporation; provided however, that in no case under items (C)-(E) of this subparagraph shall there be an increase in the Interested Shareholder’s proportionate share of the any class or series of shares;

| (iv) | Any transaction involving the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation which has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the proportionate share of any class or series of shares, or securities convertible into any class or series of shares, or shares of any such subsidiary, or securities convertible into such shares, which is owned by the Interested Shareholder, except as a result of immaterial changes due to fractional share adjustments or as a result of any purchase or redemption of any shares not caused, directly or indirectly, by the Interested Shareholder; or

| (v) | Any receipt by the Interested Shareholder of the benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a shareholder of the Corporation), of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits (other than those expressly permitted in subparagraphs (i)-(iv) of this paragraph) provided by or through the Corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of these Articles, the term “Business Combination,” when used in reference to the Corporation and any Interested Shareholder of the Corporation, shall not include any transactions for which definitive agreements were entered into prior to the date of the filing of these Articles.
7

| (4) | “Control,” including the terms “controlling,” “controlled by” and “under common control with,” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting shares, by contract or otherwise. A person who is the owner of 20% or more of the outstanding voting shares of any corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity shall be presumed to have control of such entity, in the absence of proof by a preponderance of the evidence to the contrary. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a presumption of control shall not apply where such person holds voting shares, in good faith and not for the purpose of circumventing this provision, as an agent, bank, broker, nominee, custodian or trustee for one or more owners who do not individually or as a group have control of such entity.

| (5) | “Interested Shareholder” means any person (other than the Corporation and any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the Corporation) that (i) is the owner of 20% or more of the outstanding voting shares of the Corporation, or (ii) is an affiliate or associate of the Corporation and was the owner of 20% or more of the outstanding voting shares of the Corporation at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to the date on which it is sought to be determined whether such person is an Interested Shareholder; and the affiliates and associates of such person; provided, however, that the term “Interested Shareholder” shall not include any person whose ownership of shares in excess of the 20% limitation set forth herein is the result of action taken solely by the Corporation; provided that such person shall be an Interested Shareholder if thereafter such person acquires additional shares of voting shares of the Corporation, except as a result of further Company action not caused, directly or indirectly, by such person. For the purpose of determining whether a person is an Interested Shareholder, the voting shares of the Corporation deemed to be outstanding shall include voting shares deemed to be owned by the person through application of paragraph (8) below, but shall not include any other unissued shares which may be issuable pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon exercise of conversion rights, warrants or options, or otherwise.

| (6) | “Person” means any individual, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association or other entity.

| (7) | “Voting stock” means, with respect to any corporation, shares of any class or series entitled to vote and, with respect to any entity that is not a corporation, any equity interest entitled to vote.

8

| (8) | “Owner,” including the terms “own” and “owned,” when used with respect to any shares, means a person that individually or with or through any of its affiliates or associates:

| (i) | Beneficially owns such shares, directly or indirectly; or

| (ii) | Has (A) the right to acquire such shares (whether such right is exercisable immediately or only after the passage of time) pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding, or upon the exercise of conversion rights, exchange rights, warrants or options, or otherwise; provided, however, that a person shall not be deemed the owner of shares tendered pursuant to a tender or exchange offer made by such person or any of such person’s affiliates or associates until such tendered shares is accepted for purchase or exchange; or (B) the right to vote such shares pursuant to any agreement, arrangement or understanding; provided, however, that a person shall not be deemed the owner of any shares because of such person’s right to vote such shares if the agreement, arrangement or understanding to vote such shares arises solely from a revocable proxy or consent given in response to a proxy or consent solicitation made to 10 or more persons; or

| (iii) | Has any agreement, arrangement or understanding for the purpose of acquiring, holding, voting (except voting pursuant to a revocable proxy or consent as described in item (B) of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph), or disposing of such shares with any other person that beneficially owns, or whose affiliates or associates beneficially own, directly or indirectly, such shares.

| (d) | Any amendment of this Article K shall not be effective until 12 months after the approval of such amendment at a meeting of the shareholders of the Corporation and shall not apply to any Business Combination between the Corporation and any person who became an Interested Shareholder of the Corporation at or prior to the time of such approval.

| (e) | Notwithstanding any other provisions of these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation (and notwithstanding the fact that some lesser percentage may be specified by law, these Articles or the Bylaws of the Corporation), the affirmative vote of the holders of 70% or more of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors (considered for this purpose as one class) shall be required to amend, alter, change or repeal this Article K.

L. | No director shall be personally liable to the Corporation or any of its shareholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the BCA as the same exists or may hereafter be amended. If the BCA is amended hereafter to authorize the further elimination or limitation of the liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent authorized by the BCA, as so amended. Any repeal or modification of this Section L shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to acts or omissions occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

9

M. | The Corporation shall indemnify its directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by law, as now or hereafter in effect, and such right to indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer of the Corporation and shall inure to the benefit of his or her heirs, executors and personal and legal representatives; provided, however, that, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall not be obligated to indemnify any director or officer (or his or her heirs, executors or personal or legal representatives) in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized or consented to by the Board of Directors. The Corporation shall pay the expenses incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any proceeding in advance of its final disposition.

The Corporation may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, provide rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses to employees and agents of the Corporation similar to those conferred in this Article M to directors and officers of the Corporation.
The rights to indemnification and to the advance of expenses conferred in this Article M shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under these Articles, the Bylaws of the Corporation, any statute, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise.
Any repeal or modification of this Article M shall not adversely affect any rights to indemnification and to the advancement of expenses of a director or officer of the Corporation existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to any acts or omissions occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

N. | The Corporation may transfer its corporate domicile from the Marshall Islands to any other place in the world.

O. | These Articles were duly adopted in accordance with Section 93 of the BCA and were authorized by the unanimous written consents of the Board of Directors and shareholders of the Corporation.

10