AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS
OF
AZENTA, INC.
A DELAWARE CORPORATION
Most recently amended as of
August 7, 2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS
OF
AZENTA, INC.
(A Delaware Corporation)
Annual meetings shall be held for the election of directors to succeed those whose terms expire and for the transaction of such other business as may properly be brought before such meeting.
Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited only to that business to which reference shall have been contained in the notice of such meeting.
Any person directly or indirectly soliciting proxies from stockholders of the corporation must use a proxy card color other than white, the color white being reserved for the exclusive use of the board of directors of the corporation.
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The stockholders cannot act by written consent.
Shares of stock of the corporation standing in the name of a deceased person, a minor ward or an incompetent person, may be voted by his or her administrator, executor, court-appointed guardian or conservator without a transfer of such shares into the name of such administrator, executor, court appointed guardian or conservator. Shares of capital stock of the corporation standing in the name of a trustee or fiduciary may be voted by such trustee or fiduciary.
Shares of stock of the corporation 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 receiver without the transfer thereof into his or her name if authority so to do be contained in an appropriate order of the court by which such receiver was appointed.
A stockholder whose shares are pledged shall be entitled to vote such shares unless in the transfer by the pledgor on the books of the corporation he or she expressly empowered the pledgee to vote thereon, in which case only the pledgee or its proxy shall be entitled to vote the shares so transferred.
Shares of its own stock belonging to this corporation shall not be voted, directly or indirectly, at any meeting and shall not be counted in determining the total number of outstanding shares at any given time, but shares of its own stock held by the corporation in a fiduciary capacity may be voted and shall be counted in determining the total number of outstanding shares.
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The stockholder’s notice to the secretary shall set forth: (A) as to each matter the stockholder proposes to bring before the annual meeting (1) a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting, (2) the text of the proposal (including the exact text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and, in the event that such business includes a proposal to amend the Bylaws, the exact text of the proposed amendment), and (3) the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting, and (B) as to the stockholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is being made (1) the name and address of such stockholder, as they appear on the corporation’s books, and of such beneficial owner, (2) the class and series and number of shares of stock of the corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned, beneficially or of record, by such stockholder and such beneficial owner, (3) a description of any material interest of such stockholder, such beneficial owner, and/or any respective affiliates and associates of, or others acting in concert with, such stockholder and such
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beneficial owner (each, a “Stockholder Associated Person”) in the business proposed to be brought before the annual meeting, (4) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding between or among such stockholder, such beneficial owner, and/or any Stockholder Associated Person and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with the proposal of such business or who may participate in the solicitation of proxies in favor of such proposal, (5) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any derivative or short positions, swaps, profit interests, options, warrants, convertible securities, stock appreciation or similar rights, hedging transactions, and borrowed or loaned shares) that has been entered into by, or on behalf of, such stockholder, such beneficial owner, and/or any Stockholder Associated Person, the effect or intent of which is to mitigate loss to, manage risk or benefit of share price changes for, or increase or decrease the voting power of, such stockholder, such beneficial owner, and/or any Stockholder Associated Person with respect to shares of stock of the corporation, (6) any other information relating to such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for the business proposed pursuant to Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, (7) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting to bring such business before the meeting, (8) a representation that such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person has complied, and will comply, with all applicable requirements of state law and the Exchange Act with respect to matters set forth in this Section 1.10, and (9) a representation whether such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person intends or is part of a group that intends (x) to deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the corporation’s outstanding capital stock required to approve or adopt the proposal (and such representation shall be included in any such proxy statement and form of proxy) and/or (y) otherwise to solicit proxies or votes from stockholders in support of such proposal (and such representation shall be included in any such solicitation materials). Not later than ten (10) days after the record date for the meeting, the information required by Items (A)(3) and (B)(1)-(6) of the prior sentence shall be supplemented by the stockholder giving the notice to provide updated information as of the record date. Notwithstanding anything in these Bylaws to the contrary, no business shall be conducted at any annual meeting of stockholders except in accordance with the procedures in this Section 1.10; provided that any stockholder proposal that complies with Rule 14a-8 of the proxy rules (or any successor provision) promulgated under the Exchange Act and is to be included in the corporation’s proxy statement for an annual meeting of stockholders shall be deemed to comply with the notice requirements of this Section 1.10. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, a stockholder shall not have complied with this Section 1.10(b) if the stockholder, beneficial owner, and/or any Stockholder Associated Person solicits or does not solicit, as the case may be, proxies or votes in support of such stockholder’s proposal in contravention of the representations with respect thereto required by this Section 1.10.
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Unless the corporation elects otherwise, a stockholder’s notice to the corporation of other business shall be in writing exclusively (and not in an electronic transmission) and shall be delivered exclusively by hand (including, without limitation, overnight courier service) or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, and the corporation shall not be required to accept delivery of any document not in such written form or so delivered.
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The stockholder’s notice to the secretary shall set forth: (A) as to each proposed nominee (1) such person’s name, age, business address and, if known, residence address, (2) such person’s principal occupation or employment, (3) the class and series and number of shares of stock of the corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned, beneficially or of record, by such person, (4) a description of all direct and indirect compensation and other material monetary agreements, arrangements and understandings during the past three (3) years, and any other material relationships, between or among (x) the stockholder, the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is being made and any Stockholder Associated Person, on the one hand, and (y) each proposed nominee, and his or her respective affiliates and associates, or others acting in concert with such nominee(s), on the other hand, including all information that would be required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K if the stockholder making the nomination and any beneficial owner on whose behalf the nomination is made or any Stockholder Associated Person were the “registrant” for purposes of such Item and the proposed nominee were a director or executive officer of such registrant, and (5) any other information concerning such person that must be disclosed as to nominees in proxy solicitations pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Exchange Act; and (B) as to the stockholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is being made (1) the name and address of such stockholder, as they appear on the corporation’s books, and of such beneficial owner, (2) the class and series and number of shares of stock of the corporation that are, directly or indirectly, owned, beneficially or of record, by such stockholder and such beneficial owner, (3) a description of any material interest related to the nomination of such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person, (4) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding between or among such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person and each proposed nominee and any other person or persons (including their names) pursuant to which the nomination(s) are being made or who may participate in the solicitation of proxies or votes in favor of electing such nominee(s), (5) a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any derivative or short positions, swaps, profit interests, options, warrants, convertible securities, stock appreciation or similar rights, hedging transactions, and borrowed or loaned shares) that has been entered into by, or on behalf of, such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person, the effect or intent of which is to mitigate loss to, manage risk or benefit of share price changes for, or increase or decrease the voting power of, such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person with respect to shares of stock of the corporation, (6) any other information relating to such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for the election of directors in a contested election pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, (7) a representation that such stockholder intends to appear in person or by proxy at the meeting to nominate the person(s) named in its notice, (8) a representation that such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person has complied, and will comply, with all applicable requirements of state law and the Exchange Act with respect to matters set forth in this Section 2.3, and (9) a representation whether such stockholder, such beneficial owner and/or
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any Stockholder Associated Person intends or is part of a group that intends (x) to deliver a proxy statement and/or form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the corporation’s outstanding capital stock reasonably believed by such stockholder or such beneficial owner to be sufficient to elect the nominee (and such representation shall be included in any such proxy statement and form of proxy) and/or (y) otherwise to solicit proxies or votes from stockholders in support of such nomination (and such representation shall be included in any such solicitation materials). Not later than ten (10) days after the record date for the meeting, the information required by Items (A)(1)-(5) and (B)(1)-(6) of the prior sentence shall be supplemented by the stockholder giving the notice to provide updated information as of the record date. In addition, to be effective, the stockholder’s notice must also be accompanied by the written consent of the proposed nominee to being named in the corporation’s proxy statement and accompanying proxy card as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected. The corporation may require any proposed nominee to furnish such other information as the corporation may reasonably require to determine, among other things, the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as a director of the corporation or whether such nominee would be independent under applicable Securities and Exchange Commission and stock exchange rules and the corporation’s publicly disclosed corporate governance guidelines, including through the completion of a questionnaire with respect to the background and qualifications of the nominee completed by the nominee in the form required by the corporation. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, a stockholder shall not have complied with this Section 2.3(b) if the stockholder, beneficial owner, and/or any Stockholder Associated Person solicits or does not solicit, as the case may be, proxies or votes in support of such stockholder’s nominee in contravention of the representations with respect thereto required by this Section 2.3.
Such notice must also be accompanied by a representation as to whether or not such stockholder, beneficial owner and/or any Stockholder Associated Person intends to solicit proxies in support of any director nominees other than the corporation’s nominees in accordance with Rule 14a-19 under the Exchange Act, and, where such stockholder, beneficial owner and/or Stockholder Associated Person intends to so solicit proxies, the notice and information required by Rule 14a-19(b) under the Exchange Act. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in these Bylaws, unless otherwise required by law, if any stockholder, beneficial owner and/or Stockholder Associated Person (i) provides notice pursuant to Rule 14a-19(b) under the Exchange Act and (ii) subsequently fails to comply with the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a)(2) and Rule 14a-19(a)(3) under the Exchange Act (or fails to timely provide reasonable evidence sufficient to satisfy the corporation that such stockholder, beneficial owner and/or Stockholder Associated Person has met the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a)(3) promulgated under the Exchange Act in accordance with the following sentence), then the nomination of each of the director nominees proposed by such stockholder, beneficial owner and/or Stockholder Associated Person shall be disregarded, notwithstanding that proxies or votes in respect of the election of such proposed nominees may have been received by the corporation (which proxies and votes shall be disregarded). Upon request by the corporation, if any stockholder, beneficial owner and/or Stockholder Associated Person provides notice pursuant to Rule 14a-19(b) under the Exchange Act, such stockholder, beneficial owner and/or Stockholder Associated Person shall deliver to the corporation, no later than five (5) business days prior to the applicable meeting, reasonable evidence that it has met the requirements of Rule 14a-19(a)(3) under the Exchange Act.
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Assistant treasurers, if any, shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors or the chief executive officer may from time to time determine.
Assistant secretaries, if any, shall have such powers and perform such duties as the board of directors, the chief executive officer or the secretary may from time to time designate.
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If an officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed, or whose facsimile signature has been placed on, a certificate shall have ceased to be such before the certificate is issued, it may be issued by the corporation with the same effect as if he or she were such officer, transfer agent or registrar at the time of its issue.
Within a reasonable time after the issuance or transfer of uncertificated shares, the registered owner thereof shall be given a notice, in writing or by electronic transmission, containing the information required to be set forth or stated on certificates pursuant to Sections 151, 156, 202(a) or 218(a) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or, with respect to Section 151 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and Section 4.8, a statement that the corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights.
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It shall be the duty of each stockholder to notify the corporation of its, his or her post office address and such other address, including electronic transmission addresses, as applicable.
If no record date is fixed:(i) the record date for determining stockholders entitled to receive notice of or to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall be at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held; and (ii) the record date for determining stockholders for any other purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the board of directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.
A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of and to vote at a meeting of stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the board of directors may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and in such case shall also fix as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote in accordance herewith at the adjourned meeting.
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Any and all of the directors and officers of the corporation, notwithstanding their official relations to it, may enter into and perform any contract or agreement of any nature between the corporation and themselves, or any and all of the individuals from time to time constituting the board of directors of the corporation, or any firm or corporation in which any such director may be interested, directly or indirectly, whether such individual, firm or corporation thus contracting with the corporation shall thereby derive personal or corporate profits or benefits or otherwise; provided, that (i) the material facts of such interest are disclosed or are known to the board of directors or committee thereof which authorizes such contract or agreement; (ii) if the material facts as to such person’s relationship or interest are disclosed or are known to the stockholders entitled to vote thereon, and the contract is specifically approved in good faith by a vote of the stockholders; or (iii) the contract or agreement is fair as to the corporation as of the time it is authorized, approved or ratified by the board of directors, a committee thereof, or the stockholders. Any director of the corporation who is interested in any transaction as aforesaid may nevertheless be counted in determining the existence of a quorum at any meeting of the board of directors which shall authorize or ratify any such transaction. This Article VI shall not be construed to invalidate any contract or other transaction which would otherwise be valid under the common or statutory law applicable thereto.
“Corporate Status” describes the status of a person who is or was a director, officer, employee, agent, trustee or fiduciary of the Corporation or of any other corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise which such person is or was serving at the express written request of the corporation.
“Court” means the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, the court in which the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification is sought by a Covered Person shall have been brought or is pending, or another court having subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction over the parties.
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“Covered Person” means a person who is a present or former director or officer of the corporation and shall include such person’s legal representatives, heirs, executors and administrators.
“Disinterested” describes any individual, whether or not that individual is a director, Officer, employee or agent of the corporation, who is not and was not and is not threatened to be made a party to the Proceeding in respect of which indemnification, advancement of Expenses or other action is sought by a Covered Person.
“Expenses” shall include, without limitation, all reasonable attorneys’ fees, retainers, court costs, transcript costs, fees of experts, witness fees, travel expenses, duplicating costs, printing and binding costs, telephone charges, postage, delivery service fees, and all other disbursements or expenses of the types customarily incurred in connection with prosecuting, defending, preparing to prosecute or defend, investigating or being or preparing to be a witness in a Proceeding.
“Good Faith” shall mean a Covered Person having acted in good faith and in a manner such Covered Person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation or, in the case of an employee benefit plan, the best interests of the participants or beneficiaries of said plan, as the case may be, and, with respect to any Proceeding which is criminal in nature, having had no reasonable cause to believe such Covered Person’s conduct was unlawful.
“Improper Personal Benefit” shall include, but not be limited to, the personal gain in fact by reason of a person’s Corporate Status of a financial profit, monies or other advantage not also accruing to the benefit of the corporation or to the stockholders generally and which is unrelated to his or her usual compensation including, but not limited to, such profit, monies or other advantage gained (i) in exchange for the exercise of influence over the corporation’s affairs, (ii) as a result of the diversion of corporate opportunity, or (iii) pursuant to the use or communication of confidential or inside information for the purpose of generating a profit from trading in the corporation’s securities. Notwithstanding the foregoing, “Improper Personal Benefit” shall not include any benefit, directly or indirectly, related to actions taken in order to evaluate, discourage, resist, prevent or negotiate any transaction with or proposal from any person or entity seeking control of, or a controlling interest in, the corporation.
“Independent Counsel” means a law firm, or a member of a law firm, that is experienced in matters of corporation law and may include law firms or members thereof that are regularly retained by the corporation but not by any other party to the Proceeding giving rise to a claim for indemnification hereunder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the term “Independent Counsel” shall not include any person who, under the standards of professional conduct then prevailing and applicable to such counsel, would have a conflict of interest in representing either the corporation or Covered Person in an action to determine the Covered Person’s rights under this Article VII.
“Officer” means the chairman of the board, the chief executive officer, the president, vice-presidents, treasurer, assistant treasurer (s), secretary, assistant secretary and such other executive officers as are appointed by the board of directors of the corporation and explicitly entitled to indemnification hereunder.
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“Proceeding” includes any actual, threatened or completed action, suit, arbitration, alternate dispute resolution mechanism, investigation (including any internal corporate investigation), administrative hearing or any other proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, other than one initiated by the Covered Person, but including one initiated by a Covered Person for the purpose of enforcing such Covered Person’s rights under this Article VII to the extent provided in Section 7.14. “Proceeding” shall not include any counterclaim brought by any Covered Person other than one arising out of the same transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the underlying claim.
The indemnification provisions in this Article VII shall be deemed to be a contract between the corporation and each Covered Person who serves in any Corporate Status at any time while these provisions as well as the relevant provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law are in effect, and any repeal or modification thereof shall not affect any right or obligation then existing with respect to any state of facts then or previously existing or any Proceeding previously or thereafter brought or threatened based in whole or in part upon any such state of facts. Such a contract right may not be modified retroactively without the consent of such Covered Person.
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Any amendment of these Bylaws by the board of directors may be altered or repealed by the stockholders at any annual or special meeting of stockholders.
506391131v.6
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