EX-2.2 2 d872361dex22.htm EX-2.2

Exhibit 2.2

DESCRIPTION OF AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES

The Bank of New York Mellon, as depositary, has registered and delivered American Depositary Shares, also referred to as ADSs. Each ADS represents 100 ordinary shares (or a right to receive 100 ordinary shares) deposited with HSBC Bank Australia Limited, as custodian for the depositary. Each ADS may also represent any other securities, cash or other property which may be held by the depositary. The depositary’s office at which the ADSs are administered is located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286. The Bank of New York Mellon’s principal executive office is located at 240 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10286.

You may hold ADSs either:

| • |  | directly (i) by having an American Depositary Receipt, also referred to as an ADR, which is a certificate evidencing a specific number of ADSs, registered in your name, or (ii) by having ADSs registered in your name in the Direct Registration System; or

| • |  | indirectly by holding a security entitlement in ADSs through your broker or other financial institution.

If you hold ADSs directly, you are a registered ADS holder, or ADS holder. This description assumes you are an ADS holder. If you hold the ADSs indirectly, you must rely on the procedures of your broker or other financial institution to assert the rights of ADS holders described in this section. You should consult with your broker or financial institution to find out what those procedures are.

The Direct Registration System, or DRS, is a system administered by The Depository Trust Company, also referred to as DTC, pursuant to which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership is confirmed by periodic statements sent by the depositary to the registered holders of uncertificated ADSs.

As an ADS holder, we will not treat you as one of our shareholders and you will not have shareholder rights. Australian law governs shareholder rights in respect of an Australian company such as Kazia. The depositary is the holder of the shares underlying your ADSs. As a registered holder of ADSs, you will have ADS holder rights. A deposit agreement among us, the depositary and you, as an ADS holder, and all other persons directly or indirectly holding ADSs sets out ADS holder rights as well as the rights and obligations of the depositary. New York law governs the deposit agreement and the ADSs.

The following is a summary of the material provisions of the deposit agreement. Because it is a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For more complete information, you should read the entire deposit agreement and the form of ADR which summarizes certain terms of your ADSs. A copy of the deposit agreement is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 20-F. You may also find a copy of our Annual Reports and the deposit agreement on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Dividends and Other Distributions

How will you receive dividends and other distributions on the shares?

The depositary has agreed to pay to you the cash dividends or other distributions it or the custodian receives on shares or other deposited securities, after deducting its fees and expenses. You will receive these distributions in proportion to the number of ordinary shares your ADSs represent.

| • |  | Cash. The depositary will convert any cash dividend or other cash distribution we pay on the shares into U.S. dollars, if it can do so on a reasonable basis and can transfer the U.S. dollars to the United States. If that is not possible or if any government approval is needed and can not be obtained, the deposit agreement allows the depositary to distribute the foreign currency only to those ADS holders to whom it is possible to do so. It will hold the foreign currency it cannot convert for the account of the ADS holders who have not been paid. It will not invest the foreign currency and it will not be liable for any interest.

Before making a distribution, any withholding taxes, or other governmental charges that must be paid will be deducted. It will distribute only whole U.S. dollars and cents and will round fractional cents to the nearest whole cent. If the exchange rates fluctuate during a time when the depositary cannot convert the foreign currency, you may lose some or all of the value of the distribution.

| • |  | Shares. The depositary may distribute additional ADSs representing any shares we distribute as a dividend or free distribution to the extent reasonably practicable and permitted under law. The depositary will only distribute whole ADSs. It will try to sell shares which would require it to deliver a fractional ADS and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. If the depositary does not distribute additional ADSs, the outstanding ADSs will also represent the new shares. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed shares sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.

| • |  | Rights to purchase additional shares. If we offer holders of our securities any rights to subscribe for additional shares or any other rights, the depositary may make these rights available to you. If the depositary decides it is not legal and practical to make the rights available but that it is practical to sell the rights, the depositary will use reasonable efforts to sell the rights and distribute the proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. The depositary will allow rights that are not distributed or sold to lapse. In that case, you will receive no value for such rights.

If the depositary makes rights available to ADS holders, it will exercise the rights and purchase the shares on your behalf all in accordance with your instructions. The depositary will then deposit the shares and deliver ADSs to you. It will only exercise rights if you pay the exercise price and any other charges the rights require you to pay and comply with other applicable instructions.

| • |  | Other Distributions. The depositary will send to you anything else we distribute on deposited securities by any means it determines is legal, fair and practical. If it cannot make the distribution in that way, the depositary may adopt another legal, fair and practical method. It may decide to sell what we distributed and distribute the net proceeds in the same way as it does with cash. Or, it may decide to hold what we distributed, in which case ADSs will also represent the newly distributed property. However, the depositary is not required to distribute any securities (other than ADSs) to ADS holders unless it receives reasonably satisfactory evidence from us that it is legal to make that distribution. The depositary may sell a portion of the distributed securities or property sufficient to pay its fees and expenses in connection with that distribution.

The depositary is not responsible if it decides that it is unlawful or impractical to make a distribution available to any ADS holders. We have no obligation to register ADSs, shares, rights or other securities under the Securities Act. We also have no obligation to take any other action to permit the distribution of ADSs, shares, rights or any other property to ADS holders. This means that you may not receive the distributions we make on our ordinary shares or any value for them if it is illegal or impractical for us to make them available to you.

Deposit, Withdrawal and Cancellation

How are ADSs issued?

The depositary will deliver ADSs if you or your broker deposit shares or evidence of rights to receive shares with the custodian. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or share transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will register the appropriate number of ADSs in the names you request and will deliver the ADSs to or upon the order of the person or persons that made the deposit.

How can ADS holders withdraw the deposited securities?

You may surrender your ADSs at the depositary’s office. Upon payment of its fees and expenses and of any taxes or charges, such as stamp taxes or share transfer taxes or fees, the depositary will deliver the shares and any other deposited securities underlying the ADSs to the ADS holder or a person designated by you at the office of the custodian. In the alternative, at your request, risk and expense, the depositary will deliver the deposited securities at its office, if feasible.

How do ADS holders interchange between certificated ADSs and uncertificated ADSs?

You may surrender your ADR to the depositary for the purpose of exchanging your ADR for uncertificated ADSs. The depositary will cancel that ADR and will send to you a statement confirming that you are the registered holder of uncertificated ADSs. Alternatively, upon receipt by the depositary of a proper instruction from a registered holder of uncertificated ADSs requesting the exchange of uncertificated ADSs for certificated ADSs, the depositary will execute and deliver to you an ADR evidencing those ADSs.

Voting Rights

How do you vote?

You may instruct the depositary to vote the number of deposited ordinary shares your ADSs represent. The depositary will notify you of shareholders’ meetings and arrange to deliver our voting materials to you upon our request. Those materials will describe the matters to be voted on and explain how ADS holders may instruct the depositary how to vote. For instructions to be valid, they must reach the depositary by a date established by the depositary.

Otherwise, you will not be able to exercise your right to vote unless you withdraw the shares underlying the ADSs. However, you may not know about the meeting with a sufficient amount of advance notice to withdraw the shares.

The depositary will attempt, as far as practical, subject to the laws of Australia and of our Constitution or similar documents, to vote or to have its agents vote the shares or other deposited securities represented by your ADSs as instructed by ADS holders. The depositary will only vote or attempt to vote as instructed. Holders of ADSs in respect of which no timely voting instructions have been received shall be deemed to have instructed the depositary to give a discretionary proxy to a person designated by us to vote the ordinary shares represented by such holders’ ADSs; provided, however, that no such discretionary proxy shall be given with respect to any matter to be voted upon as to which we inform the depositary that (i) we do not wish such proxy to be given, (ii) substantial opposition exists, or (iii) the rights of holders of ordinary shares may be materially and adversely affected.

We cannot assure you that you will receive the voting materials in time to ensure that you can instruct the depositary to vote your ordinary shares. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions or for the manner of carrying out voting instructions. This means that you may not be able to exercise your right to vote and there may be nothing you can do if your ordinary shares are not voted as you requested.

In order to give you a reasonable opportunity to instruct the depositary as to the exercise of voting rights relating to deposited securities, if we request the depositary to act, we agree to give the depositary notice of any such meeting and details concerning the matters to be voted upon at least 45 days in advance of the meeting date.

Fees and Expenses |  |
Persons depositing or withdrawing ordinary shares or ADS holders must pay the depositary: |  | For:
$5.00 (or less) per 100 ADSs (or portion of 100 ADSs) |  | •  Issuance of ADSs, including issuances resulting from a distribution of shares or rights or other property •  Cancellation of ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal, including if the deposit agreement terminates
$.05 (or less) per ADS |  | •  Any cash distribution to you
A fee equivalent to the fee that would be payable if securities distributed to you had been shares and the shares had been deposited for issuance of ADSs |  | •  Distribution of securities distributed to holders of deposited securities which are distributed by the depositary to you

$.05 (or less) per ADS per calendar year |  | •  Depositary services
Registration or transfer fees |  | •  Transfer and registration of shares on our share register to or from the name of the depositary or its agent when you deposit or withdraw shares
Expenses of the depositary |  | •  Cable, telex and facsimile transmissions (when expressly provided in the deposit agreement) •  Converting foreign currency to U.S. dollars
Taxes and other governmental charges the depositary or the custodian have to pay on any ADS or share underlying an ADS, for example, stock transfer taxes, stamp duty or withholding taxes |  | •  As necessary
Any charges incurred by the depositary or its agents for servicing the deposited securities |  | •  As necessary

The depositary collects its fees for delivery and surrender of ADSs directly from investors depositing shares or surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal or from intermediaries acting for them. The depositary collects fees for making distributions to investors by deducting those fees from the amounts distributed or by selling a portion of distributable property to pay the fees. The depositary may collect its annual fee for depositary services by deduction from cash distributions or by directly billing investors or by charging the book-entry system accounts of participants acting for them. The depositary may generally refuse to provide fee-attracting services until its fees for those services are paid. The depositary may collect any of its fees by deduction from any cash distribution payable to you.

From time to time, the depositary may make payments to us to reimburse or share revenue from the fees collected from you, or waive fees and expenses for services provided, generally relating to costs and expenses arising out of establishment and maintenance of the ADS program. In performing its duties under the deposit agreement, the depositary may use brokers, dealers or other service providers that are affiliates of the depositary and that may earn or share fees or commissions.

Payment of Taxes

You will be responsible for any taxes or other governmental charges payable on your ADSs or on the deposited securities represented by any of your ADSs. The depositary may refuse to register any transfer of your ADSs or allow you to withdraw the deposited securities represented by your ADSs until such taxes or other charges are paid. It may apply payments owed to you or sell deposited securities represented by your ADSs to pay any taxes owed and you will remain liable for any deficiency. If the depositary sells deposited securities, it will, if appropriate, reduce the number of ADSs to reflect the sale and pay to you any proceeds, or send to ADS holders any property, remaining after it has paid the taxes.

Reclassifications, Recapitalizations and Mergers

If we: |  | Then:
•  Reclassify, split up or consolidate any of the deposited securities •  Distribute securities in respect of deposited shares that are not distributed to you •  Recapitalize, reorganize, merge, liquidate, sell all or substantially all of our assets, or take any similar action |  | The cash, shares or other securities received by the depositary will become deposited securities. Each ADS will automatically represent its equal share of the new deposited securities. The depositary may distribute some or all of the cash, shares or other securities it received. It may also ask you to surrender your outstanding ADRs in exchange for new ADRs identifying the new deposited securities.

Amendment and Termination

How may the deposit agreement be amended?

We may agree with the depositary to amend the deposit agreement and the ADRs without your consent for any reason. If an amendment adds or increases fees or charges, except for taxes and other governmental charges or expenses of the depositary for registration fees, facsimile costs, delivery charges or similar items, or prejudices a substantial right of ADS holders, it will not become effective for outstanding ADSs until 30 days after the depositary notifies ADS holders of the amendment. At the time an amendment becomes effective, you are considered, by continuing to hold your ADSs, to agree to the amendment and to be bound by the ADRs and the deposit agreement as amended.

How may the deposit agreement be terminated?

The depositary may initiate termination of the deposit agreement if at any time 60 days shall have expired after the depositary delivered to us a written resignation notice and a successor depositary has not been appointed and accepted its appointment, an insolvency event or delisting event occurs, or a termination option event has occurred or will occur. If termination of the deposit agreement is initiated, the depositary shall deliver a notice of termination to you setting a date for termination, which shall be at least 90 days after the date of that notice, and the deposit agreement shall terminate on that date. After termination, the depositary and its agents will do the following under the deposit agreement (but nothing else):

| • |  | collect distributions on the deposited securities;

| • |  | sell rights and other property; and

| • |  | deliver shares and other deposited securities upon cancellation of ADSs.

At any time after termination, the depositary may sell any remaining deposited securities. After that, the depositary will hold the money it received on the sale, as well as any other cash it is holding under the deposit agreement for the pro rata benefit of the ADS holders that have not surrendered their ADSs. It will not invest the money and has no liability for interest. The depositary’s only obligations will be to indemnify the relevant persons under the deposit agreement and to account for the money and other cash. After termination our only obligations will be to indemnify the depositary and to pay fees and expenses of the depositary that we agreed to pay.

Limitations on Obligations and Liability

Limits on our Obligations and the Obligations of the Depositary; Limits on Liability to Holders of ADSs

The deposit agreement expressly limits our obligations and the obligations of the depositary. It also limits our liability and the liability of the depositary. We and the depositary:

| • |  | are only obligated to take the actions specifically set forth in the deposit agreement;

| • |  | are not liable if we are or it is prevented or delayed by law or circumstances beyond our control from performing our or its obligations under the deposit agreement;

| • |  | are not liable if we or it exercises discretion permitted under the deposit agreement;

| • |  | are not liable for the inability of any holder of ADSs to benefit from any distribution on deposited securities that is not made available to holders of ADSs under the terms of the deposit agreement, or for any special, consequential or punitive damages for any breach of the terms of the deposit agreement;

| • |  | have no obligation to become involved in a lawsuit or other proceeding related to the ADSs or the deposit agreement on your behalf or on behalf of any other person; and

| • |  | may rely upon any documents we believe or it believes in good faith to be genuine and to have been signed or presented by the proper person.

In the deposit agreement, we and the depositary agree to indemnify each other under certain circumstances.

Requirements for Depositary Actions

Before the depositary will deliver or register a transfer of an ADS, make a distribution on an ADS, or permit withdrawal of shares, the depositary may require:

| • |  | payment of stock transfer or other taxes or other governmental charges and transfer or registration fees charged by third parties for the transfer of any shares or other deposited securities;

| • |  | satisfactory proof of the identity and genuineness of any signature; and

| • |  | compliance with regulations it may establish, from time to time, consistent with the deposit agreement, including presentation of transfer documents.

The depositary may refuse to deliver ADSs or register transfers of ADSs generally when the transfer books of the depositary or our transfer books are closed or at any time if the depositary or we think it advisable to do so.

Your Right to Receive the Shares Underlying your ADSs

You have the right to cancel your ADSs and withdraw the underlying shares at any time except:

| • |  | when temporary delays arise because: (i) the depositary has closed its transfer books or we have closed our transfer books; (ii) the transfer of shares is blocked to permit voting at a shareholders’ meeting; or (iii) we are paying a dividend on our ordinary shares;

| • |  | when you owe money to pay fees, taxes and similar charges; and

| • |  | when it is necessary to prohibit withdrawals in order to comply with any laws or governmental regulations that apply to ADSs or to the withdrawal of ordinary shares or other deposited securities.

This right of withdrawal may not be limited by any other provision of the deposit agreement.

Direct Registration System

In the deposit agreement, all parties to the deposit agreement acknowledge that the DRS and Profile Modification System, or Profile, will apply to uncertificated ADSs upon acceptance thereof to DRS by DTC. DRS is the system administered by DTC under which the depositary may register the ownership of uncertificated ADSs, which ownership may be evidenced by periodic statements sent by the depositary to the registered holders of uncertificated ADSs. Profile is a required feature of DRS that allows a DTC participant, claiming to act on behalf of a registered holder of ADSs, to direct the depositary to register a transfer of those ADSs to DTC or its nominee and to deliver those ADSs to the DTC account of that DTC participant without receipt by the depositary of prior authorization from the ADS holder to register that transfer.

In connection with and in accordance with the arrangements and procedures relating to DRS/Profile, the parties to the deposit agreement understand that the depositary will not determine whether the DTC participant that is claiming to be acting on behalf of an ADS holder in requesting registration of transfer and delivery described in the paragraph above has the actual authority to act on behalf of the ADS holder (notwithstanding any requirements under the Uniform Commercial Code). In the deposit agreement, the parties agree that the depositary’s reliance on and compliance with instructions received by the depositary through the DRS/Profile System and in accordance with the deposit agreement will not constitute negligence or bad faith on the part of the depositary.

Shareholder Communications; Inspection of Register of Holders of ADSs

The depositary will make available for your inspection at its office all communications that it receives from us as a holder of deposited securities that we make generally available to holders of deposited securities. The depositary will send you copies of those communications if we ask it to. You have a right to inspect the register of holders of ADSs, but not for the purpose of contacting those holders about a matter unrelated to our business or the ADSs.

Disclosure of Interests

When required in order to comply with applicable laws and regulations or our constitution, we may from time to time request each direct and indirect ADS holder to provide to the depositary information relating to: (a) the capacity in which it holds ADSs, (b) the identity of any indirect ADS holders or other persons or entities then or previously interested in those ADSs and the nature of those interests and (c) any other matter where disclosure of such matter is required for that compliance. Each direct and indirect ADS holder agrees to provide all information known to it in response to a request of that kind. Each indirect ADS holder consents to the disclosure by the direct ADS holder or other indirect ADS holder through which it holds ADSs, of all information responsive to a request of that kind.

Jury Trial Waiver

The deposit agreement provides that, to the extent permitted by law, ADS holders waive the right to a jury trial of any claim they may have against us or the depositary arising out of or relating to our shares, the ADSs or the deposit agreement, including any claim under the U.S. federal securities laws. If we or the depositary opposed a jury trial demand based on the waiver, the court would determine whether the waiver was enforceable in the facts and circumstances of that case in accordance with applicable case law.

You will not, by agreeing to the terms of the deposit agreement, be deemed to have waived our or the depositary’s compliance with U.S. federal securities laws or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.