Exhibit 3.1
RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
of
CONSTELLATION BRANDS, INC.
Duly Adopted in Accordance With Sections 245 and 242
of the Delaware General Corporation Law
This is a Restated Certificate of Incorporation which amends and restates the Restated
Certificate of Incorporation of Constellation Brands, Inc., as previously amended.
FIRST. (a) The present name of the corporation is Constellation Brands, Inc. (the
Corporation).
(b) The name under which the Corporation was originally incorporated was Canandaigua Wine
Company, Inc.; and the date of filing of the original certificate of incorporation with the
Secretary of State of the State of Delaware was December 4, 1972.
SECOND. The amendment and the restatement of the certificate of incorporation herein certified
have been duly adopted by the stockholders in accordance with the provisions of Section 242 and 245
of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
THIRD. The provisions of the certificate of incorporation of the Corporation as heretofore
restated, amended and/or supplemented, are hereby amended and restated and integrated into a single
instrument which shall read in its entirety as follows:
1. Name. The name of the Corporation is Constellation Brands, Inc.
2. Address; Registered Agent. The address of the registered office in the State of
Delaware is 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle 19801. The name of
its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.
3. Purposes. The nature of business or purposes to be conducted or promoted is to
engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the Delaware
General Corporation Law.
4. Capitalization; General Authorization. The total number of shares of stock which
the Corporation shall have authority to issue is Three Hundred Sixty-One Million (361,000,000)
consisting of:
(a) Class A Common. Three Hundred Fifteen Million (315,000,000) shares designated as
Class A Common Stock, having a par value of One Cent ($.01) per share (the Class A
Common);
(b) Class B Common. Thirty Million (30,000,000) shares designated as Class B Common
Stock, having a par value of One Cent ($.01) per share (the Class B Common);
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(c) Class 1 Common. Fifteen Million (15,000,000) shares designated as Class 1 Common
Stock, having a par value of One Cent ($.01) per share (the Class 1 Common); and
(d) Preferred Stock. One Million (1,000,000) shares designated as Preferred Stock,
having a par value of One Cent ($.01) per share (the Preferred Stock).
5. Rights and Limitations. The designations, powers, preferences and relative
participation, optional or other special rights and the qualifications, limitations and
restrictions thereof in respect of each class of capital stock of the Corporation are as follows:
(i) Class A Common, Class B Common and Class 1 Common. The Class A Common, Class B
Common and Class 1 Common shall be identical in all respects and shall entitle the holders thereof
to the same rights, privileges and limitations, except as otherwise provided herein. The relative
rights, privileges and limitations are as follows:
(a) Voting Rights. The holders of Class A Common, Class B Common and Class 1
Common shall have the following rights:
(i) The holders of Class A Common, Class B Common and Class 1 Common shall be
entitled to vote as separate classes on all matters as to which a class vote is now,
or hereafter may be, required by law.
(ii) The number of authorized shares of Class A Common and/or Class B Common
may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then
outstanding) by the majority vote of all Class A Common and Class B Common voting as
a single class, provided that the holders of Class A Common shall have one (1) vote
per share and the holders of Class B Common shall have ten (10) votes per share.
The number of authorized shares of Class 1 Common may be increased or decreased (but
not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by holders of a majority of
the voting power of the stock entitled to vote, voting as a single class, provided
that the holders of Class A Common shall have one (1) vote per share, the holders of
Class B Common shall have ten (10) votes per share and the holders of Class 1 Common
shall have one (1) vote per share.
(iii) At every meeting of shareholders called for the election of directors,
the holders of the Class A Common, voting as a class, shall be entitled to elect
one-fourth (1/4) of the number of directors to be elected at such meeting (rounded,
if the total number of directors to be elected at such meeting is not evenly
divisible by four (4), to the next higher whole number), and the holders of the
Class B Common, voting as a class, shall be entitled to elect the remaining number
of directors to be elected at such meeting. Irrespective of the foregoing, if the
number of outstanding Class B Common shares is less than 12 1/2% of the total number
of outstanding shares of Class A Common and Class B Common, then the holders of the
Class A Common shall be entitled to elect one-fourth (1/4) of the number of
directors to be elected at such meeting (rounded, if the total number of directors
to be elected at such meeting is not evenly divisible by four (4), to the next
higher whole number) and shall be entitled to participate with the holders of the
Class B Common shares voting as a single class in the election of the remaining
number of directors to be elected at such meeting, provided that the holders of
Class A Common shall have one (1) vote per share and the holders of the Class B
Common shall have ten (10) votes per share. If, during the interval between annual
meetings for the
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election of directors, the number of directors who have been elected by either
the holders of the Class A Common or the Class B Common shall, by reason of
resignation, death, retirement, disqualification or removal, be reduced, the vacancy
or vacancies in directors so created may be filled by a majority vote of the
remaining directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole
remaining director. Any director so elected by the remaining directors to fill any
such vacancy may be removed from office by the vote of the holders of a majority of
the shares of the Class A Common and the Class B Common voting as a single class,
provided that the holders of Class A Common shall have one (1) vote per share and
the holders of the Class B Common shall have ten (10) votes per share.
(iv) The holders of Class A Common and Class B Common shall in all matters not
specified in Sections 5(i)(a)(i), 5(i)(a)(ii) and 5(i)(a)(iii) vote together as a
single class, provided that the holders of Class A Common shall have one (1) vote
per share and the holders of Class B Common shall have ten (10) votes per share.
(v) The holders of Class 1 Common shall not be entitled to vote on any matter
except as set forth in Section 5(i)(a)(i) and the second sentence of Section
5(i)(a)(ii).
(vi) There shall be no cumulative voting of any shares of Class A Common, Class
B Common or Class 1 Common.
(b) Dividends. Subject to the rights of the Class A Common, Class B Common and
Class 1 Common set forth in Paragraph 5(i)(c) hereof, the Board of Directors, acting in its
sole discretion, may declare in accordance with law a dividend, payable in cash, in property
or in securities of the Corporation, on any of the Class A Common, Class B Common or Class 1
Common, on all of the Class A Common, Class B Common and Class 1 Common, or on any
combination of the Class A Common, Class B Common and Class 1 Common.
(c) Cash Dividends. The Board of Directors may, in its sole discretion, declare
cash dividends payable only to holders of Class A Common or to the holders of Class A
Common, Class B Common and Class 1 Common, but not only to holders of Class B Common, Class
1 Common, both Class B Common and Class 1 Common, both Class A Common and Class B Common or
both Class A Common and Class 1 Common. A cash dividend in any amount may be paid on the
Class A Common if no cash dividend is to be paid on Class B Common or Class 1 Common. If a
cash dividend is to be paid on the Class B Common and Class 1 Common, (i) the cash dividend
paid per share shall be the same for each share of Class B Common and Class 1 Common, and
(ii) a cash dividend shall also be paid on the Class A Common in an amount per share thereof
which exceeds the amount of the cash dividend paid on each share of Class B Common and Class
1 Common by at least ten percent (10%) (rounded up, if necessary, to the nearest
one-hundredth of a cent).
(d) Convertibility.
(i) Each holder of record of a share of Class B Common may at any time or from
time to time, without cost to such holder and at such holders option, convert any
whole number or all of such holders shares of Class B Common into fully paid and
nonassessable shares of Class A Common at the rate of one share of Class A Common
for each share of Class B Common surrendered for conversion. Any such conversion may
be effected by any holder of Class B Common by surrendering (which may be by
electronic delivery or otherwise if such shares are uncertificated) such holders
shares of Class B
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Common to be converted, duly endorsed or with duly executed stock powers, at
the office of the Corporation or the office of any transfer agent for the Class A
Common, together with a written notice for the Corporation at such office that such
holder elects to convert all or a specified number of such shares of Class B Common.
Promptly thereafter, the Corporation shall issue and deliver to such holder the
number of shares of Class A Common to which such holder shall be entitled as
aforesaid. Such conversion shall be made as of the close of business on the date of
such surrender and the person or persons entitled to receive the shares of Class A
Common issuable on such conversion shall be treated for all purposes as the record
holder or holders of such shares of Class A Common on such date.
(ii) Each holder of record of a share of Class 1 Common may, without cost to
such holder and at such holders option, convert shares of Class 1 Common into fully
paid and nonassessable shares of Class A Common at the rate of one share of Class A
Common for each share of Class 1 Common surrendered for conversion; provided, a
holder of shares of Class 1 Common may only convert such shares if such holder
immediately sells the shares of Class A Common received upon such conversion in
either a transaction effected through the facilities of the stock exchange or other
trading market on which the Class A Stock is then actively traded (a Market
Transaction) or a bona fide arms-length transaction with an unrelated party (a
Qualifying Private Transaction). Any such conversion may be effected by any holder
of Class 1 Common by (x) surrendering (by electronic delivery or otherwise) at the
office of the transfer agent for the Class A Common (the Conversion Agent) such
holders shares of Class 1 Common to be converted, (y) delivering to the Conversion
Agent a notice or other instructions (which may be written or given electronically
through any automated transaction system maintained by the Conversion Agent) that
such holder elects to convert all or a specified number of such shares of Class 1
Common, and (z) delivering to the Conversion Agent either (1) instructions to sell
the shares of Class A Common issuable upon such conversion on behalf of such holder
(which instructions may be given in accordance with any account agreement in place
between such holder and the Conversion Agent), or (2) a certificate stating that
such holder has sold the shares of Class A Common issuable upon such conversion in a
Market Transaction or Qualifying Private Transaction, together with a stock power or
other transfer instructions identifying the person or persons in whose name the
shares of Class A Common issuable upon such conversion are to be issued. Promptly
thereafter, the Corporation shall issue and deliver the number of shares of Class A
Common to which such holder shall be entitled as aforesaid in accordance with the
instructions to sell or transfer instructions delivered to the Conversion Agent.
Such conversion shall be made as of the close of business on the date of surrender
and delivery to the Conversion Agent of the shares of Class 1 Common and all other
materials required to be delivered to the Conversion Agent, and the person or
persons entitled to receive the shares of Class A Common issuable on such conversion
shall be treated for all purposes as the record holder or holders of such shares of
Class A Common on such date.
(iii) The Corporation will at all times reserve and keep available, solely for
the purpose of issue upon conversion of the outstanding shares of Class B Common and
Class 1 Common, such number of shares of Class A Common as shall be issuable upon
the conversion of all such outstanding shares, provided that the foregoing shall not
be considered to preclude the Corporation from satisfying its obligations in respect
of the conversion of the outstanding shares of Class B Common or Class 1 Common by
delivery of shares of Class A Common which are held in the treasury of the
Corporation.
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(e) Rights Upon Liquidation. Holders of Class A Common, Class B Common and
Class 1 Common shall have identical rights in the event of liquidation, and shall be treated
as a single class for purposes thereof.
(ii) Preferred Stock. Subject to the terms contained in any designation of a series of
Preferred Stock, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized, at any time and from time to time,
to fix, by resolution or resolutions, the following provisions for shares of any class or classes
of Preferred Stock of the Corporation or any series of any class of Preferred Stock:
(a) the designation of such class or series, the number of shares to constitute such
class or series which may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares of
that class or series then outstanding) by resolution of the Board of Directors, and the
stated value thereof if different from the par value thereof;
(b) whether the shares of such class or series shall have voting rights, in addition to
any voting rights provided by law, and, if so, the terms of such voting rights;
(c) the dividends, if any, payable on such class or series, whether any such dividends
shall be cumulative, and, if so, from what dates, the conditions and dates upon which such
dividends shall be payable, and the preference or relation which such dividends shall bear
to the dividends payable on any shares of stock of any other class or any other series of
the same class;
(d) whether the shares of such class or series shall be subject to redemption by the
Corporation, and, if so, the times, prices and other conditions of such redemption;
(e) the amount or amounts payable upon shares of such series upon, and the rights of
the holders of such class or series in, the voluntary or involuntary liquidation,
dissolution or winding up, or upon any distribution of the assets, of the Corporation;
(f) whether the shares of such class or series shall be subject to the operation of a
retirement or sinking fund and, if so, the extent to and manner in which any such retirement
or sinking fund shall be applied to the purchase or redemption of the shares of such class
or series for retirement or other corporate purposes and the terms and provisions relative
to the operation thereof;
(g) whether the shares of such class or series shall be convertible into, or
exchangeable for, shares of stock of any other class or any other series of the same class
or any other securities and, if so, the price or prices or the rate or rates of conversion
or exchange and the method, if any, of adjusting the same, and any other terms and
conditions of conversion or exchange;
(h) the limitations and restrictions, if any, to be effective while any shares of such
class or series are outstanding upon the payment of dividends or the making of other
distributions on, and upon the purchase, redemption or other acquisition by the Corporation
of the Common Stock or shares of stock of any other class or any other series of the same
class;
(i) the conditions or restrictions, if any, upon the creation of indebtedness of the
Corporation or upon the issue of any additional stock, including additional shares of such
class or series or of any other series of the same class or of any other class;
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(j) the ranking (be it pari passu, junior or senior) of each class or series vis-a-vis
any other class or series of any class of Preferred Stock as to the payment of dividends,
the distribution of assets and all other matters; and
(k) any other powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other
special rights, and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, insofar as
they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Restated Certificate of Incorporation,
to the full extent permitted in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware.
The powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights of each
class or series of Preferred Stock, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, if
any, may differ from those of any and all other series at any time outstanding.
6. By-Laws. In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute,
the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, alter or repeal the By-Laws of the
Corporation.
7. Liability of Directors. A member of the Corporations Board of Directors shall not
be personally liable to the Corporation or its shareholders for monetary damages for a breach of
fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability of the director (i) for any breach of the
directors duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its shareholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not
in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under
Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, relating to the payment of unlawful dividends
or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director
derived an improper personal benefit. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended after
approval by the shareholders of this Paragraph to authorize corporate action further eliminating or
limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation
shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation
Law, as so amended. Any repeal or modification of this Paragraph by the shareholders of the
Corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation
existing at the time of such repeal or modification.
8. Indemnification.
(a) Right to Indemnification. Each person who was or is made a party or is
threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding,
whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (hereinafter a proceeding), by
reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or is
or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent
of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise,
including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (hereinafter an indemnitee),
whether the basis of such proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a
director, officer, employee or agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director,
officer, employee or agent, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the
fullest extent authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same exists or may
hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such
amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than such law
permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expense,
liability and loss (including attorneys fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or
penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such indemnitee
in connection therewith and such indemnification shall continue as to an indemnitee who has
ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the
indemnitees heirs, executors and administrators; provided, however, that, except as
provided in subparagraph (b) hereof with respect to proceedings to enforce rights to
indemnification, the Corporation shall
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indemnify any such indemnitee in connection with a proceeding (or part thereof)
initiated by such indemnitee only if such proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the
Board of Directors of the Corporation. The right to indemnification conferred in this
Paragraph shall be a contract right and shall include the right to be paid by the
Corporation the expenses incurred in defending any such proceeding in advance of its final
disposition (hereinafter an advancement of expenses), provided, however, that, if the
Delaware General Corporation Law requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by an
indemnitee in his or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in
which service was or is rendered by such indemnitee, including, without limitation, service
to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an
undertaking (hereinafter an undertaking), by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all
amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from
which there is no further right to appeal (hereinafter a final adjudication) that such
indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this Paragraph or
otherwise.
(b) Right of Indemnitee to Bring Suit. If a claim under subparagraph (a) of
this Paragraph is not paid in full by the Corporation within sixty days after a written
claim has been received by the Corporation, except in the case of a claim for an advancement
of expenses, in which case the applicable period shall be twenty days, the indemnitee may at
any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the
claim. If successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the
Corporation to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking,
the indemnitee shall be entitled to be paid also the expense of prosecuting or defending
such suit. In (i) any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to indemnification
hereunder (but not in a suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a right to an advancement
of expenses) it shall be a defense that, and (ii) in any suit by the Corporation to recover
an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking the Corporation shall be
entitled to recover such expenses upon final adjudication that, the indemnitee has not met
the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Neither the failure of the Corporation (including its Board of Directors, independent legal
counsel, or its shareholders) to have made a determination prior to the commencement of such
suit that indemnification of the indemnitee is proper in the circumstance because the
indemnitee has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in the Delaware General
Corporation Law, nor an actual determination by the Corporation (including its Board of
Directors, independent legal counsel, or its shareholders) that the indemnitee has not met
such applicable standard of conduct, shall create a presumption that the indemnitee has not
met the applicable standard of conduct or, in the case of such a suit brought by the
indemnitee, be a defense to such suit. In any suit brought by the indemnitee to enforce a
right to indemnification or to an advancement of expenses hereunder, or by the Corporation
to recover an advancement of expenses pursuant to the terms of an undertaking, the burden of
proving that the indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified, or to such advancement of
expenses, under this Paragraph or otherwise shall be on the Corporation.
(c) Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights of indemnification and to the
advancement of expenses conferred in this Paragraph shall not be exclusive of any other
right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, this Restated
Certificate of Incorporation, by-law, agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested
directors or otherwise.
(d) Insurance. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to
protect itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense,
liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such
person against such expense, liability or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
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(e) Indemnification of Employees and Agents of the Corporation. The Corporation
may, to the extent authorized from time to time by the Board of Directors, grant rights to
indemnification, and to the advancement of expenses to any employee or agent of the
Corporation to the fullest extent of the provisions of this Paragraph with respect to the
indemnification and advancement of expenses of directors and officers of the Corporation.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has executed this Restated Certificate of Incorporation as
of the 6th day of December, 2007.
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/s/ Robert Sands
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Name: |
Robert Sands |
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Title: |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
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