North Carolina § 55-11A-11 - Plan of conversion.

§ 55-11A-11. Plan of conversion.

The converting domestic corporation shall approve a written plan of conversion containing all of the following: The name of the converting domestic corporation. The name of the resulting business entity into which the domestic corporation shall convert, its type of business entity, and the state or country whose laws govern its organization and internal affairs. The terms and conditions of the conversion. The manner and basis for converting the shares of the domestic corporation into interests, obligations, or securities of the resulting business entity or into cash or other property in whole or in part. The plan of conversion may contain other provisions relating to the conversion. The provisions of the plan of conversion, other than the provisions required by subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (a) of this section, may be made dependent on facts objectively ascertainable outside the plan of conversion if the plan of conversion sets forth the manner in which the facts will operate upon the affected provisions. The facts may include any of the following: Statistical or market indices, market prices of any security or group of securities, interest rates, currency exchange rates, or similar economic or financial data. A determination or action by the converting domestic corporation or by any other person, group, or body. The terms of, or actions taken under, an agreement to which the converting domestic corporation is a party, or any other agreement or document. The following requirements shall be met for a plan of conversion to be approved: The board of directors shall recommend to the shareholders that the plan of conversion be approved, unless one of the following circumstances exist, in which event the board of directors shall communicate the basis for not recommending approval of the plan of conversion to the shareholders at the time it submits the plan of conversion to the shareholders: The board of directors determines that, because of conflict of interest or other special circumstances, it should not make a recommendation that the shareholders approve the plan of conversion. G.S. 55-8-26 applies. The shareholders entitled to vote shall approve the plan of conversion. The board of directors may condition its submission of the proposed conversion on any basis. The corporation shall notify each shareholder, whether or not entitled to vote, of the proposed shareholders' meeting in accordance with G.S. 55-7-05. The notice shall state that the purpose, or one of the purposes, of the meeting is to consider the plan of conversion and contain or be accompanied by a copy of the plan. Unless this Chapter, the articles of incorporation, a bylaw adopted by the shareholders or the board of directors, acting pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, require a greater vote or a vote by voting groups, the plan of conversion to be authorized shall be approved by each voting group entitled to vote separately on the plan by a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the plan by that voting group and, for the purpose of Article 9 of this Chapter or any provision in the articles of incorporation or bylaws adopted prior to January 1, 2002, a conversion shall be deemed to be included within the term "merger". If any shareholder of the converting domestic corporation has or will have personal liability for any existing or future obligation of the resulting business entity solely as a result of holding an interest in the resulting business entity, then in addition to the requirements of the preceding sentence, approval of the plan of conversion by the domestic corporation shall require the affirmative vote or written consent of that shareholder. Separate voting by voting groups is required on a plan of conversion if the plan contains a provision that, if contained in a proposed amendment to articles of incorporation, would require action by one or more separate voting groups on the proposed amendment under G.S. 55-10-04, except where the consideration to be received in exchange for the shares of that group consists solely of cash. After a plan of conversion has been approved by a domestic corporation but before the articles of conversion become effective, the plan of conversion (i) may be amended as provided in the plan of conversion, or (ii) may be abandoned, subject to any contractual rights, as provided in the plan of conversion or, if there is no such provision, as determined by the board of directors without further shareholder action. History (2001-387, s. 17; 2005-268, s. 30; 2013-153, s. 11.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2013-153, s. 15 provides: "The Revisor of Statutes may cause to be printed all relevant portions of the Official Comments to the Model Business Corporation Act and all explanatory comments of the drafters of this act as the Revisor deems appropriate." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2005-268, s. 30, effective October 1, 2005, added the subsection (a1) designation; and added subsection (a2). Session Laws 2013-153, s. 11, effective January 1, 2014, added "all of the following" in subsection (a); substituted "The following requirements shall be met for" for "For" in subsection (b); rewrote subdivision (b)(1), which formerly read "The board of directors shall recommend the plan of conversion to the shareholders, unless the board of directors determines that because of conflict of interest or other special circumstances it should make no recommendation, in which event the board of directors shall communicate the basis for its lack of recommendation to the shareholders with the plans; and"; added sub-subdivisions (b)(1)a. and (b)(1)b.; added "of conversion" in subdivision (b)(2); and made stylistic and punctuation changes in subsection (a) and subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(3).