Section 1701.76 - Sale or other disposition of assets of corporation - limitations(A)(1) Provided the provisions of Chapter 1704. of the Revised Code do not prevent the transaction from being effected, a lease, sale, exchange, transfer, or other disposition of all, or substantially all, of the assets, with or without the good will, of a corporation, if not made in the usual and regular course of its business, may be made upon the terms and conditions and for the consideration, that may consist, in whole or in part, of money or other property of any description, including shares or other securities or promissory obligations of any other corporation, domestic or foreign, that may be authorized as follows: (a) By the directors, either before or after authorization by the shareholders as required in this section; and(b) At a meeting of the shareholders held for that purpose, by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares entitling them to exercise two-thirds of the voting power of the corporation on the proposal, or, if the articles so provide or permit, by the affirmative vote of a greater or lesser proportion, but not less than a majority, of the voting power, and by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares of any particular class that is required by the articles.(2) At the shareholder meeting described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section or at any subsequent shareholder meeting, shareholders, by the same vote that is required to authorize the lease, sale, exchange, transfer, or other disposition of all, or substantially all, of the assets, with or without the good will, of the corporation, may grant authority to the directors to establish or amend any of the terms and conditions of the transaction, except that the shareholders shall not authorize the directors to do any of the following:(a) Alter or change the amount or kind of shares, securities, money, property, or rights to be received in exchange for the assets;(b) Alter or change to any material extent the amount or kind of liabilities to be assumed in exchange for the assets;(c) Alter or change any other terms and conditions of the transaction if any of the alterations or changes, alone or in the aggregate, would materially adversely affect the shareholders or the corporation.(3) Notice of the meeting of the shareholders described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section shall be given to all shareholders whether or not entitled to vote at the meeting and shall be accompanied by a copy or summary of the terms of the transaction.(B) The corporation by its directors may abandon the transaction under this section, subject to the contract rights of other persons, if the power of abandonment is conferred upon the directors either by the terms of the transaction or by the same vote of shareholders and at the same meeting of shareholders as that referred to in division (A)(1)(b) of this section or at any subsequent meeting.(C) Dissenting holders of shares of any class, whether or not entitled to vote, shall be entitled to relief under section 1701.85 of the Revised Code, unless both of the following apply: (1) The shares of the corporation for which the dissenting shareholder would otherwise be entitled to relief are listed on a national securities exchange as of the day immediately preceding the date of the vote described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section.(2) The consideration to be received by the shareholders consists of shares or shares and cash in lieu of fractional shares that, immediately following the time of the vote described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, are listed on a national securities exchange, and no proceedings are pending to delist the shares from the national securities exchange as of the time of the vote.(D) An action to set aside a conveyance by a corporation, on the ground that any section of the Revised Code applicable to the lease, sale, exchange, transfer, or other disposition of all, or substantially all, of the assets of that corporation has not been complied with, shall be brought within ninety days after that transaction, or the action shall be forever barred.(E) If a resolution of dissolution is adopted pursuant to section 1701.86 of the Revised Code, the directors may dispose of all, or substantially all, of the corporation's assets without the necessity of a shareholders' authorization under this section.(F) The terms and conditions of any transaction under this section shall be subject to the limitations specified in section 2307.97 of the Revised Code.(G) This section does not apply to the distribution, pursuant to section 1701.33 of the Revised Code, to the shareholders of an issuing public corporation of shares owned by the issuing public corporation in one or more of its domestic or foreign subsidiary corporations, unless either of the following applies: (1) The former subsidiary is a party to one or more agreements pursuant to which it is obligated to engage in an additional transaction that, if the transaction were authorized after the time at which the distribution becomes effective, would require the approval of its shareholders.(2) Immediately prior to the time at which the distribution becomes effective, the issuing public corporation has more than one class of shares outstanding.(H) For purposes of this section only, the assets of a corporation include the assets of any other entity that is wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation. Unless otherwise provided in the articles, this section does not apply to any lease, sale, exchange, transfer, or other disposition of all, or substantially all, of the assets of a corporation to any entity that is wholly owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation.Amended by 129th General Assembly, HB 48, §1, eff. 5/4/2012.Effective Date: 04-11-1990; 04-07-2005; 10-12-2006; 2008 HB374 09-30-2008 .Committee Comment (2012)*
The changes to division (C) eliminate dissenters' rights in connection with an asset sale if, at the time of the vote, shareholders hold shares listed on a national securities exchange and the consideration to be received in the transaction consists solely of shares that are listed on a national securities exchange and no proceedings are underway to delist the shares. Cash paid for fractional shares is permitted without triggering dissenters' rights.
*Comments on 129th General Assembly, HB 48, from the Ohio State Bar Association Corporation Law Committee