(1) Unless the articles of incorporation otherwise provide, shareholder approval of a plan of merger or a plan of share exchange under s. 607.1103(1)(b) is not required if:

(a) The plan of merger or share exchange expressly:

1. Permits or requires the merger or share exchange to be effected under this section; and

2. Provides that, if the merger or share exchange is to be effected under this section, the merger or share exchange will be effected as soon as practicable following the satisfaction of the requirement in paragraph (f);

(b) Another party to the merger, the acquiring eligible entity in the share exchange, or a parent of another party to the merger or the parent of the acquiring eligible entity in the share exchange, makes an offer to purchase, on the terms provided in the plan of merger or the plan of share exchange, any and all of the outstanding shares of the corporation that, absent this section, would be entitled to vote on the plan of merger or the plan of share exchange, except that the offer may exclude shares of the corporation that are owned at the commencement of the offer by the corporation, the offeror, or any parent of the offeror, or by any wholly owned subsidiary of any of the foregoing;

(c) The offer discloses that the plan of merger or the plan of share exchange provides that the merger or share exchange will be effected as soon as practicable following the satisfaction of the requirement in paragraph (f) and that the shares of the corporation that are not tendered in response to the offer will be treated pursuant to paragraph (h);

(d) The offer remains open for at least 10 days;

(e) The offeror purchases all shares properly tendered in response to the offer and not properly withdrawn;

(f) The shares listed below are collectively entitled to cast at least the minimum number of votes on the merger or share exchange that, absent this section, would be required by this chapter and by the articles of incorporation for the approval of the merger or share exchange by the shareholders and by each other voting group entitled to vote on the merger or share exchange at a meeting at which all shares entitled to vote on the approval were present and voted:

1. Shares purchased by the offeror in accordance with the offer;

2. Shares otherwise owned by the offeror or by any parent of the offeror or any wholly owned subsidiary of any of the foregoing; and

3. Shares subject to an agreement that they are to be transferred, contributed, or delivered to the offeror, any parent of the offeror, or any wholly owned subsidiary of any of the foregoing in exchange for shares or eligible interests in such offeror, parent, or subsidiary;

(g) The offeror or a wholly owned subsidiary of the offeror merges with or into, or effects a share exchange in which it acquires shares of, the corporation; and

(h) Each outstanding share of each class or series of shares of the corporation that the offeror is offering to purchase in accordance with the offer, and that is not purchased in accordance with the offer, is to be converted in the merger into, or into the right to receive, or is to be exchanged in the share exchange for, or for the right to receive, the same amount and kind of securities, eligible interests, obligations, rights, cash, other property, or any combination of the foregoing, to be paid or exchanged in accordance with the offer for each share of that class or series of shares that is tendered in response to the offer, except that shares of the corporation that are owned by the corporation or that are described in subparagraph (f)2. or subparagraph (f)3. need not be converted into or exchanged for the consideration described in this paragraph.

(2) As used in this section, the term:

(a) “Offer” means the offer referred to in paragraph (1)(b).

(b) “Offeror” means the person making the offer.

(c) “Parent” of an eligible entity means a person that owns, directly or indirectly through one or more wholly owned subsidiaries, all of the outstanding shares of or eligible interests in that eligible entity.

(d) Shares tendered in response to the offer shall be deemed to have been “purchased” in accordance with the terms of the offer at the earliest time as of which:

1. The offeror has irrevocably accepted those shares for payment; and

2. In the case of shares represented by certificates, the offeror, or the offeror’s designated depository or other agent, has physically received the certificates representing those shares, or, in the case of shares without certificates, those shares have been transferred into the account of the offeror or its designated depository or other agent, or an agent’s message relating to those shares has been received by the offeror or its designated depository or other agent.

(e) “Wholly owned subsidiary” of a person means an eligible entity of or in which a person owns, directly or indirectly, all of the outstanding shares or eligible interests.

History.—s. 135, ch. 2019-90.