A. A shareholder who receives notice pursuant to § 13.1-734 and who wishes to exercise appraisal rights must complete, sign, and return the form delivered by the corporation and, in the case of certificated shares, deposit the shareholder’s certificates in accordance with the terms of the notice by the date referred to in the notice pursuant to subdivision B 2 b of § 13.1-734. In addition, if applicable, the shareholder shall certify on the form whether the beneficial owner of such shares acquired beneficial ownership of the shares before the date required to be set forth in the notice pursuant to subdivision B 1 of § 13.1-734. If a shareholder fails to make this certification, the corporation may elect to treat the shareholder’s shares as after-acquired shares under § 13.1-738. Once a shareholder deposits that shareholder’s certificates or, in the case of uncertificated shares, returns the signed form, that shareholder loses all rights as a shareholder, unless the shareholder withdraws pursuant to subsection B.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 13.1-735.1

  • Appraisal: A determination of property value.
  • Beneficial owner: means any person who, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, or understanding, other than a revocable proxy, has or shares the power to vote, or to direct the voting of, shares; except that a member of a national securities exchange is not deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities held directly or indirectly by it on behalf of another person solely because the member is the record holder of the securities if the member is precluded by the rules of the exchange from voting without instruction on contested matters or matters that may affect substantially the rights or privileges of the holders of the securities to be voted. See Virginia Code 13.1-729
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Corporation: means the domestic corporation that is the issuer of the shares held by a shareholder demanding appraisal and, for matters covered by §§ 13. See Virginia Code 13.1-729
  • in writing: include any representation of words, letters, symbols, numbers, or figures, whether (i) printed or inscribed on a tangible medium or (ii) stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in a perceivable form and whether an electronic signature authorized by Chapter 42. See Virginia Code 1-257
  • Process: includes subpoenas, the summons and complaint in a civil action, and process in statutory actions. See Virginia Code 1-237
  • Secretary: means the corporate officer or other individual to whom the board of directors has delegated responsibility under subsection C of § 13. See Virginia Code 13.1-603
  • Shareholder: means a record shareholder, a beneficial shareholder, and a voting trust beneficial owner. See Virginia Code 13.1-729
  • Shares: means the units into which the proprietary interests in a corporation are divided. See Virginia Code 13.1-603
  • written: means any information in the form of a document. See Virginia Code 13.1-603

B. A shareholder who has complied with subsection A may nevertheless decline to exercise appraisal rights and withdraw from the appraisal process by so notifying the secretary of the corporation in writing by the date set forth in the appraisal notice pursuant to subdivision B 2 e of § 13.1-734. A shareholder who fails to withdraw from the appraisal process may not thereafter withdraw without the corporation’s written consent.

C. A shareholder who does not sign and return the form and, in the case of certificated shares, deposit that shareholder’s share certificates where required, each by the date set forth in the notice described in subsection B of § 13.1-734, shall not be entitled to payment under this article.

2005, c. 765; 2007, c. 165; 2019, c. 734.