Amendment of articles of incorporation after payment of capital

1. Law
2. US Virgin Islands Code
3. Corporations and Associations
4. General Corporation Law
5. Amendments; Changes in Capital and Capital Stock
6. Amendment of articles of incorporation after payment of capital

• (a) Any corporation created under the provisions of this chapter, may, from time to time, when and as desired, amend its articles of incorporation by—

  • (1) addition to its corporate powers and purposes, or diminution thereof, or both; or

  • (2) substitution of other powers and purposes, in whole or in part, for those prescribed by its articles of incorporation; or

  • (3) increasing or decreasing its authorized capital stock or reclassifying the same, by changing the number, par value, designations, preferences, or relative, participating, optional, or other special rights of the shares, or the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such rights, or by changing shares with par value into shares without par value, or shares without par value into shares with par value either with or without increasing or decreasing the number of shares; or

  • (4) changing its corporate title; or

  • (5) making any other change or alteration in its articles of incorporation that may be desired.

    Any or all such changes or alterations may be effected by one certificate of amendment. All articles of incorporation as so amended, changed or altered, shall contain only such provisions as it would be lawful and proper to insert in original articles of incorporation made at the time of making such amendment.

• (b) Whenever issued shares having par value are changed into the same or a greater or less number of shares without par value, whether of the same or of a different class or classes of stock, the aggregate amount of the capital of the corporation represented by such shares without par value shall be the same as the aggregate amount of capital represented by the shares so changed; and whenever issued shares without par value are changed into other shares without par value to a greater or less number, whether of the same or of a different class or classes, the amount of capital represented by the new shares in the aggregate shall be the same as the aggregate amount of capital represented by the shares so changed.

• (c) The certificate of amendment of any articles of incorporation effecting any change in the issued shares of the corporation shall set forth that the capital of the corporation will not be reduced under or by reason of the amendment.

• (d) Every amendment authorized by subsection (a) of this section shall be made and effected in the following manner—

  • The board of directors shall adopt a resolution setting forth the amendment proposed, declaring its advisability, and calling a meeting of the stockholders entitled to vote in respect thereof for the consideration of such amendment. The meeting shall be called and held upon such notice as the articles of incorporation or by-laws of the corporation shall provide, or, in the absence of such provision, upon notice thereof to each stockholder so entitled to vote, either delivered to such stockholder or mailed to him, at his post-office address, if known, at least ten days before the date fixed for the meeting. The notice shall set forth such amendment in full or a brief summary of the changes to be effected thereby, as the directors shall deem advisable. At the meeting a vote of the stockholders entitled to vote, in person or by proxy, shall be taken for and against the proposed amendment, which vote shall be conducted by two judges, appointed for the purpose either by the directors or by the meeting. The judges shall decide upon the qualifications of voters, and accept their votes, and when the vote is completed, count and ascertain the number of shares voted respectively for and against the amendment, and shall declare whether the natural or juridical persons holding the majority of the voting stock of the corporation (or of each class of stock entitled to vote thereon, when such vote is to be taken by classes) have voted for or against the proposed amendment; and shall make out a certificate accordingly, stating the number of shares of stock, issued and outstanding and entitled to vote thereon, and the number of shares voted for and the number of shares voted against the amendment respectively, and shall subscribe and deliver the certificate to the secretary of the corporation. If it appears by the certificate of the judges that the natural or juridical persons holding the majority of the stock of the corporation entitled to vote (or of each class of stock when such vote is to be taken by classes) have voted in favor of the amendment, a certificate setting forth the amendment and certifying that such amendment has been duly adopted in accordance with the provisions of this section shall be made under the seal of the corporation and signed by its president or a vice-president, and its secretary or an assistant secretary and the president or such vice-president shall acknowledge the certificate before an officer authorized by the laws of the United States Virgin Islands to authenticate signatures. The certificate, so executed and acknowledged, shall be filed in the office of the Lieutenant Governor, and a copy thereof, certified by the Lieutenant Governor, shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the district court in the judicial division in which the original articles of incorporation are filed. Upon filing the same, the articles of incorporation of the corporation shall be deemed to be amended accordingly. If any proposed amendment would alter or change the preferences, special rights or powers given to any one or more classes of stock by the articles of incorporation, or would affect such class or classes of stock, or would increase or decrease the amount of the authorized stock of such class of classes of stock, or would increase or decrease the par value thereof, then the holders of the stock of each class of stock so affected by the amendment shall be entitled to vote as a class upon such amendment, whether by the terms of the articles of incorporation such class be entitled to vote or not; and the affirmative vote of a majority in interest of each such class of stock so affected by the amendment shall be necessary to the adoption thereof, in addition to the affirmative vote of a majority of all other stock entitled to vote thereon. The amount of the authorized stock of any such class or classes of stock may be increased or decreased by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the stock of the corporation entitled to vote, if so provided in the original articles of incorporation or in any amendment thereto which created such class or classes of stock or in any amendment thereto which was authorized by a resolution or resolutions adopted by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of such class or classes of stock.

• (e) No amendment to articles of incorporation may be filed in the Office of the Lieutenant Governor unless the corporation shall have paid in full all franchise taxes due and payable, including penalties and interest, if any.

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