Description of Securities
Exhibit 4.5
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
General
Abri SPAC I, Inc. has authorized stock consisting of 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001. As of the date of this report, 2,980,450 shares of Common Stock are issued and outstanding. No preferred shares are issued or outstanding. The following description summarizes the material terms of our securities. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you. For a complete description you should refer to our Certificate of Incorporation, bylaws, our warrant agreement, and to the applicable provisions of Delaware law.
Units
Each Unit consists of one share of common stock and one redeemable warrant. Each redeemable warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share and shall expire five years after the completion of an initial business combination, or earlier upon redemption. Fractional shares will either be rounded down to the nearest whole share or otherwise addressed in accordance with the applicable provisions of Delaware Law. On September 3, 2021, the holders of the Units were able to elect to separately trade the shares of Common Stock and Warrants included in the Units.
Common Stock
Our stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. In connection with any vote held to approve our initial business combination, our Sponsor, as well as all of our officers and directors, have agreed to vote their respective shares of Common Stock owned by them immediately prior to this offering and any shares purchased in this offering or following this offering in the open market, including any shares included in shares of Common Stock acquired in this offering or in the aftermarket, in favor of the proposed business combination.
We will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation and, solely if a vote is held to approve a business combination, a majority of the outstanding shares of Common Stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination.
The Board is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares eligible to vote for the election of directors can elect all of the directors.
At a special meeting of Abri’s stockholders held on December 9, 2022, Abri’s stockholders approved (i) a proposal to amend Abri’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (ii) a proposal to amend the Management Trust Agreement with the Transfer Agent, to extend the date by which Abri has to consummate a business combination from February 12, 2023 until August 12, 2023, on an as needed, month-to-month basis. In connection with the Extension Meeting, a total of 4,481,548 shares were tendered for redemption.
If we do not consummate an initial business combination by up to August 12, 2023, our corporate existence will cease except for the purposes of winding up our affairs and liquidating. If we are forced to liquidate prior to an initial business combination, our public stockholders are entitled to share ratably in the Trust Account, based on the amount then held in the Trust Account. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to participate in any liquidation distribution from the Trust Account occurring upon our failure to consummate an initial business combination with respect to the founder’s Common Stock and Private shares of Common Stock. Our Sponsor, officers and directors will therefore not participate in any liquidation distribution from the trust account with respect to such shares or shares of Common Stock. They will, however, participate in any liquidation distribution from the trust account with respect to any shares of Common Stock acquired in, or following, the IPO.
Our stockholders have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the shares of Common Stock, except that public stockholders have the right to sell their shares of Common Stock to us in a tender offer or have their shares of Common Stock converted to cash equal to their pro rata share of the trust account in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Public stockholders who redeem their shares of Common Stock into their share of the Trust Account still have the right to exercise any Warrants they still hold outside of such shares of Common Stock but will forfeit, without the receipt of any additional consideration, the portion of the Warrant included in the shares of Common Stock. Accordingly, an investor may have a disincentive to exercise redemption rights due to the loss of such portion of the Warrants.
Preferred Stock
There are no shares of preferred stock outstanding. Our Certificate of Incorporation as of the date of this prospectus/proxy statement/consent solicitation statement authorizes the issuance of 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Board. Accordingly, the Board is empowered, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with dividend, liquidation, conversion, voting or other rights which could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of Common Stock. However, the underwriting agreement prohibits us, prior to a business combination, from issuing preferred stock which participates in any manner in the proceeds of the Trust Account, or which votes as a class with the Common Stock on a business combination. We may issue some or all of the preferred stock to effect a business combination. In addition, the preferred stock could be utilized as a method of discouraging, delaying or preventing a change in control of us. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Redeemable Warrants
No warrants are currently outstanding. Each redeemable warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of the completion of our initial business combination and one year from the consummation of this offering. Except as set forth below, no warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within 90 days from the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption from registration provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act provided that such exemption is available. If an exemption from registration is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of an initial business combination at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.50 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination, and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our shares of common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Price”) is below $9.50 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the Market Price, and the $16.50 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 165% of the Market Price.
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We may call the warrants for redemption, in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant:
| ● | at any time while the warrants are exercisable, |
| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder, |
| ● | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of common stock equals or exceeds $16.50 per share, for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders (the “Force-Call Provision”), and |
| ● | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of common stock underlying such warrants at the time of redemption and for the entire 30-day trading period referred to above and continuing each day thereafter until the date of redemption. |
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.
The redemption criteria for our warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing share price and the warrant exercise price so that if the share price declines as a result of our redemption call, the redemption will not cause the share price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the whole warrants for that number of shares of common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the shares of common stock for the 20 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Whether we will exercise our option to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis” will depend on a variety of factors including the price of our shares of common stock at the time the warrants are called for redemption, our cash needs at such time and concerns regarding dilutive share issuances.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval, by written consent or vote, of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders.
The exercise price and number of shares of common stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share capitalizations, extraordinary dividend or our recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of common stock at a price below their respective exercise prices.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price, by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of shares of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of common stock. After the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
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Except as described above, no warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless at the time a holder seeks to exercise such warrant, a prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is current and the shares of common stock have been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to meet these conditions and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so and, if we do not maintain a current prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, holders will be unable to exercise their warrants and we will not be required to settle any such warrant exercise. If the prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the warrants is not current or if the shares of common stock is not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, we will not be required to net cash settle or cash settle the warrant exercise, the warrants may have no value, the market for the warrants may be limited and the warrants may expire worthless.
Warrant holders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrant holder (and his, her or its affiliates) would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder (and his, her or its affiliates) would beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the shares of common stock issued and outstanding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any person who acquires a warrant with the purpose or effect of changing or influencing the control of our company, or in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having such purpose or effect, immediately upon such acquisition will be deemed to be the beneficial owner of the underlying shares of common stock and not be able to take advantage of this provision.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share (as a result of a subsequent share capitalizations payable in shares of common stock, or by a split up of the shares of common stock or other similar event), we will, upon exercise, round up or down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Units
Except as described below, the private units have terms and provisions that are identical to those the units in this offering. The private units (including their component securities and the common stock issuable upon exercise of the private warrants included in the private units) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except pursuant to limited exceptions as described under “Principal Stockholders — Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Units,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the private units). The private warrants so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees a) will not be redeemable by us and b) will be exercisable on a cashless basis. If the private warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
We expect to have policies in place that restrict insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could exercise their warrants and sell the common stock received upon such exercise freely in the open market in order to recoup the cost of such exercise, the insiders could be significantly restricted from selling such securities. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
In order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of this offering, our insiders, officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. Each loan would be evidenced by a promissory note. The notes would either be paid upon consummation of our initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon consummation of our business combination into additional units at a price of $10.00 per unit. These units would be identical to the private units.
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Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, regulating corporate takeovers. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
| ● | a stockholder who owns 10% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”); |
| ● | an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or |
| ● | an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. |
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
| ● | our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction; |
| ● | after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or |
| ● | on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Staggered board of directors
Our certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
Special meeting of stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by resolution of the board of directors, or by the Chief Executive Officer.
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