Description of the Securities of Ballantyne Strong, Inc
Exhibit 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF THE SECURITIES OF BALLANTYNE STRONG, INC.
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
The following summarizes the terms and provisions of the securities of Ballantyne Strong, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). The common stock of the Company is registered under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). The following summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, each as amended, which the Company has previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and applicable Delaware law.
Authorized Capital
The Company’s authorized capital stock consists of 25,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.01 par value per share (the “Preferred Stock”).
Under Delaware law, stockholders generally are not personally liable for a corporation’s acts or debts.
Exchange and Trading Symbol
The Common Stock is listed for trading on the NYSE American under the trading symbol “BTN.”
Rights and Preferences
All outstanding shares of Common Stock are duly authorized, fully paid and nonassessable. Holders of shares of Common Stock have no conversion, preemptive or subscription rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of Common Stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of Preferred Stock that the Company may designate and issue in the future.
In the event of the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in the assets legally available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all of the Company’s known debts and liabilities and after adequate provision has been made for each class of stock having preference over the Common Stock, if any.
Voting Rights
Holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by the stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast by the holders of Common Stock. Except as otherwise required by law, all other matters brought to a vote of the holders of Common Stock are determined by a majority of the votes cast and, except as may be provided with respect to any other outstanding class or series of the Company’s stock, the holders of shares of Common Stock possess the exclusive voting power.
Dividends
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any then outstanding shares of Preferred Stock, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends, if any, as may be declared from time to time by the Company’s Board of Directors out of legally available funds.
Preferred Stock
The Board of Directors of the Company is authorized, subject to any limitations prescribed by applicable law and without further approval or action by the holders of Common Stock, to issue shares of Preferred Stock in one or more series. The Board of Directors may fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each such series and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and sinking fund terms. The Company has no outstanding shares of Preferred Stock.
The rights of the holders of Common Stock will generally be subject to the prior rights of the holders of any outstanding shares of Preferred Stock with respect to dividends, liquidation preferences and other matters.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Delaware Law and the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Delaware Anti-Takeover Law
The Company is subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (“Section 203”). Section 203 generally prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder unless:
| ● | prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; | |
| ● | upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned by (i) persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or | |
| ● | at or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Section 203 defines a “business combination” to generally include:
| ● | any merger or consolidation of the corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the corporation with the interested stockholder; | |
| ● | any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer or other disposition (in one transaction or a series of transactions), except proportionately as a stockholder of such corporation, to or with the interested stockholder of assets of the corporation or of any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the corporation which assets have an aggregate market value equal to 10% or more of either the aggregate market value of all the assets of the corporation determined on a consolidated basis or the aggregate market value of all the outstanding stock of the corporation; | |
| ● | subject to certain exceptions, any transaction which results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation or by any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the corporation of any stock of the corporation or of such subsidiary to the interested stockholder; |
| ● | subject to certain exceptions, any transaction involving the corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary of the corporation that has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the interested stockholder’s proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of securities, or securities convertible into the stock of any class or series, of the corporation or of any such subsidiary; and | |
| ● | any receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a stockholder of such corporation), of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation or any direct or indirect majority-owned subsidiary. |
In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or person that (i) is the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation, or (ii) is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to the date on which it is sought to be determined whether such person is an interested stockholder, and the affiliates and associates of such person.
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
The Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws include anti-takeover provisions that:
| ● | authorize the Board of Directors, without further action by the stockholders, to issue shares of Preferred Stock in one or more series, and with respect to each series, to fix the number of shares constituting that series, and establish the rights and terms of that series; | |
| ● | establish advance notice procedures for stockholders to submit nominations of candidates for election to the Board of Directors to be brought before a stockholders meeting; | |
| ● | allow the Company’s directors to establish the size of the Board of Directors and fill vacancies on the Board created by an increase in the number of directors (subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances); | |
| ● | require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors in order to remove a director or the entire Board of Directors for cause; | |
| ● | do not provide stockholders cumulative voting rights with respect to director elections; and | |
| ● | provide that the Company’s Bylaws may be amended by the Board of Directors without stockholder approval; provided, however, that the stockholders may amend the Bylaws only with the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of directors. |
Provisions of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws may delay or discourage transactions involving an actual or potential change in the Company’s control or change in the Company’s Board of Directors or management, including transactions in which stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares or transactions that the Company’s stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests. Therefore, these provisions could adversely affect the price of the Common Stock.
Authorized and Unissued Shares
The Company’s authorized and unissued shares of Common Stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval except as may otherwise be required by applicable stock exchange rules or Delaware law. The Company may issue additional shares for a variety of purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, to fund acquisitions and as employee and consultant compensation. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock could render more difficult, or discourage an attempt, to obtain control of the Company by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
The issuance of shares of Preferred Stock by the Company could have certain anti-takeover effects under certain circumstances, and could enable the Board of Directors to render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of the Company by means of a merger, tender offer, or other business combination transaction directed at the Company by, among other things, placing shares of Preferred Stock with investors who might align themselves with the Board of Directors.
