Description of Registrants Securities
Exhibit 4.5
Description of Registrant’s Securities
As of March 28, 2024, Allied Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. has two classes of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): (1) our Common Stock; and (2) Warrants.
The following is a description of our common stock, warrants, and certain material provisions of Delaware law, our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Bylaws, as amended. The following is only a summary and is qualified by applicable law, our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Bylaws. Copies of our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and our Bylaws, as amended are included as exhibits to the Report of which this Exhibit is a part.
Common Stock
Voting. The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each outstanding share of common stock owned by that shareholder on every matter properly submitted to the shareholders for their vote. Shareholders are not entitled to vote cumulatively for the election of directors.
Dividend Rights. Subject to the dividend rights of the holders of any outstanding series of preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends and other distributions of cash or any other right or property as may be declared by our Board of Directors out of our assets or funds legally available for such dividends or distributions.
Liquidation Rights. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, holders of our common stock would be entitled to share ratably in our assets that are legally available for distribution to shareholders after payment of liabilities and after the satisfaction of any liquidation preference owed to the holders of any preferred stock.
Conversion, Redemption and Preemptive Rights. Holders of our common stock have no conversion, redemption, preemptive, subscription or similar rights.
Warrants
Each 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 after September 9, 2019 until expiration. However, 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 of common stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the public warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our merger on August 9, 2019, 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 provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the 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” for this purpose will mean the average reported last sale price of the shares of common stock for the 5 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date of exercise. The warrants will expire on the fifth anniversary of our completion of an initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We may call the warrants for redemption (excluding certain warrants), in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant.
● | at any time after the warrants become 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 $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), 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; and |
● | if, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of common stock underlying such warrants. |
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 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 average reported last sale price of the shares of common stock for the 5 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.
The warrants are 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 at least 50% of the then outstanding warrants (including the private 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 stock dividend, 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.
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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.
Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our best efforts to have declared effective a prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and keep such prospectus current 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 for cash and we will not be required to net cash settle or cash settle the warrant exercise.
Warrant holders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrant holder would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% of the shares of common stock outstanding.
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, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number the number of shares of common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Subject to certain exceptions, Section 203 prevents a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for three years following the date that the person became an interested stockholder, unless either the interested stockholder attained such status with the approval of our Board of Directors, the business combination is approved by our Board of Directors and stockholders in a prescribed manner or the interested stockholder acquired at least 85% of our outstanding voting stock in the transaction in which it became an interested stockholder. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger or consolidation involving us and the “interested stockholder” and the sale of more than 10% of our assets. In general, an “interested stockholder” is any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person. The restrictions contained in Section 203 are not applicable to any of our existing stockholders that will own 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock upon the closing of this offering.
Bylaws
Certain provisions of our corporate bylaws could have anti-takeover effects. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our corporate policies formulated by our Board of Directors. In addition, these provisions also are intended to ensure that our Board of Directors will have sufficient time to act in what our Board of Directors believes to be in the best interests of our Company and our shareholders. Nevertheless, these provisions could delay or frustrate the removal of incumbent directors or the assumption of control of us by the holder of a large block of common stock, and could also discourage or make more difficult a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest, even if such event would be favorable to the interest of our shareholders. These provisions are summarized below.
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Advance Notice Provisions for Raising Business or Nominating Directors. Sections 2.2 and 3.3 of our Bylaws contain advance-notice provisions relating to the ability of shareholders to raise business at a shareholder meeting and make nominations for directors to serve on our Board of Directors. These advance-notice provisions generally require shareholders to raise business within a specified period of time prior to a meeting in order for the business to be properly brought before the meeting. Similarly, our Bylaws prescribe the timing of submissions for nominations to our Board of Directors and the certain of factual and background information respecting the nominee and the shareholder making the nomination.
Number of Directors and Vacancies. Our Bylaws provide that the number of directors shall be fixed from time to time by the Board. The bylaws also provide that our Board has the right, except as may be provided in the terms of any series of preferred stock created by resolutions of the board, to fill vacancies, including vacancies created by any decision of our Board to increase the number of directors comprising the board.
Certificate of Incorporation – Blank-Check Preferred Stock Power
Under our Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, our Board has the authority to fix by resolution the terms and conditions of one or more series of preferred stock and provide by resolution for the issuance of shares of such series.
We believe that the availability of our preferred stock, in each case issuable in series, and additional shares of common stock could facilitate certain financings and acquisitions and provide a means for meeting other corporate needs which might arise. The authorized shares of our preferred stock, as well as authorized but unissued shares of common stock, will be available for issuance without further action by our shareholders, unless shareholder action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange on which any series of our stock may then be listed, or except as may be provided in the terms of any preferred stock created by resolution of our Board.
These provisions give our Board the power to approve the issuance of a series of preferred stock, or additional shares of common stock, that could, depending on its terms, either impede or facilitate the completion of a merger, tender offer or other takeover attempt. For example, the issuance of new shares of preferred stock might impede a business combination if the terms of those shares include voting rights which would enable a holder to block business combinations or, alternatively, might facilitate a business combination if those shares have general voting rights sufficient to cause an applicable percentage vote requirement to be satisfied.
Shareholder Rights Plan. We have a shareholder rights plan (the “Shareholder Rights Plan”) that is designed to encourage the fair treatment of shareholders in connection with any takeover bid for the Company. Rights issued under the Shareholder Rights Plan become exercisable when a person, and any related parties, acquires or announces the intention to acquire 10% or more of the Company’s outstanding common shares without complying with certain provisions set out in the Shareholder Rights Plan or without approval of the board of directors of the Company. Should such an acquisition or announcement occur, each rights holder, other than the acquiring person and its related parties, will have the right to purchase one one-thousandth of a Series A Preferred Share at an exercise price of $7.00 per share, subject to adjustment as provided in the Shareholder Rights Plan. As of February 9, 2024, we have issued 50,000 Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock. The Rights will expire on February 9, 2027.
For further particulars, reference should be made to the Shareholder Rights Plan, a copy of which is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on 10-K.
Market Information
Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “AGAE.” Our warrants are traded on the OTC Market under the symbol “AGAEW.”
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