Description of Securities of the Registrant

EX-4.1 2 cdkq4fy21descriptionofsecu.htm EX-4.1 Document



Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

As of August 16, 2021, CDK Global, Inc. (the “Company,” “CDK,” “we,” “us,” and “our”) had one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): our common stock, par value $0.01 per share.
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following is a summary of information concerning our capital stock, including a summary of certain material terms and provisions of our certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated by-laws. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated by-laws and the applicable provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“DGCL”).
Capital Stock
Shares Outstanding. We are authorized to issue up to 650,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of August 16, 2021, we had 120,831,922 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.
Dividends. Subject to prior dividend rights of the holders of any preferred shares, holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for that purpose. Delaware law allows a corporation to pay dividends only out of surplus, as determined under Delaware law.
Voting Rights. Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Holders of shares of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights. This means a holder of a single share of common stock cannot cast more than one vote for each position to be filled on our board of directors. It also means the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in the election of directors can elect all directors standing for election and the holders of the remaining shares will not be able to elect any directors.
Other Rights. In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, after the satisfaction in full of the liquidation preferences of holders of any preferred shares, holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to ratable distribution of the remaining assets available for distribution to stockholders. The shares of our common stock are not subject to redemption by operation of a sinking fund or otherwise. Holders of shares of our common stock are not currently entitled to pre-emptive rights.
Fully Paid. The issued and outstanding shares of our common stock are fully paid and non-assessable. This means the full purchase price for the outstanding shares of our common stock has been paid and the holders of such shares will not be assessed any additional amounts for such shares. Any additional shares of common stock that we may issue in the future will also be fully paid and non-assessable.
Preferred Stock
We are authorized to issue up to 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock from time to time in one or more series and with such rights and preferences as determined by our board of directors with respect to each series. As of the date of this filing, no shares of our preferred stock are issued and outstanding.




Limitation on Liability of Directors and Officers

We are a Delaware corporation. Our certificate of incorporation provides that no director is personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except as required by applicable law, as in effect from time to time. Currently, Delaware law requires that liability be imposed only for the following:
any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to our company or our stockholders;
any act or omission not in good faith or which involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the DGCL; and
any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.
As a result, neither we nor our stockholders have the right, including through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf, to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, including breaches resulting from grossly negligent behavior, except in the situations described above.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, we will indemnify any officer or director of our company in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding to which such person is, or is threated to be made, a party, whether civil or criminal, administrative or investigative, arising out of the fact that the person is or was our director or officer, or served any other enterprise at our request as a director or officer. We will reimburse the expenses, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by a person indemnified by this provision in connection with any proceeding, including in advance of its final disposition, to the fullest extent permitted by law. Amending this provision will not reduce our indemnification obligations relating to actions taken before an amendment.
We maintain insurance for our officers and directors against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, under insurance policies, the premiums of which are paid by us. The effect of these is to indemnify any officer or director of the Company against expenses, judgments, attorney’s fees and other amounts paid in settlements incurred by an officer or director arising from claims against such persons for conduct in their capacities as officers or directors of the Company.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws and Delaware Law
Some provisions of our certificate of incorporation and by-laws and Delaware law could make the following more difficult:
acquisition of us by means of a tender offer;
acquisition of us by means of a proxy contest or otherwise; or
removal of our incumbent officers and directors.
These provisions, summarized below, are expected to discourage coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection give us the potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us and outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging those proposals because negotiation of them could result in an improvement of their terms.
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Size of Board and Vacancies
Our by-laws provide that our board of directors have one or more members, which number is determined by resolution of our board of directors. Directors are elected at each annual meeting of stockholders by the vote of a majority of the shares present. Any director may be removed at any time, with or without cause, upon the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our stock. Newly created directorships resulting from any increase in our authorized number of directors or any vacancies in our board of directors resulting from death, resignation, retirement, removal from office or other cause may be filled by the majority vote of our remaining directors in office, or by the sole remaining director, or by a majority vote of our stockholders at a special meeting called for that purpose. If at such special meeting no person nominated to fill the vacancy receives a majority of such votes, then such vacancy will be filled by the majority of remaining directors in office.
Elimination of Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Our certificate of incorporation eliminates the right of our stockholders to act by written consent. Stockholder action must take place at the annual or a special meeting of our stockholders.
Stockholder Meetings
Under our by-laws, only our chairman, chief executive officer or our board of directors may call special meetings of our stockholders.
Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals
Our by-laws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and nomination of candidates for election as directors other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board of directors or a committee of our board of directors.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an anti-takeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date such person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination or the transaction in which such person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Generally, an “interested stockholder” is a person that, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock. The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our board of directors, including discouraging attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of our common stock.
No Cumulative Voting
Neither our certificate of incorporation nor our by-laws provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors.
Undesignated Preferred Stock
The authorization of our undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of our company.

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Forum for Adjudication of Disputes

Our certificate of incorporation provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the sole and exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, any action asserting breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees, any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to the DGCL or any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

Despite the foregoing, it is possible that a court could rule that such provision is inapplicable or unenforceable. In addition, this provision would not affect the ability of our stockholders to seek remedies under the federal securities laws.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
Our transfer agent and registrar is EQ Shareowner Services.
Listing
Our shares of common stock are listed on NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol “CDK.”
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