Description of Clean Energy Fuels Corp. Capital Stock
Exhibit 4.11
DESCRIPTION OF CLEAN ENERGY FUELS CAPITAL STOCK
References to “we,” “us” and “our” in this section refer to Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
General
The following summary of the material features of our common stock is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by, the provisions of our restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws (each as amended and as in effect), and other applicable law.
Pursuant to our restated certificate of incorporation as currently in effect, we are authorized to issue 304,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. The authorized shares of our common stock are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded. If the approval of our stockholders is not required, our board of directors may determine not to seek stockholder approval for any issuance of such shares.
Dividends
Subject to provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, and to any future rights which may be granted to the holders of any series of our preferred stock, dividends are paid on our common stock when and as declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for dividend payments.
Voting Rights
Each holder of shares of our common stock is entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our common stockholders. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to cumulative voting rights.
Liquidation
If we are liquidated, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive all remaining assets available for distribution to stockholders after satisfaction of our liabilities and the preferential rights of any of our preferred stock that may be outstanding at that time.
Preemptive Rights
The holders of our common stock do not have any preemptive, conversion or redemption rights by virtue of their ownership of the common stock.
Certain Anti-Takeover Matters
Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral takeover proposals to negotiate with our board of directors rather than pursue non-negotiated takeover attempts. These provisions include:
Advance Notice Requirements
Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder nominations of directors and proposals of business to be brought before meetings of our stockholders. These procedures provide that notice of such stockholder nominations or proposals must be delivered in writing to our Corporate Secretary at the address of our principal executive offices within a specified time period before the meeting at which the director nominee is to be up for election or the proposal is to be vote on, and must contain certain specific information about the nominee or proposal and the stockholder submitting the notice. See the full text of our amended and restated bylaws for more information.
Preferred Stock
Our restated certificate of incorporation provides for 1,000,000 authorized shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock enables our board of directors to issue such shares without further action by our stockholders, which could allow the board of directors to use such shares to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise. For example, if in the due exercise of its fiduciary obligations, our board of directors were to determine that a takeover proposal was not in the best interests of our Company and our stockholders, the board of directors could cause these shares of preferred stock to be issued without stockholder approval in one or more private offerings or other transactions that might dilute the voting or other rights of the proposed acquiror or insurgent stockholder or stockholder group. In this regard, our restated certificate of incorporation grants our board of directors broad power to establish the rights, preferences and privileges of authorized and unissued shares of preferred stock. As a result, the issuance of these shares of preferred stock could adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of the holders of shares of our common stock, and in this way could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change of control of us.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statutes
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, or Section 203, regulating corporate takeovers. In general, Section 203 prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:
| the transaction is approved by the board of directors before the date the interested stockholder attained such status; |
| upon consummation of the transaction that 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; or |
| on or after the date the business combination is approved by the board of directors, the business combination is authorized at a meeting of stockholders by at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Section 203 defines “business combination” to include the following:
| any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
| any merger or consolidation involving the corporation or any majority-owned subsidiary and the interested stockholder; |
| subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation or by any majority-owned subsidiary of any stock of the corporation or of such subsidiary to the interested stockholder; |
| any transaction involving the corporation or any majority-owned subsidiary that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or |
| the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation or any majority-owned subsidiary. |
In general, Section 203 defines “interested stockholder” to be any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by any of these entities or persons.
A Delaware corporation may opt out of Section 203 either with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or in an amendment to its certificate of incorporation or bylaws approved by its stockholders. We have not opted out of Section 203. As a result, Section 203 could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control transactions, and as a result, may discourage attempts to pursue these transactions.
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification Matters
Our restated certificate of incorporation provides that a director of ours will not be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except in certain cases where liability is mandated by the DGCL. Our amended and restated bylaws also provide for indemnification by us, to the fullest extent permitted by law, of any person made or threatened to be made a party to, or who is involved in, any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such person is or was our director or officer, or at our request, serves or served as a director or officer of any other enterprise, against all expenses, liabilities, losses and claims actually incurred or suffered by such person in connection with the action, suit or proceeding. Our amended and restated bylaws also provide that, to the extent authorized from time to time by our board of directors, we may provide indemnification to any one or more employees and other agents of ours to the extent and effect determined by our board of directors to be appropriate and authorized by the DGCL. Our amended and restated bylaws also permit us to purchase and maintain insurance for the foregoing, and we currently and expect to continue to maintain such insurance. In addition, our amended and restated bylaws provide that the provisions thereof are not exclusive of other rights to which any person seeking indemnification may be entitled under any agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or applicable provisions of the DGCL, and we have entered into a contract with each of our directors and officers providing for indemnification of each such person by us to the full extent authorized or permitted by law, subject to certain limited exceptions. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Listing
Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market and trades under the symbol “CLNE.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.