Description of Common Stock of Hamilton Lane Incorporated

Contract Categories: Business Finance - Stock Agreements
EX-4.1 2 exhibit4110k2019.htm EXHIBIT 4.1 Exhibit
EXHIBIT 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK
OF
HAMILTON LANE INCORPORATED
All references herein to “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Hamilton Lane Incorporated.
Our authorized common stock consists of 300,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 50,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share. Unless our board of directors determines otherwise, we issue all shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock in uncertificated form. Our Class B common stock is not registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
Class A common stock
Our Class A common stock is our publicly traded stock, registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act and listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbol “HLNE”. Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders.
Stockholders do not have the ability to cumulate votes for the election of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (our “Certificate of Incorporation”) provides for a classified board of directors consisting of three classes of approximately equal size, each serving staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms.
Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to any restrictions on the payment of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred stock.
Upon our dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of our Class A common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution, subject to the limited rights of the Class B common stock as described below.
Holders of our Class A common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights.
Subject to the transfer and exchange restrictions set forth in the Fourth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C., dated as of March 6, 2017, by and among Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C. and its members, as amended (the “HLA Operating Agreement”), and the Exchange Agreement, dated as of March 6, 2017, by and among Hamilton Lane Incorporated, Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C., and each of the other persons and entities party thereto, as amended (the “Exchange Agreement”), holders of Class B units or Class C units in Hamilton Lane Advisors, L.L.C. (“HLA”) may exchange these units for shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis or, at our election, for cash. When a Class B unit is exchanged, a corresponding share of our Class B common stock will automatically be redeemed by us at par value and canceled, which will decrease the aggregate voting power of our Class B Holders (as defined below).

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Class B common stock
As part of a corporate reorganization in connection with our initial public offering, our Class B common stock was issued to the holders of the Class B units of HLA (the “Class B Holders”), who are certain significant outside investors, members of management and significant employee owners. There is no trading market for the Class B common stock. Holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders prior to a Sunset (as defined below). After a Sunset becomes effective, holders of our Class B common stock will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to stockholders for a vote.
A “Sunset” is triggered by any of the following: (i) Hartley R. Rogers, Mario L. Giannini and their respective permitted transferees collectively cease to maintain direct or indirect beneficial ownership of at least 10% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (determined assuming all outstanding Class B units and Class C units have been exchanged for Class A common stock); (ii) Mr. Rogers, Mr. Giannini, their respective permitted transferees and employees of us and our subsidiaries cease collectively to maintain direct or indirect beneficial ownership of an aggregate of at least 25% of the aggregate voting power of our outstanding Class A common stock and Class B common stock; (iii) Mr. Rogers and Mr. Giannini both voluntarily terminate their employment and all directorships with HLA and us (other than by reason of death or, as determined in good faith by our board of directors, disability, incapacity or retirement); or (iv) the occurrence of the later of March 31, 2027 or the end of the fiscal year in which occurs the fifth anniversary of the death of the second to die of Mr. Rogers and Mr. Giannini. A Sunset triggered under clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) during the first two fiscal quarters will generally become effective at the end of that fiscal year, and a Sunset triggered under clauses (i), (ii) and (iii) during the third or fourth fiscal quarters will generally become effective at the end of the following fiscal year. A Sunset pursuant to clause (iv) will become effective on the occurrence of the latest event listed in clause (iv), unless a Sunset is also triggered under clause (i) or (ii) that would result in an earlier Sunset, in which case the earlier Sunset will result.
If Mr. Rogers or Mr. Giannini voluntarily terminates his employment and directorships as contemplated by clause (iii) after the death of the other, then the Sunset will become effective on the timing set out in clause (iii). Otherwise, a voluntary termination as to only one of them will result in a Sunset becoming effective on the timing set out in clause (iv). Because a Sunset may not take place for some time, or at all, certain of the Class B Holders will, by virtue of their voting control of us and the stockholders agreement described below, continue to control us for the near future.
Holders of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together as a single class on all matters presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required in our Certificate of Incorporation or by applicable law. Certain of the holders of our Class B common stock have, pursuant to a stockholders agreement, agreed to vote all of their shares in accordance with the instructions of HLA Investments, LLC (“HLAI”), our controlling stockholder. This group is therefore able to exercise control over all matters requiring the approval of our stockholders, including the election of our directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions.
Holders of the Class B common stock are not entitled to dividends in respect of their shares of Class B common stock. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to receive only the par value of the Class B common stock upon exchange of the corresponding Class B unit pursuant to the Exchange Agreement.
Upon our dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of our Class B common stock will be entitled to receive out of our remaining assets available for distribution only the par value of the Class B common stock held by them,

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pro rata with distributions to the Class A common stock. In connection with an exchange of a Class B unit, the corresponding share of Class B common stock will be redeemed by us at par value and canceled.
Holders of our Class B common stock do not have preemptive, subscription or conversion rights, and the sole redemption right is the right to be redeemed upon an exchange of a Class B unit.
There will be no further issuances of Class B common stock except in connection with a stock split, stock dividend, reclassification or similar transaction. Class B common stock is not transferable independent of the corresponding Class B unit.
Authorized but Unissued Capital Stock
Delaware law does not require stockholder approval for any issuance of authorized shares. However, the listing requirements of Nasdaq, which would apply so long as the Class A common stock remains listed on Nasdaq, require stockholder approval of certain issuances equal to or exceeding 20% of the then outstanding voting power or then outstanding number of shares of Class A common stock. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings, to raise additional capital or to facilitate acquisitions.
One of the effects of the existence of unissued and unreserved common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of our company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive the stockholders of opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Delaware Law and our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws (our “Bylaws”) could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors and in the policies formulated by our board of directors and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of control. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal or proxy fight. Such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our Class A common stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Such provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management or delaying or preventing a transaction that might benefit minority stockholders.
These provisions include:
Super Voting Stock. The Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote, except as set forth in our Certificate of Incorporation or required by applicable law. However, until a Sunset becomes effective, the Class B common stock has ten votes per share and the Class A common stock has one vote per share. Consequently, the holders of our Class B common stock have greater influence over matters requiring our stockholders’ approval, including the election of our directors and significant corporate transactions.
Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders. The Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) permits stockholder action by written consent unless otherwise provided by our

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Certificate of Incorporation. Our Certificate of Incorporation permits stockholder action by written consent so long as the Class B common stock represents a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, and precludes stockholder action by written consent if and when the Class B common stock ceases to represent a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. If permitted by the applicable certificate of designation, future series of preferred stock may take action by written consent. Our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders may be called only by the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors, and only proposals included in our notice may be considered at such special meetings.
Election and Removal of Directors. The DGCL provides that stockholders are not entitled to the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless our Certificate of Incorporation provides otherwise. Our Certificate of Incorporation does not expressly provide for cumulative voting. Directors may be removed, but only for cause, upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least 75% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, except that prior to a Sunset, directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors. In addition, the certificate of designation pursuant to which a particular series of preferred stock is issued may provide holders of that series of preferred stock with the right to elect additional directors. In addition, under our Certificate of Incorporation, our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors, each of which will hold office for a three-year term. The existence of a classified board could delay a successful tender offeror from obtaining majority control of our board of directors, and the prospect of that delay might deter a potential offeror.
Authorized but Unissued Shares. The authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the listing rules of Nasdaq. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could make more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise. See “—Authorized but Unissued Capital Stock” above.
Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders. In general, Section 203 of the DGCL, an anti-takeover law, prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock, which person or group is considered an interested stockholder under the DGCL, for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner.
We elected in our Certificate of Incorporation not to be subject to Section 203. However, our Certificate of Incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that it provides that HLAI, its affiliates, groups that include HLAI, and certain of their direct and indirect transferees will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to such restrictions.
Other Limitations on Stockholder Actions. Our Bylaws also impose some procedural requirements on stockholders who wish to:
make nominations in the election of directors;
propose that a director be removed; or

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propose any other business to be brought before an annual or special meeting of stockholders.
Under these procedural requirements, in order to bring a proposal before a meeting of stockholders, a stockholder must deliver timely notice of a proposal pertaining to a proper subject for presentation at the meeting to our corporate secretary containing, among other things, the following:
the stockholder’s name and address;
the number of shares owned of record and beneficially by the stockholder and evidence of such ownership;
the names of all persons with whom the stockholder is acting in concert and a description of all arrangements and understandings with those persons;
a description of any agreement, arrangement or understanding reached with respect to shares of our stock, such as borrowed or loaned shares, short positions, hedging or similar transactions;
a description of the business or nomination to be brought before the meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the meeting; and
any material interest of the stockholder in such business.
Our Bylaws set out the timeliness requirements for delivery of notice.
In order to submit a nomination for our board of directors, a stockholder must also submit any information with respect to the nominee that we would be required to include in a proxy statement, as well as certain other information. If a stockholder fails to follow the required procedures, the stockholder’s proposal or nominee will be ineligible and will not be voted on by our stockholders.
Certain provisions of the HLA Operating Agreement could have the effect of deterring or facilitating a control transaction.




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