Description of Registrant's Securities

EX-4.3 2 ex4-3.htm

 

Exhibit 4.3

 

DESCRIPTION OF THE COMPANY’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES

EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED

 

The following description of the securities of IB Acquisition Corp. (the “company,” “we” or “us”) is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Company’s amended and restated articles of incorporation, bylaws and the Company’s rights agreement with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust company, as rights agent (the “rights agreement”), each of which is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part. We encourage you to read such documents for additional information.

 

Pursuant to our amended and restated articles of incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 100,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The number of authorized shares of common stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of our common stock entitled to vote thereon.

 

Public Units

 

Each public unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of common stock and one right. Each right entitles the holder to receive one-twentieth (1/20) of a share of common stock. The common stock and rights comprising the public units began separate trading on April 26, 2024. We will not issue fractional shares upon conversion of the rights, and no cash will be payable in lieu thereof. As a result, you must have 20 rights to receive one share of common stock at the closing of the business combination.

 

Common Stock

 

15,749,090 shares of our common stock are outstanding, including:

 

  11,500,000 shares of our common stock underlying the units offered in our initial public offering;
     
  3,243,590 founder shares held by our initial stockholders;
     
  610,500 private placement shares held by our sponsor; and
     
  395,000 Representative shares.

 

Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Unless specified in our amended and restated articles of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of the NRS or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors (prior to consummation of our initial business combination). Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.

 

Because our amended and restated articles of incorporation authorize the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of common stock, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.

 

 
 

 

In accordance with the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first full fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under NRS 78.330, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with NRS 78.330, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the court in the county where the registered office of the corporation is located in accordance with NRS 78.345.

 

We will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is anticipated to be approximately $10.05 per public share. The per share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the M&A fee payable to the underwriters. Our initial stockholders and I-Bankers have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares, Representative shares, and any public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of our initial public offering.

 

Unlike many blank check companies that hold stockholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a stockholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated articles of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated articles of incorporation require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. However, the participation of our initial stockholders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in our initial public offering), if any, could result in the approval of our business combination even if a majority of our public stockholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our sponsor, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.

 

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to an aggregate of 15% or more of the shares of common stock sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares equal to or exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

 

 
 

 

If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote its founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination. In addition, in the event that our board of directors amends our bylaws to reduce the number of shares required to be present at a meeting of our stockholders, we would need even fewer public shares to be voted in favor of our initial business combination to have such transaction approved. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction (subject to the limitations described in the preceding paragraph).

 

Pursuant to our amended and restated articles of incorporation, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Nevada law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial stockholders and I-Bankers and our officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and Representative shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering. However, if our initial stockholders, officers, directors, and I-Bankers acquire public shares after our initial public offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.

 

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial business combination, their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.

 

Founder Shares

 

The founder shares are identical to the shares of common stock included in the units sold in our initial public offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (ii) (A) our initial stockholders have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (B) our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our business combination within such time period); and (iii) the founder shares are subject to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination (subject to certain limitations).

 

 
 

 

With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our initial stockholders, each of whom are subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of six months after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, (x) subsequent to our initial business combination, the last sale price of the common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

 

Preferred Stock

 

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors is authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors is able to, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.

 

Rights

 

Each holder of a right will receive one-twentieth (1/20) of one share of our common stock upon consummation of our initial business combination, even if the holder of such right redeemed all common stock held by him, her or it in connection with the initial business combination or an amendment to our amended and restated articles of incorporation with respect to our pre-business combination activities. No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of rights in order to receive his, her or its additional common stock upon consummation of an initial business combination as the consideration related thereto has been included in the unit purchase price paid for by investors in our initial public offering. The shares issuable upon exchange of the rights will be freely tradable (except to the extent held by affiliates of ours).

 

If we enter into a definitive agreement for a business combination in which we will not be the surviving entity, the definitive agreement will provide for the holders of rights to receive the same per share consideration the holders of the common stock will receive in the transaction on an as-converted into common stock basis. If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of rights will not receive any of such funds with respect to their rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such rights, and the rights will expire worthless.

 

Promptly upon the consummation of our initial business combination, the rights agent will issue to the registered holder of such right(s) the number of full shares of common stock to which he, she or it is entitled. We will notify registered holders of the rights to deliver their rights to the rights agent promptly upon consummation of such business combination and have been informed by the rights agent that the process of exchanging their rights for common stock should take no more than a matter of days. The foregoing exchange of rights is solely ministerial in nature and is not intended to provide us with any means of avoiding our obligation to issue the shares underlying the rights upon consummation of our initial business combination. Other than confirming that the rights delivered by a registered holder are valid, we will have no ability to avoid delivery of the shares underlying the rights. Nevertheless, there are no contractual penalties for failure to deliver securities to the holders of the rights upon consummation of an initial business combination. Additionally, in no event will we be required to net cash settle the rights. Accordingly, the rights may expire worthless.

 

 
 

 

We will not issue any fractional shares upon conversions of the rights once the units separate, and no cash will be payable in lieu thereof. As a result, a holder must have 20 rights to receive one share of common stock at the closing of the business combination. In the event that any holder would otherwise be entitled to any fractional share upon exchange of his, her or its rights, we will reserve the option, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, to deal with any such fractional entitlement at the relevant time as we see fit, which would include the rounding down of any entitlement to receive common stock to the nearest whole share (and in effect extinguishing any fractional entitlement), or the holder being entitled to hold any remaining fractional entitlement (without any share being issued) and to aggregate the same with any future fractional entitlement to receive shares in the company until the holder is entitled to receive a whole number. Any rounding down and extinguishment may be done with or without any in lieu cash payment or other compensation being made to the holder of the relevant rights, such that value received on exchange of the rights may be considered less than the value that the holder would otherwise expect to receive. All holders of rights shall be treated in the same manner with respect to the issuance of shares upon conversions of the rights.

 

We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the rights agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.

 

Private Placement Units

 

The private placement units (including the common stock and private placement rights, underlying the private placement units, as well as any shares of common stock into which the private placement rights may be converted) will (with limited exceptions) not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Otherwise, the private placement units (and its underlying securities) have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the units (and its underlying securities) sold in our initial public offering.

 

In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible, at the option of the lender, into private placement-equivalent units at a price of $10.00 per unit. The units would be identical to the private placement units. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.

 

In addition, holders of our private placement units (and its underlying securities) are entitled to certain registration rights.

 

Dividends

 

We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.

 

Our Transfer Agent and Rights Agent

 

The transfer agent for our common stock and rights agent for our rights is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and rights agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.

 

 
 

 

Our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation

 

Provisions Relating to Our Initial Public Offering

 

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to our initial public offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Per our amended and restated articles of incorporation, these provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially owned 24.68% of our common stock upon the closing of our initial public offering, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated articles of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner the initial stockholders may choose. Specifically, our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide, among other things, that:

 

  prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (1) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which holders of public shares may seek to redeem their public shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) or (2) provide holders of public shares with the opportunity to tender their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) in each case subject to the limitations described herein;
     
  if our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated articles of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares;
     
  if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of our initial public offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Nevada law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
     
  we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately before or after such consummation and, solely if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination;
     
  we will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations;
     
  so long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the marketing fee and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination; and
     
  prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination.

 

 
 

 

These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the shares of common stock voted by our stockholders at a duly held stockholders meeting.

 

Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Nevada Law and our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

 

Combination with Interested Stockholders Statute

 

Sections 78.411 to 78.444 of the NRS, which apply to any Nevada corporation with more than 200 stockholders, prohibits an “interested stockholder” from entering into a “combination” with the corporation for two years, unless certain conditions are met. A “combination” includes:

 

  any merger of the corporation or any subsidiary of the corporation with an “interested stockholder,” or any other entity, whether or not itself an “interested stockholder,” which is, or after and as a result of the merger would be, an affiliate or associate of an “interested stockholder,”
     
  any sales, lease, exchange, mortgage, pledge, transfer, or other disposition in one transaction, or a series of transactions, to or with an “interested stockholder” or any affiliate or associate of an “interested stockholder,” of assets of the corporation or any subsidiary of the corporation:
     
  having an aggregate market value equal to more than 5% of the aggregate market value of the corporation’s assets, determined on a consolidated basis;

 

  having an aggregate market value equal to more than 5% of the aggregate market value of all of the outstanding shares of the corporation; or
     
  representing more than 10% of the earning power or net income, determined on a consolidated basis, of the corporation; or

 

  the issuance or transfer by the corporation or any subsidiary, of any shares of the corporation or any subsidiary to an “interested stockholder” or any affiliate or associate of an “interested stockholder,” having an aggregate market value equal to 5% or more of the aggregate market value of all of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation, except under the exercise of warrants or rights to purchase shares offered, or a dividend or distribution paid or made, pro rata to all stockholders of the resident domestic corporation;
     
  the adoption of any plan, or proposal for the liquidation or dissolution of the corporation, under any agreement, arrangement or understanding, with the “interested stockholder.” or any affiliate or associated of the “interested stockholder;”
     
  if any of the following actions occurs:

 

  a reclassification of the corporation’s securities, including, without limitation, any splitting of shares, share dividend, or other distribution of shares with respect to other shares, or any issuance of new shares in exchange for a proportionately greater number of old shares;
     
  recapitalization of the corporation;
     
  merger of consolidation of the corporation with any subsidiary; or
     
  any other transaction, whether or not with or into or otherwise involving the interested stockholder, under any agreement, arrangement or understanding, whether or not in writing, with the interested stockholder or any affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder, which has the immediate and proximate effect of increasing the proportionate share of the outstanding shares of any class or series of voting shares or securities convertible into voting shares of the corporation or any subsidiary of the corporation which is beneficially owned by the interested stockholder or any affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder;

 

  any receipt by an “interested stockholder” or any affiliate or associate of an “interested stockholder” except proportionately as a stockholder of the corporation, of the benefit of any loan, advance, guarantee, pledge or other financial assistance or any tax credit or other tax advantage provided by or through the corporation

 

 
 

 

An “interested stockholder” is a person who is:

 

  directly or indirectly, the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation; or
  an affiliate or associate of the corporation, which at any time within two years immediately before the date in question was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of the corporation.

 

A corporation to which the Combinations with Interested Stockholders Statute applies may not engage in a “combination” within two years after the interested stockholder first became an interested stockholder, unless the combination meets all of the requirements of the corporation’s articles of incorporation and (i) the combination or the transaction by which the person first became an interested stockholder is approved by the board of directors before the person first became an interested stockholder, or (ii)(a) the combination is approved by the board of directors and (b) at or after that time, the combination is approved at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of the stockholders representing at least sixty percent (60%) of the outstanding voting power of the corporation not beneficially owned by the interested stockholder or the affiliates or associates of the interested stockholder. If this approval is not obtained, the combination may be consummated after the two year period expires if either (i)(a) the combination or transaction by which the person first became an interested stockholder is approved by the board of directors before such person first became an interested stockholder, (b) the combination is approved by a majority of the outstanding voting power of the corporation not beneficially owned by the interested stockholder or any affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder, or (c) the combination otherwise meets the requirements of the Combination with Interested Stockholders Statute. Alternatively, a combination with an interested stockholder engaged in more than 2 years after the date the person first became an interested stockholder may be permissible if the aggregate amount of cash and the market value of consideration other than cash to be received by holders of shares of common stock and holders of any other class or series of shares meets the minimum requirements set forth in the statue, and prior to the completion of the combination, except in limited circumstances, the interested stockholder has not become the beneficial owner of additional voting shares of the corporation.

 

Acquisition of Controlling Interest Statute

 

In addition, Nevada’s “Acquisition of Controlling Interest Statute,” prohibits an acquiror, under certain circumstances, from voting shares of a target corporation’s stock after crossing certain threshold ownership percentages, unless the acquiror obtains the approval of the target corporation’s stockholders. Sections 78.378 to 78.3793 of the NRS, only apply to Nevada corporations with at least 200 stockholders, including at least 100 record stockholders who are Nevada residents, that do business directly or through an affiliated corporation in Nevada and whose articles of incorporation or bylaws in effect 10 days following the acquisition of a controlling interest by an acquiror do not prohibit its application.

 

We will likely not have at least 100 record stockholders who are Nevada residents, nor do we intend to “do business” in Nevada within the meaning of the Acquisition of Controlling Interest Statute. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely that this statute will apply to us. The statute specifies three thresholds:

 

  at least one-fifth but less than one-third;
     
  at least one-third but less than a majority; and
     
  a majority or more, of the outstanding voting power.

 

 
 

 

Once an acquiror crosses one of these thresholds, shares which it acquired in the transaction taking it over the threshold (or within ninety days preceding the date thereof) become “control shares” which could be deprived of the right to vote until a majority of the disinterested stockholders restore that right.

 

A special stockholders’ meeting may be called at the request of the acquiror to consider the voting rights of the acquiror’s shares. If the acquiror requests a special meeting and gives an undertaking to pay the expenses of said meeting, then the meeting must take place no earlier than 30 days (unless the acquiror requests that the meeting be held sooner) and no more than 50 days (unless the acquiror agrees to a later date) after the delivery by the acquiror to the corporation of an information statement which sets forth the range of voting power that the acquiror has acquired or proposes to acquire and certain other information concerning the acquiror and the proposed control share acquisition.

 

If no such request for a stockholders’ meeting is made, consideration of the voting rights of the acquiror’s shares must be taken at the next special or annual stockholders’ meeting. If the stockholders fail to restore voting rights to the acquiror, or if the acquiror fails to timely deliver an information statement to the corporation, then the corporation may, if so provided in its articles of incorporation or bylaws in effect on the tenth day following the acquisition, call certain of the acquiror’s shares for redemption at the average price paid for such shares by the acquiror.

 

Our existing articles of incorporation and bylaws and our proposed amended and restated articles of incorporation do not permit us to redeem an acquiror’s shares under these circumstances, but could be amended to so provide within ten days following the acquisition. The Acquisition of Controlling Interest Statute also provides that in the event the stockholders restore full voting rights to a holder of control shares that owns a majority of the voting stock, then, unless the corporation’s articles of incorporation or bylaws in effect on the tenth day following the acquisition otherwise provide, all other stockholders who do not vote in favor of restoring voting rights to the control shares may demand payment for the “fair value” of their shares as determined by a court in dissenters rights proceeding pursuant to Chapter 92A of the NRS.

 

Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions, and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

 

Exclusive Forum for Certain Lawsuits

 

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation require, unless the directors of the Company consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Company, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the NRS or our amended and restated articles of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Company, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the courts in the State of Nevada, except any claim (A) as to which the courts of the State of Nevada determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Nevada (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of courts of the State of Nevada within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the courts of the State of Nevada, (C) for which the courts of the State of Nevada does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the courts of the State of Nevada and the federal district courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Nevada, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Nevada law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

Special Meeting of Stockholders

 

Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.

 

Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations

 

Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice will need to be received by the company secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the opening of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.

 

Action by Written Consent

 

Any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be affected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our common stock.