Description of Securities

The following description summarizes information about our common stock. This information does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, the terms of our amended and restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, which are incorporated by reference as exhibits to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this exhibit is a part, and to the applicable provisions of Virginia law, the state in which we are incorporated.

We have the authority to issue 400,000,000 shares of our common stock, no par value per share.

Shares of our common stock have the following rights, preferences, and privileges:

Voting rights; Dividends; Liquidation. Holders of our common stock are entitled to:

The common stock has no preemptive, redemption, conversion, or subscription rights and is not subject to sinking fund provisions. The rights, powers, preferences, and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be impaired by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Our board has the authority to designate and issue from time to time one or more series of preferred stock without shareholder approval. Our board may fix and determine the preferences, limitations and relative rights of each series of preferred stock issued. Because our board has the power to establish the preferences and rights of each series of preferred stock, it may afford the holders of any series of preferred stock preferences and rights, voting or otherwise, senior to the rights of holders of our common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock upon the rights of holders of common stock until our board determines the specific rights of the holders of preferred stock. However, the effects might include:

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation, bylaws, and Virginia law contain provisions that may have the effect of impeding the acquisition of control of us by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest, open market purchases, or otherwise in a transaction not approved by our board of directors. These provisions are designed to reduce, or have the effect of reducing, our vulnerability to coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids. The existence of these provisions could limit the price that investors might otherwise pay in the future for shares of common stock. In addition, these provisions make it more difficult for our shareholders to remove our board of directors or management, should they choose to do so.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation authorize our board to establish one or more series of preferred stock and to determine, with respect to any series of preferred stock, the preferences, rights, and other terms of such series. See “Preferred stock” above for additional information. Under this authority, our board could create and issue a series of preferred stock with rights, preferences or restrictions that have the effect of discriminating against an existing or prospective holder of our capital stock as a result of such holder beneficially owning or commencing a tender offer for a substantial amount of our common stock. One of the effects of authorized but unissued and unreserved shares of preferred stock may be to render it more difficult for, or to discourage an attempt by, a potential acquiror to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management. The issuance of shares of preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our Company without any action by our shareholders.

Our bylaws provide that to be eligible to be a nominee for election to our board of directors, a person must submit a written questionnaire regarding his or her background and qualifications and must agree to other representations as set forth in our bylaws. In addition, we have adopted a director resignation policy. Our bylaws provide that, in uncontested director elections (i.e., an election where the number of nominees is not greater than the number of directors to be elected), a nominee for director will be elected to the board of directors if the votes cast for such nominee’s election exceed the votes cast against such nominee’s election. However, directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at any meeting of the shareholders for which (i) the Secretary receives a notice that a shareholder has nominated a person for election to the board of directors in compliance with the advance notice requirements for shareholder nominees for director set forth in the bylaws, and (ii) such nomination has not been withdrawn by such shareholder on or prior to the 10^th day preceding the date we first mail the notice of meeting for such meeting to the shareholders (i.e., if there is a contested director election). If directors are to be elected by a plurality of the votes cast, the shareholders may withhold votes, but will not be permitted to vote against a nominee. Our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide that any nominee for director in an uncontested election who receives a greater number of shareholder votes cast against his or her election than votes for his or her election must promptly tender his or her resignation to the board of directors for consideration. The Nominating and Governance Committee will then evaluate the best interests of the company and will recommend to the board of directors whether to accept or reject the tendered resignation. Following the board of directors’ receipt of this recommendation and determination as to whether to accept the resignation, we will disclose the board of directors’ decision and an explanation of how the decision was reached.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that any vacancy occurring on our board of directors may be filled by a majority of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum.

Our bylaws provide that a special meeting may be called by a vote of shareholders representing in the aggregate not less than 25 percent of the total number of shares of stock entitled to vote on the matter to be brought before the proposed special meeting, and that shareholders may only conduct business at special meetings of shareholders that was specified in the notice of the meeting.

Our bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to shareholder proposals and the nomination of persons for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board.

Our bylaws provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria Division, or in the event that court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to hear such action, the Circuit Court of the County of Fairfax, Virginia, will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action for breach of duty to the Company or our shareholders by any current or former officer or other employee or agent or director of the Company, (iii) any action against the Company or any current or former officer or other employee or agent or director of the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the Virginia Stock Corporation Act (as it may be amended from time to time) or our articles of incorporation or our bylaws (as either may be amended from time to time), or (iv) any action against the Company or any current or former officer or other employee or agent or director of the Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated bylaws. It is possible that a court of law could rule that the choice of forum provision contained in our bylaws is inapplicable or unenforceable if it is challenged in a proceeding or otherwise.

Virginia law contains provisions governing affiliated transactions. In general, these provisions prohibit a Virginia corporation from engaging in affiliated transactions with any holder of more than 10 percent of any class of its outstanding voting shares, or an interested shareholder, for a period of three years following the date that such person became an interested shareholder unless:

Affiliated transactions subject to this approval requirement include mergers, share exchanges, material dispositions of corporate assets not in the ordinary course of business, any dissolution of the corporation proposed by or on behalf of an interested shareholder or any reclassification, including reverse stock splits, recapitalizations or mergers of the corporation with its subsidiaries, which increases the percentage of voting shares owned beneficially by an interested shareholder by more than five percent.

Virginia law permits a corporation to exempt itself from this statutory provision by placing a statement to that effect in its articles of incorporation. Our amended and restated articles of incorporation do not specifically address the Virginia statute regarding affiliated transactions; therefore, we are subject to this provision.

Virginia law also contains provisions relating to control share acquisitions, which are transactions causing the voting strength of any person acquiring beneficial ownership of shares of a Virginia public corporation to meet or exceed certain threshold percentages (20 percent, 33 ¹/₃ percent or 50 percent) of the total votes entitled to be cast for the election of directors. Shares acquired in a control share acquisition have no voting rights unless:

 

The acquiring person may require that a special meeting of the shareholders be held within 50 days of the corporation’s receipt of the acquiring person’s request to consider the grant of voting rights to the shares acquired in the control share acquisition. If voting rights are not granted and the corporation’s articles of incorporation or bylaws permit, the acquiring person’s shares may be repurchased by the corporation, at its option, at a price per share equal to the acquiring person’s cost. Virginia law grants dissenters’ rights to any shareholder who objects to a control share acquisition that is approved by a vote of disinterested shareholders and that gives the acquiring person control of a majority of the corporation’s voting shares.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that the statutory provisions governing control share acquisitions do not apply to our Company; therefore, we are not subject to this provision.

The authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without shareholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC listing rules. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate finance transactions, acquisitions, and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could make it more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger, or otherwise.