Description of Capital Stock
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EX-4.3 2 exhibit43-descriptiono.htm EX-4.3 Document
Exhibit 4.3
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
General
The following description of the capital stock of Lyft, Inc. (“us”, “our,” “we”, or the “Company”) is a summary. We have adopted an amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, and this description summarizes the provisions that are included in such documents. Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For a complete description of the matters set forth in this Exhibit 4.3, you should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and amended and restated investors’ rights agreement, each previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part, and to the applicable provisions of Delaware law. Our authorized capital stock consists of 19,100,000,000 shares of capital stock, $0.00001 par value per share, of which:
• | 18,000,000,000 shares are designated as Class A common stock; | ||||||||||
• | 100,000,000 shares are designated as Class B common stock; and | ||||||||||
• | 1,000,000,000 shares are designated as preferred stock. |
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without stockholder approval except as required by the listing standards of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, to issue additional shares of our Class A common stock. Until the final conversion of all outstanding shares of Class B common stock pursuant to the terms of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or the Final Conversion Date, any issuance of additional shares of Class B common stock requires the approval of the holders of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock voting as a separate class.
Common Stock
We have two classes of authorized common stock, Class A common stock and Class B common stock. The rights of the holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock are identical, except with respect to voting and conversion.
Dividend Rights
Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available if our board of directors, in its discretion, determines to issue dividends and then only at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine.
Voting Rights
Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to 20 votes for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. The holders of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together as a single class, unless otherwise required by law. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, approval of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock is required to increase the number of authorized shares of our Class B common stock. In addition, Delaware law could require either holders of our Class A common stock or our Class B common stock to vote separately as a single class in the following circumstances:
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• | if we were to seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to increase or decrease the par value of a class of stock, then that class would be required to vote separately to approve the proposed amendment; and | ||||||||||
• | if we were to seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in a manner that alters or changes the powers, preferences or special rights of a class of stock in a manner that affected its holders adversely, then that class would be required to vote separately to approve the proposed amendment. |
Until the Final Conversion Date, approval of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock voting as a separate class will be required to:
• | amend or modify any provision of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation inconsistent with, or otherwise alter, any provision of the amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the voting, conversion or other rights, powers, preferences, privileges or restrictions of our Class B common stock; | ||||||||||
• | reclassify any outstanding shares of Class A common stock into shares having rights as to dividends or liquidation that are senior to the Class B common stock or the right to have more than one vote for each share thereof; | ||||||||||
• | issue any shares of Class B common stock, including by dividend, distribution or otherwise; or | ||||||||||
• | authorize, or issue any shares of, any class or series of our capital stock having the right to more than one vote for each share thereof. |
Our amended and restated 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 the directors in one class will be subject to election by a plurality of the votes cast at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the directors in the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Stockholders do not have the ability to cumulate votes for the election of directors.
No Preemptive or Similar Rights
Our common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights, and is not subject to conversion, redemption or sinking fund provisions.
Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions
If we become subject to a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders would be distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock and any participating preferred stock outstanding at that time, subject to prior satisfaction of all outstanding debt and liabilities and the preferential rights of and the payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Conversion of Class B Common Stock
Each share of Class B common stock is convertible at any time at the option of the holder into one share of Class A common stock. Shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock upon sale or transfer except for certain transfers described in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including estate planning or charitable transfers where sole dispositive power and exclusive voting control with respect to the shares of Class B common stock are retained by the transferring holder or such transferring holder’s spouse. In addition, each outstanding share of Class B common stock held by a stockholder who is a natural person, or held by the permitted entities and permitted transferees of such natural person (as described in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation), will convert automatically into one share of Class A common stock upon the death of such natural person. In the event of the death or permanent and total disability of either Logan Green or John Zimmer, each referred to herein as a Co-Founder, shares of Class B common stock held by such Co-Founder, his permitted entities or permitted transferees will convert to Class A common stock, provided that the conversion will be deferred for nine months, or up to 18 months if approved by a majority of our independent directors, following his death or permanent and total disability and provided further, that to the extent the other Co-Founder
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has or shares voting control over such shares, the shares of Class B common stock will be treated as held of record by the Co-Founder that has or shares voting control. Transfers between our Co-Founders are permitted transfers and will not result in conversion of the shares of Class B common stock that are transferred and such shares of Class B common stock will be treated as held of record by the transferee Co-Founder. With respect to any shares of Class B common stock over which the spouse of a Co-Founder has voting control, such shares of Class B common stock will convert to shares of Class A common stock upon divorce if the spouse retains voting control.
Each share of Class B common stock will convert automatically into one share of Class A common stock upon (i) the date specified by affirmative written election of the holders of two-thirds of the then-outstanding shares of Class B common stock, (ii) the date fixed by our board of directors that is no less than 61 days and no more than 180 days following the date on which the shares of Class B common stock held by our Co-Founders and their permitted entities and permitted transferees represent less than 20% of the Class B common stock held by our Co-Founders and their permitted entities as of immediately following the Company’s initial public offering, or IPO, or (iii) nine months after the death or total disability of the last to die or become disabled of our Co-Founders, or such later date not to exceed a total period of 18 months after such death or disability as may be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions, in each case without further vote or action by our stockholders. Our board of directors can also increase or decrease the number of shares of any series of preferred stock, but not below the number of shares of that series then outstanding, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company and might adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock. We have no current plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.
Registration Rights
Certain holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of their shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. These registration rights are contained in the Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement dated June 27, 2018, or the IRA. We will pay the registration expenses (other than underwriting discounts and commissions) of the holders of the shares registered pursuant to the registrations described below. In an underwritten offering, the managing underwriter, if any, has the right, subject to specified conditions, to limit the number of shares such holders may include.
Demand Registration Rights
Certain holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to certain demand registration rights. Following the six-month anniversary of the effective date of our IPO, the holders of at least 35% of these shares then outstanding can request that we register the offer and sale of their shares. Such request for registration must cover securities, the anticipated aggregate public offering price of which is at least $100,000,000, net of any underwriters’ discounts or commissions. We are obligated to effect only two such registrations and we will not be required to effect a registration if we have effected a registration pursuant to these rights within the 12-month period preceding the date of the request. If we determine that it would be seriously detrimental to us and our stockholders to effect such a demand registration, we have the right to defer such registration, not more than twice in any 12-month period, for a period of up to 120 days.
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Piggyback Registration Rights
If we propose to register the offer and sale of our Class A common stock under the Securities Act, in connection with the public offering of such Class A common stock certain holders of shares of our Class A common stock will be entitled to certain “piggyback” registration rights allowing the holders to include their shares in such registration, subject to certain marketing and other limitations. As a result, whenever we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act, other than with respect to (i) a registration in which the only Class A common stock being registered is Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of debt securities that are also being registered, (ii) a registration related to any employee benefit plan or a corporate reorganization or other transaction covered by Rule 145 promulgated under the Securities Act or (iii) a registration on any registration form which does not include substantially the same information as would be required to be included in a registration statement covering the public offering of our Class A common stock, the holders of these shares are entitled to notice of the registration and have the right, subject to certain limitations, to include their shares in the registration.
S-3 Registration Rights
Certain holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to certain Form S-3 registration rights. One or more holders of these shares may make a written request that we register the offer and sale of their shares on a registration statement on Form S-3 if we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3 so long as the request covers securities the anticipated aggregate public offering price of which is at least $1,000,000, net of any underwriters’ discounts or commissions. These stockholders may make an unlimited number of requests for registration on Form S-3; however, we will not be required to effect a registration on Form S-3 if we have effected two such registrations within the 12-month period preceding the date of the request. Additionally, if we determine that it would be seriously detrimental to us and our stockholders to effect such a registration, we have the right to defer such registration, not more than once in any 12-month period, for a period of up to 90 days.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Certain provisions of Delaware law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, which are summarized below, may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of us. They are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging a proposal to acquire us because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.
Delaware Law
We are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless:
• | the business combination or transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder was approved by the board of directors prior to the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder; | ||||||||||
• | upon consummation of the transaction which 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, excluding shares owned by directors who are also officers of the corporation and shares owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or | ||||||||||
• | at or subsequent to the time the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the business combination was approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
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In general, Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in financial benefit to a stockholder and an “interested stockholder” as a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years did own, 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock. These provisions may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing changes in control of our company.
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws Provisions
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws include a number of provisions that could deter hostile takeovers or delay or prevent changes in control of our board of directors or management team, including the following:
Dual Class Stock
As described above in “Common Stock—Voting Rights,”, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for a dual class common stock structure, which provides our Co-Founders, individually or together, with significant influence over matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets.
Classified Board
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors, each of which holds office for a three-year term. In addition, directors may only be removed from the board of directors for cause. The existence of a classified board could delay a potential acquirer from obtaining majority control of our board of directors, and the prospect of that delay might deter a potential acquirer.
Board of Directors Vacancies
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships, including newly created seats. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors is permitted to be set only by a resolution adopted by a majority vote of our entire board of directors. These provisions would prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and then gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees. This makes it more difficult to change the composition of our board of directors and promotes continuity of management.
Stockholder Action; Special Meeting of Stockholders
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders may not take action by written consent, but may only take action at annual or special meetings of our stockholders. As a result, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend our amended and restated bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of our stockholders called in accordance with our amended and restated bylaws. Our amended and restated bylaws further provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority of our board of directors, the chairperson of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer or our President, thus prohibiting a stockholder from calling a special meeting. These provisions might delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for stockholders controlling a majority of our capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our amended and restated bylaws provide advance notice procedures for 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. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify certain requirements regarding the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions might preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders if the proper procedures are not followed. We expect that these provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.
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No Cumulative Voting
The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that stockholders are not entitled to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting.
Amendment of Charter and Bylaws Provisions
Amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation require the approval of two-thirds of the outstanding voting power of our common stock. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that approval of stockholders holding two-thirds of our outstanding voting power voting as a single class is required for stockholders to amend or adopt any provision of our bylaws.
Issuance of Undesignated Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 1,000,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by our board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock would enable our board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or other means.
Exclusive Forum
Our amended and restated bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the sole and exclusive forum for (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 of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws or (iv) any other action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), in all cases subject to the court having jurisdiction over indispensable parties named as defendants. Nothing in our amended and restated bylaws precludes stockholders that assert claims under the Securities Act from bringing such claims in state or federal court, subject to applicable law. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to this provision. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers.
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law. Consequently, our directors are not personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for the following:
• | any breach of their duty of loyalty to our company or our stockholders; | ||||||||||
• | any act or omission not in good faith or that involves 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 Delaware General Corporation Law; or | ||||||||||
• | any transaction from which they derived an improper personal benefit. |
Any amendment to, or repeal of, these provisions will not eliminate or reduce the effect of these provisions in respect of any act, omission or claim that occurred or arose prior to that amendment or repeal. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to provide for further limitations on the personal liability of directors of
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corporations, then the personal liability of our directors will be further limited to the greatest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law.
In addition, our amended and restated bylaws provide that we will indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any person who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that they are or were one of our directors or officers or is or was serving at our request as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that we may indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law any person who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that they are or were one of our employees or agents or is or was serving at our request as an employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. Our amended and restated bylaws also provide that we must advance expenses incurred by or on behalf of a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, subject to limited exceptions.
Further, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the Delaware General Corporation Law. These indemnification agreements require us, among other things, to indemnify our directors and executive officers against liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service. These indemnification agreements also require us to advance all expenses incurred by the directors and executive officers in investigating or defending any such action, suit or proceeding. We believe that these agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.
The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions that are included in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and in indemnification agreements that we have entered into with our directors and executive officers may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and executive officers for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and executive officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and executive officers as required by these indemnification provisions.
We have obtained insurance policies under which, subject to the limitations of the policies, coverage is provided to our directors and executive officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of fiduciary duty or other wrongful acts as a director or executive officer, including claims relating to public securities matters, and to us with respect to payments that may be made by us to these directors and executive officers pursuant to our indemnification obligations or otherwise as a matter of law.
Certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their employers, be insured or indemnified against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as members of our board of directors.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling our company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.
Listing
Our Class A common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “LYFT”.
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