Description of the Registrants Securities
Exhibit 4.5
DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
The following summary of Northern Star Investment Corp. II’s securities is based on and qualified by the Company’s Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Charter”). References to the “Company” and to “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Pivotal Investment Corporation III.”
General
As of the date of its Initial Public Offering (“IPO”), the Company is authorized to issue 150,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001, including 125,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 25,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, as well as 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001. As of the date of the annual report of which this Exhibit 4.5 forms a part, there are 40,000,000 shares of Class A common stock outstanding, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock outstanding, and no shares of preferred stock currently outstanding.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-fifth of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of our Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. For example, if a warrant holder holds one-fifth of one warrant to purchase a share of Class A common stock, such warrant will not be exercisable. If a warrant holder holds five fifths of a warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units began separate trading on February 11, 2021. Holders have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A common stock and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless an investor holds at least five units, they will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Common Stock
As of the date of the consummation of the Company’s IPO, there we 40,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding. All shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding are held by our initial shareholders, including our sponsor and certain officers and directors. The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as detailed below.
Class A Shares
Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders except as required by law.
Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 125,000,000 shares of Class A 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.
Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with NYSE 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 the NYSE. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to convert 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the trust account (less interest to pay our tax obligations), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our initial stockholders, officers and directors have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their conversion rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
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 certificate 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 certificate of incorporation requires 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 shares voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. However, the participation of our initial stockholders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial 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 initial business combination once a quorum is obtained.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our IPO in favor of our initial business combination. The other members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our initial stockholders with respect to any public shares acquired by them in or after our IPO.
Class B Shares
Except as described herein, the shares of Class B Common stock are identical to the shares of Class A Common stock, and holders of the Class B shares have the same stockholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the Class B shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our initial stockholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their conversion rights with respect to their Class B shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their conversion rights with respect to their Class B shares and public shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within the required time period, and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their Class B shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the required time period, 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 initial business combination within such time period, (iii) the Class B shares are automatically convertible into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or at any time prior thereto at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein, and (iv) have registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their Class B shares and any public shares purchased during or after our IPO in favor of our initial business combination. The members of our management team have entered into agreements similar to the one entered into by our initial stockholders with respect to any public shares acquired by them directly in or after our IPO.
The Class B shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock at the time our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities convertible or exercisable for shares of Class A common stock, such as options, rights or warrants are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in our IPO and related to the closing of our initial business combination, the ratio at which Class B shares will convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted unless waived by majority of Class B holders so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all Class B shares will equal, in the aggregate 20% of the sum of the shares of common stock outstanding after completion of our IPO plus the number of shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked shares issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination (net of conversions), excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, pursuant to the forward purchase contract, or to any seller in our initial business combination and any Private Warrants or Working Capital Warrants issued to our Sponsor, officers and directors or any of their affiliates.
With certain limited exceptions, the Class B shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our Sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A 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 and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their Class A common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Preferred Stock
There are no shares of preferred stock outstanding. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock and provides that preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be 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 will be able to, without stockholder approval, issue shares of 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 shares of 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 shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Warrants
Public Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of one year from the closing of our IPO or 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least five units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen (15) business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 days and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60th) day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the reported closing price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” for this purpose will mean the average reported closing price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, the holders of the private placement warrants and their permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
In addition to the foregoing redemption feature commencing ninety days after the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock to be determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described below; |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; |
| • | If and only if, the private placement warrants are also concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above; and |
| • | if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock (or a security other than the Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination) issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given. |
The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of Class A common stock that a warrant holder will receive upon exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined based on the average of the last reported sales price for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A common stock shall include a security other than Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the tables below will not be adjusted solely as a result of us not being the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
| Redemption Date | Fair Market Value of Class A Common Stock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| £$10.00 | $11.00 | $12.00 | $13.00 | $14.00 | $15.00 | $16.00 | $17.00 | ³$18.00 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 57 months | 0.233 | 0.255 | 0.275 | 0.293 | 0.309 | 0.324 | 0.338 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 54 months | 0.229 | 0.251 | 0.272 | 0.291 | 0.307 | 0.323 | 0.337 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 51 months | 0.225 | 0.248 | 0.269 | 0.288 | 0.305 | 0.321 | 0.336 | 0.349 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 48 months | 0.220 | 0.243 | 0.265 | 0.285 | 0.303 | 0.320 | 0.335 | 0.349 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 45 months | 0.214 | 0.239 | 0.261 | 0.282 | 0.301 | 0.318 | 0.334 | 0.348 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 42 months | 0.208 | 0.234 | 0.257 | 0.278 | 0.298 | 0.316 | 0.333 | 0.348 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39 months | 0.202 | 0.228 | 0.252 | 0.275 | 0.295 | 0.314 | 0.331 | 0.347 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 36 months | 0.195 | 0.222 | 0.247 | 0.271 | 0.292 | 0.312 | 0.330 | 0.346 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 33 months | 0.187 | 0.215 | 0.241 | 0.266 | 0.288 | 0.309 | 0.328 | 0.345 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 months | 0.179 | 0.208 | 0.235 | 0.261 | 0.284 | 0.306 | 0.326 | 0.345 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 months | 0.170 | 0.199 | 0.228 | 0.255 | 0.280 | 0.303 | 0.324 | 0.343 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24 months | 0.159 | 0.190 | 0.220 | 0.248 | 0.274 | 0.299 | 0.322 | 0.342 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 months | 0.148 | 0.179 | 0.210 | 0.240 | 0.268 | 0.295 | 0.319 | 0.341 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 months | 0.135 | 0.167 | 0.200 | 0.231 | 0.261 | 0.289 | 0.315 | 0.339 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 months | 0.120 | 0.153 | 0.187 | 0.220 | 0.253 | 0.283 | 0.311 | 0.337 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 months | 0.103 | 0.137 | 0.172 | 0.207 | 0.242 | 0.275 | 0.306 | 0.335 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 months | 0.083 | 0.117 | 0.153 | 0.191 | 0.229 | 0.266 | 0.300 | 0.332 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 months | 0.059 | 0.092 | 0.130 | 0.171 | 0.213 | 0.254 | 0.292 | 0.328 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 months | 0.030 | 0.060 | 0.100 | 0.145 | 0.193 | 0.240 | 0.284 | 0.324 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 months | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.042 | 0.115 | 0.179 | 0.233 | 0.281 | 0.324 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants only when the trading price for the Class A common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A common stock is trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per
share threshold set forth above. Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares representing the applicable redemption price for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of February 8, 2021, the date of the prospectus relating to our IPO. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our initial stockholders or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our initial stockholders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, inclusive of interest earned on equity held in trust, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round up to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Warrants
Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO. The private placement warrants (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and they will be exercisable on a cashless basis and not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor or its permitted transferees will have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in our IPO.
If holders of the Private Warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” will mean the average reported closing price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers, directors or their respective affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our shares of 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 dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our then board of directors. It is the present intention of our board of directors to retain all earnings, if any, for use in our business operations and, accordingly, our board does not anticipate declaring any dividends in the foreseeable future
Listing of Securities
Our units, common stock, and warrants are listed on NYSE under the symbols “NSTB.U,” “NSTB,” and “NSTB WS,” respectively.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Law
Staggered Board of Directors
Our amended and restated charter provides that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors of approximately equal size. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
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 president or by our chairman or by our secretary at the request in writing of stockholders owning a majority of our issued and outstanding capital stock entitled to vote.
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 delivered to our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 60th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 90th day prior to the scheduled date of the annual meeting of stockholders. In the event that less than 70 days’ notice or prior public disclosure of the date of the annual meeting of stockholders is given, a stockholder’s notice shall be timely if delivered to our principal executive offices not later than the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of our annual meeting of stockholders is first made or sent by us. 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.
Authorized but Unissued Shares
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 Selection
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, 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 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.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. 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. As a result, the exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, the exclusive forum provision does not apply to actions brought under the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder.
