Description of Securities
EXHIBIT 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANTS SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
The following is a description of our capital stock. The following summary is qualified in its entirety by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws, each of which have been filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, and by applicable law.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 510,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share, 180,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. Unless our board of directors determines otherwise, we issue all shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock in uncertificated form.
Common Stock
Class A common stock
Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders.
Stockholders do not have the ability to cumulate votes for the election of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for a classified board of directors consisting of three classes of approximately equal size, each serving staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms.
Holders of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to any restrictions on the payment of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred stock. Dividends on the Class A common stock and Class B common stock are equivalent.
Shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock receive equivalent economic treatment in any stock reclassification, stock splits or other similar transaction, as well as in any acquisition or merger of the Company.
Upon our dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of our Class A and Class B common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution, unless otherwise approved by separate votes of the Class A and Class B common stock.
Holders of our Class A common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights.
Class B common stock
Holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders prior to a Sunset. See “Organizational Structure—Voting Rights of Class A and Class B Common Stock.” A “Sunset” is triggered by the earlier of the following: (a) the Sunset Holders (as defined in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation) cease to maintain direct or indirect beneficial ownership of 10% of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (determined assuming all outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock have been converted into Class A Common Stock); (b) the Sunset Holders collectively cease to maintain direct or indirect beneficial ownership of at least 25% of the aggregate voting power of the outstanding shares of Common Stock; and (c) October 20, 2031.
After a Sunset becomes effective, holders of our Class B common stock automatically convert into Class A common stock. In addition, each share of Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock upon any transfer except to certain permitted transferees.
Holders of the Class B common stock are not entitled to dividends in respect of their shares of Class B common stock.
Holders of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except as otherwise required by applicable law.
Upon our dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of our Class B common stock will be entitled to receive their share of our remaining assets available for distribution, pro rata with distributions to the Class A common stock. Holders of our Class B common stock do not have preemptive or subscription rights. There will be no further issuances of Class B common stock except in connection with a stock split, stock dividend, reclassification or similar transaction.
Upon any transfer, Class B common stock converts automatically on a one-for-one basis to shares of Class A common stock, except in the case of transfers to certain permitted transferees, which includes any controlled affiliate of such holder, an investment fund managed and controlled by such holder and any estate planning entity. In addition, holders of Class B common stock may elect to convert shares of Class B common stock on a one-for-one basis into Class A common stock at any time.
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors has the authority to issue preferred stock in one or more classes or series and to fix the rights, preferences, privileges and related restrictions, including dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, the right to elect directors, terms of redemption, redemption prices, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any class or series, or the designation of the class or series, without the approval of our stockholders.
The authority of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without approval of our stockholders may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company and may adversely affect the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock with voting and conversion rights may adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock, including the loss of voting control to others.
Authorized but Unissued Capital Stock
Delaware law does not require stockholder approval for any issuance of authorized shares. However, the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"), which would apply so long as our Class A common stock remains listed on the NYSE, require stockholder approval of certain issuances equal to or exceeding 20% of the then outstanding voting power or then outstanding number of shares of Class A common stock. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings, to raise additional capital or to facilitate acquisitions.
One of the effects of the existence of unissued and unreserved common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of our company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive the stockholders of opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated
Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors and in the policies formulated by our board of directors and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of control. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal or proxy fight. Such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our Class A common stock that
could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Such provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management or delaying or preventing a transaction that might benefit you or other minority stockholders.
These provisions include:
Super Voting Stock. The Class A common stock and Class B common stock vote together on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote, except as set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or required by applicable law. However, until a Sunset becomes effective, the Class B common stock have ten votes per share and the Class A common stock has one vote per share. Consequently, the holders of our Class B common stock have greater influence over decisions to be made by our stockholders, including the election of directors.
Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders. The DGCL permits stockholder action by written consent unless otherwise provided by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation permits stockholder action by written consent so long as the Class B common stock represents a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock, and precludes stockholder action by written consent if and when the Class B common stock ceases to represent a majority of the voting power of our outstanding common stock. If permitted by the applicable certificate of designation, future series of preferred stock may take action by written consent. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders may be called only by the board of directors or the chairman of the board of directors, and only proposals included in the company’s notice may be considered at such special meetings.
Election and Removal of Directors. The DGCL provides that stockholders are not entitled to the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not expressly provide for cumulative voting. Directors may be removed, but only for cause, upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least 75% of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, except that prior to a Sunset, directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote or consent of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors. In addition, the certificate of designation pursuant to which a particular series of preferred stock is issued may provide holders of that series of preferred stock with the right to elect additional directors. In addition, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is divided into three classes of directors, each of which holds office for a three-year term. The existence of a classified board could delay a successful tender offeror from obtaining majority control of our board of directors, and the prospect of that delay might deter a potential offeror.
Authorized but Unissued Shares. The authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the listing rules of the NYSE. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could make more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders. In general, Section 203 of the DGCL, an anti-takeover law, prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock, which person or group is considered an interested stockholder under the DGCL, for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner.
We elected in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that have the same effect as Section 203, except that it provides that the Sunset Holders, their affiliates, groups that include the Sunset Holders, and certain of their direct and indirect transferees are not deemed to be “interested stockholders,” regardless of the percentage of our voting stock owned by them, and accordingly will not be subject to such restrictions.
Exclusive forum. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we select or consent in writing to the selection of another forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have, or declines to accept, jurisdiction, another state court or a federal court located within the State of Delaware) shall be the exclusive forum for any complaints asserting any “internal corporate claims,” which include claims in the right of our company (i) that are based upon a violation of a duty by a current or former director, officer, employee or stockholder in such capacity or (ii) as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction upon the Court of Chancery. Furthermore, unless we select or consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Our exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, and investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring an interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. It is possible that a court could find our exclusive forum provision to be inapplicable or unenforceable. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
NOL Protective Provision. We also included a protective provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation designed to assist the Company in protecting the long-term value of its accumulated NOLs by limiting certain transfers of the Company’s common stock, which requires any person attempting to become a holder of 4.99% or more of our common stock to seek the approval of our board of directors. Pursuant to its terms, this provision expired on October 21, 2024.
Other Limitations on Stockholder Actions. Our bylaws also impose some procedural requirements on stockholders who wish to:
Under these procedural requirements, in order to bring a proposal before a meeting of stockholders, a stockholder must deliver timely notice of a proposal pertaining to a proper subject for presentation at the meeting to our corporate secretary containing, among other things, the following:
Our bylaws set out the timeliness requirements for delivery of notice.
In order to submit a nomination for our board of directors, a stockholder must also submit any information with respect to the nominee that we would be required to include in a proxy statement, as well as some other information. If a stockholder fails to follow the required procedures, the stockholder’s proposal or nominee will be ineligible and will not be voted on by our stockholders.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide indemnification for our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may, in some cases, be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained under Delaware law. In addition, as permitted by Delaware law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes provisions that eliminate the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages resulting from breaches of certain fiduciary duties as a director. The effect of this provision is to restrict our rights and the rights of our stockholders in derivative suits to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of fiduciary duties as a director, except that a director will be personally liable for:
These provisions may be held not to be enforceable for violations of the federal securities laws of the United States.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock is Equiniti Trust Company, LLC.
Listing
Our Class A common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “PX”.