Description of Registrant's Securities
Exhibit 4.3
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OF AIRJOULE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
The following description summarizes certain terms of our Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”), our Third Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) and the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”). This description is summarized from, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, our Charter and Bylaws, each of which has been publicly filed with the SEC, as well as the relevant provisions of the DGCL. Our purpose is to engage in any lawful activity for which corporations may now or hereafter be organized under the DGCL.
Authorized and Outstanding Stock
The total amount of AirJoule Technologies Corporation’s authorized capital stock consists of 600,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share and 25,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Preferred Stock”). No shares of Preferred Stock are outstanding.
Common Stock
Class A Common Stock
Voting Power
Each holder of Class A Common Stock is entitled to one vote for each share of Class A Common Stock held for record in person or by proxy on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of Class A Common Stock, whether voting separately as a class or otherwise. Our Class A Common Stock does not have cumulative voting rights.
Dividends
Subject to applicable law and the rights and preferences of any holders of any outstanding series of preferred stock or any class or series of stock having a preference over or the right to participate with the Class A Common Stock with respect to the payment of dividends, holders of Class A Common Stock, as such, shall be entitled to the payment of dividends on the Class A Common Stock when, as and if declared by the Board in accordance with applicable law.
The payment of future dividends on the shares of Class A Common Stock will depend on the financial condition of the Company and payment thereof will be subject to the discretion of the Board. Company currently intends to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and growth of the business, and therefore does not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends on capital stock of the Company in the foreseeable future. The ability of the Company to declare dividends may be limited by the terms and conditions of other financing and other agreements entered into by the Company or any of its subsidiaries from time to time.
Liquidation, Dissolution and Winding Up
Subject to the rights and preferences of any holders of any shares of any outstanding series of preferred stock, in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary, the funds and assets of the Company that may be legally distributed to the Company’s stockholders will be distributed among the holders of the then outstanding Class A Common Stock of the Company pro rata in accordance with the number of shares of Class A Common Stock of the Company held by each such holder.
Preemptive or Other Rights
The holders of Class A Common Stock will not have pre-emptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There will not be any redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class A Common Stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of the Class A Common Stock will be subject to those of the holders of any shares of the preferred stock that the Company may issue in the future.
Preferred Stock
Under the terms of the Charter, the Board is authorized to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. The Board has the discretion to determine the rights, powers, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock.
Unless required by law or any stock exchange, the authorized shares of preferred stock will be available for issuance without further action by the stockholders of the Company. The purpose of authorizing the Board to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions, future financings and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or could discourage a third party from seeking to acquire, a majority of the outstanding voting stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of Class A Common Stock by restricting dividends on the Class A Common Stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock or subordinating the liquidation rights of the Class A Common Stock. As a result of these or other factors, the issuance of preferred stock could have an adverse impact on the market price of the Class A Common Stock.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
As a Delaware corporation, we are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which generally prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:
| ● | before such date, the Board of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
| ● | upon completion of the transaction that 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 began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, those shares owned (1) by persons who are directors and also officers and (2) 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 |
| ● | on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the Board 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 (66 and ⅔%) of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
In general, Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include the following:
| ● | any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; |
| ● | any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; |
| ● | subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; |
| ● | any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or |
| ● | the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation. |
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In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.
A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws resulting from a stockholders’ amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares. We have not opted out of these provisions. As a result, mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts of AirJoule Technologies Corporation may be discouraged or prevented.
Charter and Bylaws
The Charter and the Bylaws will contain provisions that may delay, defer or discourage another party from acquiring control of us. We expect that these provisions, which are summarized below, will discourage coercive takeover practices or inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with the Board, which may result in an improvement of the terms of any such acquisition in favor of the stockholders. However, they also give the Board the power to discourage acquisitions that some stockholders may favor.
Authorized but Unissued Shares
The authorized but unissued shares of Company common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the listing standards of Nasdaq. 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 more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Classified Board of Directors
The Charter provides that the Board will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes to be as nearly equal in number as possible, and with each director serving a three-year term. As a result, approximately one-third of the Board will be elected each year. The classification of directors will have the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of the Board.
Stockholder Action; Special Meetings of Stockholders
The Charter provides that stockholders may not take action by written consent, but may only take action at annual or special meetings of stockholders. As a result, a holder controlling a majority of Company capital stock would not be able to amend the Bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of stockholders called in accordance with the Bylaws. Further, the Charter provides that only the chairperson of Board, the Chief Executive Officer or the President of the Company may call special meetings of stockholders, thus prohibiting a stockholder from calling a special meeting. These provisions might delay the ability of stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for stockholders controlling a majority of Company capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.
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Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
In addition, the Bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting or special meeting of stockholders. Generally, in order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, the matter must be (a) specified in a notice of meeting given by or at the direction of the Board, (b) if not specified in a notice of meeting, otherwise brought before the meeting by the board of directors or the chairperson of the meeting, or (c) otherwise properly brought before the meeting by a stockholder present in person who (1) was a stockholder both at the time of giving the notice and at the time of the meeting, (2) is entitled to vote at the meeting, and (3) has complied with the advance notice procedures specified in the Bylaws or properly made such proposal in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations thereunder, which proposal has been included in the proxy statement for the annual meeting. Further, for business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must (a) provide Timely Notice (as defined below) thereof in writing and in proper form to the secretary of the Company and (b) provide any updates or supplements to such notice at the times and in the forms required by the Bylaws. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be delivered to, or mailed and received at, the Company’s principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the one-year anniversary of the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided, however, that if no annual meeting was held in the preceding year, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such annual meeting, or, if later, the 10th day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made by the corporation; provided, further, that if the date of the annual meeting is more than 30 days before or more than 60 days after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder to be timely must be so delivered, or mailed and received, not later than the 90th day prior to such annual meeting or, if later, the 10th day following the day on which public disclosure of the date of such annual meeting was first made (such notice within such time periods, “Timely Notice”). In no event shall any adjournment or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of Timely Notice as described above.
Stockholders at an annual meeting or special meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board or by a qualified stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has delivered timely written notice in proper form to the Company’s secretary of the stockholder’s intention to bring such business before the meeting. These provisions could have the effect of delaying stockholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities until the next stockholder meeting.
Amendment of Charter or Bylaws
The Bylaws may be amended or repealed by the Board. In addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of stock of the Company required by applicable law or by the Charter or the Bylaws, the adoption, amendment or repeal of the Bylaws shall require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66⅔%) of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. The affirmative vote of holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66⅔%) of the total voting power of the then outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, would be required to amend certain provisions of the Charter.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
The Bylaws provides indemnification and advancement of expenses for the Company’s directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, subject to certain limited exceptions. The Company has entered into customary, indemnification agreements with each of its directors and officers. In some cases, the provisions of those indemnification agreements may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained under Delaware law. In addition, as permitted by Delaware law, the Charter includes provisions that eliminate the personal liability of directors for monetary damages resulting from breaches of certain fiduciary duties as a director. The effect of this provision is to restrict the Company’s rights and the rights of the Company’s stockholders in derivative suits to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of fiduciary duties as a director.
These provisions may be held not to be enforceable for violations of the federal securities laws of the United States.
Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment
Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of the Company. Pursuant to Section 262 of the DGCL, stockholders who properly demand and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery.
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Stockholders’ Derivative Actions
Under the DGCL, any of the Company’s stockholders may bring an action in the company’s name to procure a judgment in its favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the stockholder bringing the action is a holder of the Company’s shares at the time of the transaction to which the action relates.
Forum Selection
The Charter provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for: (i) any derivative action brought by a stockholder on behalf of the Company, (ii) any claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of the Company’s directors, officers, stockholders or employees, (iii) any claim against the Company arising under its charter, bylaws or the DGCL or (iv) any claim against the Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine. The Charter designates the federal district courts of the United States of America as the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of Article VIII of the Charter shall not apply to any suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Common Stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Trading Symbols and Market
Our Common Stock is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “AIRJ,” and our Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “AIRJW.”
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. However, no warrants will be exercisable for cash unless we have an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and a current prospectus relating to such shares of Class A Common Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if an effective and current registration statement covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not maintained, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective and current registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, and the warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In the event, however, of such cashless exercise, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the 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 last reported sale price of the shares of Class A Common Stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants. The warrants will expire on March 14, 2029 at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company may call the warrants for redemption, in whole and not in part, at a price of $0.01 per warrant,
| ● | at any time after the warrants become exercisable; |
| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| ● | if, and only if, the reported last sale price of the shares of Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations), for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to the notice of redemption to warrant holders. |
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If and when the Public 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. However, unless we have elected to require warrant holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis, we will not redeem the Public Warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of the Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of the Class A Common Stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period.
The right to exercise will be forfeited unless the warrants are exercised prior to the date specified in the notice of redemption. On and after the redemption date, a record holder of a warrant will have no further rights except to receive the redemption price for such holder’s warrant upon surrender of such warrant.
The redemption criteria for the Company’s warrants have been established at a price which is intended to provide warrant holders a reasonable premium to the initial exercise price and provide a sufficient differential between the then-prevailing share price and the warrant exercise price so that if the share price declines as a result of the Company’s redemption call, the redemption will not cause the share price to drop below the exercise price of the warrants. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the Public Warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its Public Warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Unless we have elected to require warrant holders to exercise the warrants on a cashless basis, any such exercise would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the price of the Class A Common Stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued).
The Company’s management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the 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 last reported sale price of the shares of Class A Common Stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants.
The warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and AirJoule Technologies Corporation. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder (i) to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the IPO prospectus, or (ii) to add or change any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants. The warrant agreement requires the approval, by written consent, of the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the rights of the registered holders.
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The exercise price and number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a stock dividend, extraordinary dividend or the Company’s recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of Class A Common Stock at a price below their respective exercise prices.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price, by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of shares of Class A Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
Warrant holders may elect to be subject to a restriction on the exercise of their warrants such that an electing warrant holder would not be able to exercise their warrants to the extent that, after giving effect to such exercise, such holder would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% of the shares of Class A Common Stock issued and outstanding.
No fractional share of Class A Common Stock will be issued upon the 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 down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued to such warrant holder.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. This exclusive forum provision shall not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Private Placement Warrants
The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be redeemable by the Company. Except for not being redeemable by the Company and as otherwise described below, the Private Placement Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the Public Warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
If holders of the Private Placement Warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they 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 excess of the “10 day average closing price” (defined below) as of the date prior to the date on which notice of exercise is sent or given to the warrant agent, less the warrant exercise price by (y) the 10 day average closing price. The “10 day average closing price” means, as of any date, the average last reported sale price (defined below) of the shares of Class A Common Stock as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to such date. “Last reported sale price” means the last reported sale price of the Class A Common Stock on the date on which the notice of exercise of the warrant is sent to the warrant agent.
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