Description of Registrants Securities Registered Under Section 12 of the Exchange Act

EX-4.4 2 now-20191231xex44.htm EXHIBIT 4.4 Exhibit

EXHIBIT 4.4
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES
EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
As of December 31, 2019, ServiceNow, Inc. (“ServiceNow,” the “Company,” or “us”) had one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock.
Description of Common Stock
The following description of our common stock is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”) and our Restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”), each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.4 is a part. We encourage you to read our Certificate of Incorporation, our Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), for additional information.

General
 
Our authorized capital stock consists of 600,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

Common Stock
 
Dividend Rights
 
Subject to preferences that may apply to shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares 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 only then at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine.
 
Voting Rights
 
Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Our Certificate of Incorporation eliminates the right of stockholders to cumulate votes for the election of directors. Our Certificate of Incorporation establishes a classified board of directors, to be divided into three classes with 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.
 
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
 
Upon our dissolution, liquidation or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders are distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock, subject to prior satisfaction of all outstanding debt and liabilities and the preferential rights and payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Anti-Takeover Provisions
 
The provisions of Delaware law, our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of us.
 
Delaware Law
 
We are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers. This section prevents some Delaware corporations, including us, from engaging, under some circumstances, in a business combination, which includes a merger or sale of at least 10% of the corporation’s assets with any interested stockholder, meaning a stockholder who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, did own 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock, unless:

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the transaction is approved by the board of directors prior to the time that the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder;
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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; or
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at or subsequent to such time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders by at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.

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 certificate of incorporation or bylaws resulting from a stockholders’ amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares. We do not plan to “opt out” of these provisions. The statute could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, may discourage attempts to acquire us.

Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Restated Bylaw Provisions
 
Our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws include a number of provisions that may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying or preventing changes in control, including the following:
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Board of Directors Vacancies. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors is set only by resolution adopted by a majority vote of our entire board of directors. These provisions prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees.


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Classified Board. Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws provide that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors. 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.
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Stockholder Action; Special Meeting of Stockholders. Our 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. Stockholders are not permitted to cumulate their votes for the election of directors. Our Bylaws further provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority of our board of directors, the chairman of our board of directors, our chief executive officer or our president.
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Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations. Our 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 Bylaws also specify certain requirements regarding the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. 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 (though our Bylaws have implemented stockholder proxy access).
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Issuance of Undesignated Preferred Stock. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by the board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock enables 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 otherwise.
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Super Majority Vote to Amend Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides that if two-thirds of our board of directors approves the amendment of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, or any provisions thereof, then such amendment need only be approved by stockholders holding a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote. Otherwise, such amendment must be approved by stockholders holding two-thirds of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote.

New York Stock Exchange Listing
 
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NOW.”