Securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act

 

SharpSpring, Inc. (the “Company” or “we” or “our”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, our common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “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 Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (the “certificate of incorporation”) and our 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 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.

 

Authorized Share Capital. The Company’s authorized capital stock consists of 50,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share.

 

Voting. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that directors will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast.

 

Dividend Rights. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for this purpose.

 

Liquidation Preferences. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive on a proportional basis any assets remaining available for distribution after payment of our liabilities.

 

Other Terms. Holders of common stock have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the common stock. All outstanding shares of the common stock are fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Certain of our charter, statutory and contractual provisions could make the removal of our management and directors more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock. Furthermore, the existence of the foregoing provisions, as well as the significant common stock beneficially owned by our executive officers, and certain members of our board of directors, could lower the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our Company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.

 

 

In addition to the board of directors’ ability to issue shares of preferred stock, our amended certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain the following provisions that may have the effect of discouraging unsolicited acquisition proposals:

These provisions could lower the price that future investors might be willing to pay for shares of our common stock.

 

Delaware Law

 

Section 203 of the DGCL is applicable to takeovers of certain Delaware corporations, including us. Subject to exceptions enumerated in Section 203, Section 203 provides that a corporation shall not engage in any business combination with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the date that the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder unless:

 

 

Except as specified in Section 203, an interested stockholder is generally defined to include any person who, together with any affiliates or associates of that person, beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation, or is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and was the owner of 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation, any time within three years immediately prior to the relevant date. Under certain circumstances, Section 203 makes it more difficult for an interested stockholder to effect various business combinations with a corporation for a three-year period, although the stockholders may elect not to be governed by this section, by adopting an amendment to the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, effective 12 months after adoption. Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws do not opt out from the restrictions imposed under Section 203. We anticipate that the provisions of Section 203 may encourage companies interested in acquiring us to negotiate in advance with the board because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if a majority of the directors then in office excluding an interested stockholder approve either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These provisions may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control, which could depress the market price of our common stock and deprive stockholders of opportunities to realize a premium on shares of common stock held by them.

 

 

 

 

Contractual Provisions

 

Our employee stock option agreements include change-in-control provisions that allow us to grant options or stock purchase rights that may become vested immediately upon a change in control. The terms of change of control provisions contained in certain of our senior executive employee agreements may also discourage a change in control of our Company.

 

Our board of directors also has the power to adopt a stockholder rights plan that could delay or prevent a change in control of our Company even if the change in control is generally beneficial to our stockholders. These plans, sometimes called “poison pills,” are oftentimes criticized by institutional investors or their advisors and could affect our rating by such investors or advisors. If our board of directors adopts such a plan, it might have the effect of reducing the price that new investors are willing to pay for shares of our common stock.

 

Together, these charter, statutory and contractual provisions could make the removal of our management and directors more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock. Furthermore, the existence of the foregoing provisions, as well as the significant common stock beneficially owned by our founder, executive officers, and certain members of our board of directors, could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our Company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.

 

Preferred Stock

 

The common stock is subject to the express terms of the Company’s preferred stock and any series thereof. The board of directors may issue preferred stock with voting, dividend, liquidation and other rights that could adversely affect the relative rights of the holders of the common stock.

 

Listing

 

Our shares of common stock are listed on the NASDAQ under the symbol “SHSP.”