Description of Companys securities
EXHIBIT 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
The following is a brief description of the common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), of Creek Road Miners, Inc. (“we,” “our,” or “us”). This description of the terms of our Common Stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”), and the full text of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (“Certificate of Incorporation”) and our bylaws (“Bylaws”).
As of March 31, 2023, our authorized share capital consists of 100,000,000 shares of Common Stock, of which 12,246,036 were outstanding, 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, including 500,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, of which 273,133 were outstanding, 20,000 shares of Series B Preferred Stock, of which 1,478 were outstanding, and 15,000 shares of Series C Preferred Stock, of which 7,630 were outstanding.
We implemented a 1-for-20 reverse stock split of our outstanding shares of Common Stock that was effective on January 23, 2020. All share and related option and warrant information presented in this report have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the reduced number of shares and the increase in the share price which resulted from this action.
Common Stock
Holders of our Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share. Our Certificate of Incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting. Holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared by our Board of Directors (“Board”) out of legally available funds. However, the current policy of our Board is to retain earnings, if any, for our operations and expansion. Upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to share ratably in all of our assets which are legally available for distribution, after payment of or provision for all liabilities. The holders of our Common Stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of our Common Stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws and the DGCL
Certain provisions of our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws, which are summarized in the following paragraphs, may have the effect of discouraging potential acquisition proposals or making a tender offer or delaying or preventing a change in control, including changes a stockholder might consider favorable. Such provisions may also prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our management. In particular, our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws and Delaware law, as applicable, among other things:
● | provide our Board with the ability to alter the Bylaws without stockholder approval (subject to rights of the holders of our preferred stock); | |
● | provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority of the directors, the Chairman of our Board or the Chief Executive Officer; | |
● | place limitations on the removal of directors; and | |
● | provide that vacancies on our Board may be filled by a majority of directors in office, although less than a quorum. |
These provisions are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with its board. These provisions may delay or prevent someone from acquiring or merging with us, which may cause the market price of our Common Stock to decline.
Advance Notice Bylaws. Our Bylaws contain an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before any meeting of stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our Board. Stockholders at any meeting will only be able to consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our Board or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our corporate secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although the Bylaws do not give our Board the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, the Bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
Interested Stockholder Transactions. We may become subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits “business combinations” between a publicly-held Delaware corporation and an “interested stockholder,” which is generally defined as a stockholder who becomes a beneficial owner of 15% or more of a Delaware corporation’s voting stock for a three-year period following the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder.
Limitations on Liability, Indemnification of Officers and Directors and Insurance
The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors to corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties as directors and our Certificate of Incorporation includes such an exculpation provision. Our Certificate of Incorporation includes provisions that indemnify, to the fullest extent allowable under the DGCL, the personal liability of directors or officers for monetary damages for actions taken as our director or officer or for serving at our request as a director or officer or another position at another corporation or enterprise, as the case may be. Our Certificate of Incorporation also provides that we must indemnify and advance reasonable expenses to our directors and officers, subject to our receipt of an undertaking from the indemnified party as may be required under the DGCL. Our Certificate of Incorporation expressly authorizes us to carry directors’ and officers’ insurance to protect us, our directors, officers and certain employees from some liabilities. The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions may also have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. However, these provisions do not limit or eliminate our rights, or those of any stockholder, to seek non-monetary relief such as injunction or rescission in the event of a breach of a director’s duty of care. The provisions will not alter the liability of directors under the federal securities laws. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent that, in a class action or direct suit, we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions. There is currently no pending material litigation or proceeding against any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors or executive officers, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy and is therefore unenforceable.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The Transfer Agent and Registrar for our Common Stock is VStock Transfer, LLC, 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, New York 11598. The telephone number of VStock Transfer, LLC is ###-###-####.
Listing
Our Common Stock is listed on the OTC Markets under the symbol “CRKR.”