Exhibit 4.4
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
Canoo Inc. (“we,” “our,” “us,” or the “Company”) has two classes of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): common stock, par value $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), and public warrants, each whole public warrant exercisable for one share of Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share (the “Public Warrants”).
The following summary of the material terms of our Common Stock and Public Warrants is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities, and is qualified by reference to our Second Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Restated Certificate”), our Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “Restated Bylaws”) and the Public Warrant-related documents, each of which is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, of which this Exhibit 4.4 is a part, and are incorporated by reference herein. We urge you to read each of our Restated Certificate, the Restated Bylaws, the Public Warrant-related documents and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) for more information.
General
Under our Restated Certificate, we have the authority to issue 510,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.0001 par value per share. 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 we may issue in the future.
Common Stock
Except as otherwise required by law or as otherwise provided in any certificate of designation for any series of preferred stock, the holders of Common Stock possess all voting power for the election of our directors and all other matters requiring stockholder action. Holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on matters to be voted on by stockholders. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all the directors. Subject to the preferences of any outstanding shares of preferred stock, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends our board of directors declares out of funds legally available for the payment of dividends. If we are liquidated, dissolved or wound up, the holders of Common Stock are entitled to share pro rata all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and liquidation preferences of any outstanding shares of preferred stock. Holders of Common Stock have no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to the Common Stock.
Preferred Stock
Our Restated Certificate provides that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors is authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the Common Stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control or the removal of our management.
Public Warrants
Each whole Public Warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the closing of our initial business combination on December 21, 2020 (the “Business Combination”). The Public Warrants will expire five years after the closing of the Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), with respect to the shares of Common Stock underlying the Public Warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No Public Warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of Common Stock upon exercise of a Public Warrant unless Common Stock issuable upon such Public Warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the Public Warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a Public Warrant, the holder of such Public Warrant will not be entitled to exercise such Public Warrant and such Public Warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any Public Warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised Public Warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such Public Warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Common Stock underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of the Business Combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the closing of the Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants, until the expiration of the Public Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement (the “Warrant Agreement”), which is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated by reference herein. During any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, warrantholders may exercise Public 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 Public Warrants on a cashless basis.
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, we may call the Public Warrants for redemption:
· in whole and not in part;
· at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant;
· upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrantholder; and
· if, and only if, the reported last reported sale price of the Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrantholders.
If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of Common Stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the Public Warrants were offered by us in this offering.
We have established the last of the redemption criteria discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the Public Warrants, each warrantholder will be entitled to exercise its Public Warrants prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Common Stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the Public Warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of Public Warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of our Public Warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of Public Warrants would pay the exercise price by
surrendering their Public Warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Public Warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the Public Warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Public Warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Common Stock to be received upon exercise of the Public Warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the Public Warrants after the Business Combination.
A holder of a Public Warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such Public Warrants, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Common Stock, or by a split-up of shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Public Warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Common Stock. A rights offering to holders of Common Stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Common Stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock) and (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Common Stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Common Stock, in determining the price payable for Common Stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted-average price of Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Common Stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the Public Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Common Stock on account of such shares of Common Stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the Public Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above or (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Common Stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Common Stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Public Warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Common Stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders
of the Public Warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Public Warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Common Stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Public Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their Public Warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Common Stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Common Stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the Public Warrant properly exercises the Public Warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the Warrant Agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of the Public Warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the Public Warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the Public Warrants pursuant to which the holders of the Public Warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the Public Warrants in order to determine and realize the option value component of the Public Warrant. This formula is to compensate the Public Warrant holder for the loss of the option value portion of the Public Warrant due to the requirement that the Public Warrant holder exercise the Public Warrant within 30 days of the event. The Black-Scholes model is an accepted pricing model for estimating fair market value where no quoted market price for an instrument is available.
The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the Public Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding Public Warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of Public Warrants.
The Public Warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the Public 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 (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of Public Warrants being exercised. The warrantholders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their Public Warrants and receive shares of Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Common Stock upon exercise of the Public Warrants, each holder will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. If, upon exercise of the Public 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 Common Stock to be issued to the warrantholder.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Restated Certificate and Restated Bylaws
Our Restated Certificate and Restated Bylaws include provisions that may deter or impede hostile takeovers or changes of control or management. These provisions include:
· | 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 our board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock enables our board of directors to make it more difficult to attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise. |
· | Classified Board: Our Restated Certificate and Restated Bylaws provide for a classified board of directors consisting of three classes of directors, 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. This provision may have the effect of delaying a change in control of our board. |
· | Board of Directors Vacancies: Our Restated Certificate and Restated Bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors may be 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. |
· | Stockholder Action; Special Meetings of Stockholders: Our Restated Certificate provides that our stockholders may not take action by written consent but may only take action at annual or special meetings of our stockholders. Our Restated Bylaws provide that only the chairperson of our board of directors, our chief executive officer, or a majority of our board of directors may call special meetings of our stockholders. |
· | Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations: Our Restated 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 Restated Bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions may make it more difficult for our stockholders to bring matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or to nominate directors at annual meetings of stockholders. |
Exclusive Forum Selection
Our Restated Certificate provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action or proceeding (including any class action) asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders; (iii) any action or proceeding (including any class action) asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee arising pursuant to the DGCL, our Restated Certificate or Restated Bylaws; or (iv) any action or proceeding (including any class action) asserting a claim against us or any director or officer or other employee that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This provision would not apply to claims brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Our Restated Certificate further provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:
· | before such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested holder; |
· | 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 (a) by persons who are directors and also officers and (b) pursuant to 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; and |
· | on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66⅔% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
In general, Section 203 of the DGCL defines business combination to include the following:
· | any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; |
· | any sale, lease, 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 of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; and |
· | the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation. |
In general, Section 203 of the DGCL defines an interested stockholder as an entity or person who, together with the entity’s or person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or is an affiliate of the corporation and 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 certificate of incorporation. We have not opted out of these provisions, which may as a result, discourage or prevent mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts of us.