Exhibit 4.16
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following description sets forth certain material terms and provisions of our securities that are registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This description also summarizes relevant provisions of Delaware law. The following summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the applicable provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, copies of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.1 is a part. In addition, you should be aware that the summary below does not give full effect to the terms of the provisions of statutory or common law, and we encourage you to read our certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and the applicable provisions of Delaware law for additional information. In this description, references to “we,” “us,” “our,” “our company” and “AYRO” refer to AYRO, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
We have authorized 120,000,000 shares of capital stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of which 100,000,000 are shares of common stock and 20,000,000 are shares of “blank check” preferred stock. As of March 31, 2021, there were 35,213,048 shares of our common stock, 8 shares of our Series H Convertible Preferred Stock, 1,234 shares of our Series H-3 Convertible Preferred Stock and 50 shares of our Series H-6 Convertible Preferred Stock issued and outstanding. The authorized and unissued shares of common stock and the authorized and undesignated shares of preferred stock are available for issuance without further action by our stockholders, unless such action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange on which our securities may be listed. Unless approval of our stockholders is so required, our board of directors does not intend to seek stockholder approval for the issuance and sale of our common stock or preferred stock.
Common Stock
Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and do not have cumulative voting rights. Holders of the Company’s Series H-6 Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to vote together with the holders of our common stock those shares of Series H-6 Convertible Preferred Stock, on an as-if converted to common stock basis, subject to certain beneficial ownership blockers. Each election of directors by our stockholders will be determined by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election. Holders of common stock are entitled to receive proportionately any dividends as may be declared by our board of directors, subject to any preferential dividend rights of outstanding preferred stock.
In the event of the Company’s liquidation or dissolution, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive proportionately all assets available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any of our outstanding preferred stock. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. No sinking fund provisions are applicable to our common stock. 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 our preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future. All outstanding shares of our common stock are validly authorized and issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Issuer Direct Corporation. The transfer agent’s address is One Glenwood Ave, Suite 1001, Raleigh, NC 27603. Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “AYRO.”
Preferred Stock
Our board of directors is authorized, subject to any limitations prescribed by law, without further vote or action by the stockholders, to issue from time to time shares of preferred stock in one or more series. Each such series of preferred stock shall have such number of shares, designations, preferences, voting powers, qualifications, and special or relative rights or privileges as shall be determined by the board of directors, which may include, among others, dividend rights, voting rights, liquidation preferences, conversion rights and preemptive rights. Issuance of preferred stock by our board of directors may result in such shares having dividend and/or liquidation preferences senior to the rights of the holders of our common stock and could dilute the voting rights of the holders of our common stock.
Prior to the issuance of shares of each series of preferred stock, our board of directors is required by the Delaware General Corporation Law (“DGCL”) and our certificate of incorporation to adopt resolutions and file a certificate of designation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. The certificate of designation fixes for each class or series the designations, powers, preferences, rights, qualifications, limitations and restrictions, including, but not limited to, some or all of the following:
● | the number of shares constituting that series and the distinctive designation of that series, which number may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares then outstanding) from time to time by action of the board of directors; | |
● | the dividend rate and the manner and frequency of payment of dividends on the shares of that series, whether dividends will be cumulative, and, if so, from which date; | |
● | whether that series will have voting rights, in addition to any voting rights provided by law, and, if so, the terms of such voting rights; | |
● | whether that series will have conversion privileges, and, if so, the terms and conditions of such conversion, including provision for adjustment of the conversion rate in such events as the board of directors may determine; | |
● | whether or not the shares of that series will be redeemable, and, if so, the terms and conditions of such redemption; | |
● | whether that series will have a sinking fund for the redemption or purchase of shares of that series, and, if so, the terms and amount of such sinking fund; | |
● | whether or not the shares of the series will have priority over or be on a parity with or be junior to the shares of any other series or class in any respect; | |
● | the rights of the shares of that series in the event of voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the corporation, and the relative rights or priority, if any, of payment of shares of that series; and | |
● | any other relative rights, preferences and limitations of that series. |
Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Delaware Law, our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Delaware Law
We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder, generally a person which together with its affiliates owns, or within the last three years has owned, 15% of our voting stock, for a period of three (3) years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Subject to certain exceptions, Section 203 prevents a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for three years following the date that the person became an interested stockholder, unless either the interested stockholder attained such status with the approval of our board of directors, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and stockholders in a prescribed manner or the interested stockholder acquired at least 85% of our outstanding voting stock in the transaction in which it became an interested stockholder. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger or consolidation involving the Company and the “interested stockholder” and the sale of more than 10% of the Company’s assets. In general, an “interested stockholder” is any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person.
Potential Effects of Authorized but Unissued Stock
We have shares of common stock and preferred stock available for future issuance without stockholder approval. We may utilize these additional shares for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, to facilitate corporate acquisitions or payment as a dividend on the capital stock.
The existence of unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock may enable our board of directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management or to issue preferred stock with terms that could render more difficult or discourage a third-party attempt to obtain control of the Company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, thereby protecting the continuity of the Company’s management. In addition, our board of directors has the discretion to determine designations, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences of each series of preferred stock, all to the fullest extent permissible under the DGCL and subject to any limitations set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended. The purpose of authorizing our board of directors to issue preferred stock and to determine the rights and preferences applicable to such preferred stock is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible financings, acquisitions 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 acquiring, a majority of the Company’s outstanding voting stock.
Limitations of Director Liability and Indemnification of Directors, Officers and Employees
Section 145 of the DGCL permits indemnification of directors, officers, agents and controlling persons of a corporation under certain conditions and subject to certain limitations. Section 145 empowers a corporation to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer or agent of the corporation or another enterprise if serving at the request of the Company. Depending on the character of the proceeding, a corporation may indemnify against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person indemnified acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. In the case of an action by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification may be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine that despite the adjudication of liability such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the court shall deem proper. Section 145 further provides that to the extent a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to above or in the defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.