DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
The following description summarizes the most important terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you, and is qualified by reference to our certificate of incorporation (as such may be amended, restated or modified from time to time, the “Certificate of Incorporation”), our bylaws (as may be amended, restated or modified from time to time, the “Bylaws”) and the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement, which are exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We urge you to read each of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Bylaws and the Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities.
Authorized and Outstanding Capital Stock
Pursuant to the terms of the Certificate of Incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of:
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| | • | | 400,000,000 Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share; |
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| | • | | 100,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Preferred Stock”). |
Common Stock
Voting Rights
The Certificate of Incorporation provides that, except as otherwise expressly provided by the Bylaws or as provided by law, the holders of Common Stock shall at all times vote together as a single class on all matters; provided however, that, except as otherwise required by law, holders of shares of Common Stock shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected series are entitled, either separately or together as a class with the holders of one or more other such series, to vote thereon pursuant to the Certificate of Incorporation. Except as otherwise expressly provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or by applicable law, each holder of Common Stock shall have the right to one vote per share of Common Stock held of record by such holder.
Dividend Rights
Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of Preferred Stock outstanding at the time, shares of Common Stock are treated equally, identically and ratably, on a per share basis, with respect to any dividends or distributions as may be declared and paid from time to time by the Board out of any assets of Local Bounti legally available therefor; provided, however, that in the event a dividend is paid in the form of shares of Common Stock (or rights to acquire such shares), then holders of Common Stock will receive shares of Common Stock (or rights to acquire such shares, as the case may be), with holders of shares of Common Stock receiving, on a per share basis, an identical number of shares of Common Stock, as applicable.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may pay or make a disparate dividend or distribution per share of Common Stock (whether in the amount of such dividend or distribution payable per share, the form in which such dividend or distribution is payable, the timing of the payment, or otherwise) if such disparate dividend or distribution is approved in advance by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of Common Stock voting separately as a class.
Rights Upon Liquidation, Dissolution and Winding Up
Subject to any preferential or other rights of any holders of Preferred Stock then outstanding, upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of Local Bounti, whether voluntary or involuntary, holders of Local Bounti
Common Stock are entitled to receive ratably all assets of Local Bounti available for distribution to its stockholders unless disparate or different treatment of the shares of each such class with respect to distributions upon any such liquidation, dissolution or winding up is approved in advance by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of Common Stock voting separately as a class.
Other Rights
The holders of Common Stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Common Stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of shares of Common Stock are subject to those of the holders of any shares of Preferred Stock that Local Bounti may issue in the future.
Preferred Stock
The Certificate of Incorporation provides that shares of Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. The Board is authorized to fix the designation, vesting, powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative, participating, optional or other rights (and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof) of the shares of each such series and to increase (but not above the total number of authorized shares of the class) or decrease (but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding) the number of shares of any such series.
The number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may also be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of capital stock of Local Bounti entitled to vote thereon, without a separate vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock or any series thereof, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to the terms of any certificate of designation designating a series of Preferred Stock.
The Board is able to, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, 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 the Board to issue Preferred Stock without stockholder approval, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of Local Bounti or the removal of Local Bounti’s management and may adversely affect the market price of Common Stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of Local Bounti. Local Bounti had no Preferred Stock outstanding at the date the Certificate of Incorporation became effective. Although our Board does not currently intend to issue any shares of Preferred Stock, we cannot assure you that our Board will not do so in the future.
Warrants
Public Warrants
Public warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional public warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole public warrants will trade. The public warrants became exercisable on December 19, 2021; provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), covering the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the public warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under certain circumstances). We have filed a registration statement with the SEC covering the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants on December 10, 2021, and the registration statement was declared effective on December 23, 2021. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Common Stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the A&R Warrant Agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if the shares of Common Stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. The warrants have an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments, and will expire five years after the completion of the Business Combination or any other Initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants for cash (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
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| | • | | in whole and not in part; |
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| | • | | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
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| | • | | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and |
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| | • | | if, and only if, the last sale price of the Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
We will not redeem the warrants for cash unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to the Common Stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. If we are unable to complete the Business Combination or any other initial business combination within the combination period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants underlying the units sold in the initial public offering, except that the private placement warrants and the Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants will not be transferrable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination or any other initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the private placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the public warrants.
Anti-takeover Effects of the Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws
The Certificate of Incorporation and the Bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer or discourage another party from acquiring control of Local Bounti. Local Bounti expects that these provisions, which are summarized below, will discourage coercive takeover practices or inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of Local Bounti to first negotiate with the Board, which Local Bounti believes may result in an improvement of the terms of any such acquisition in favor of Local Bounti’s stockholders. However, they also give the Board the power to discourage mergers that some stockholders may favor.
Special Meetings of Stockholders
The Certificate of Incorporation provides that a special meeting of stockholders may be called by the (a) the Chairperson of the Board, (b) the Chief Executive Officer, (c) the Lead Independent Director (as defined in the Bylaws) or (d) the Board pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the Whole Board.
Action by Written Consent
The Certificate of Incorporation provides that any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders must be effected at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and may not be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting.
Staggered Board
The Local Bounti board of directors is divided into three classes. The directors in each class will serve for a three-year term, one class being elected each year by Local Bounti stockholders. This system of electing and removing directors may tend to discourage a third-party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of Local Bounti, because it generally makes it more difficult for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.
Removal of Directors
The Board of Directors or any individual director may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the voting power of all of the then outstanding shares of voting stock of Local Bounti entitled to vote at an election of directors.
Stockholders Not Entitled to Cumulative Voting
The Certificate of Incorporation will not permit stockholders to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Local Bounti’s common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they choose, other than any directors that holders of our preferred stock may be entitled to elect.
Delaware Anti-takeover Statute
Local Bounti will be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an anti-takeover law. Section 203 is a default provision of the DGCL that prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with “interested stockholders” (a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock) for three years following the date that person becomes an interested stockholder, unless: (i) before such stockholder becomes an “interested stockholder,” the board of directors approves the Business Combination or the transaction that results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (ii) upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation at the time of the transaction (excluding stock owned by certain persons); or (iii) at the time or after the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the board of directors and at least two-thirds of the disinterested outstanding voting stock of the corporation approves the transaction. While Section 203 is the default provision under the DGCL, the DGCL allows companies to opt out of Section 203 of the DGCL by including a provision in their certificate of incorporation expressly electing not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL. Our board of directors has determined to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
The Certificate of Incorporation provides that Local Bounti will indemnify Local Bounti’s directors to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law. Local Bounti entered into agreements to indemnify Local Bounti’s directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by the Board. Under the Bylaws, Local Bounti is required to indemnify each of Local Bounti’s directors and officers if the basis of the indemnitee’s involvement was by reason of the fact that the indemnitee is or was a director or officer of Local Bounti or was serving at Local Bounti’s request as a director, officer, employee or agent for another entity. Local Bounti must indemnify Local Bounti’s officers and directors against all expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the indemnitee in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner the indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of Local Bounti, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the indemnitee’s conduct was unlawful. The Bylaws also require Local Bounti to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a director or officer in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding, provided that such person will repay any such advance if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to indemnification by Local Bounti. Any claims for indemnification by Local Bounti’s directors and officers may reduce Local Bounti’s available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against Local Bounti and may reduce the amount of money available to Local Bounti.
Exclusive Jurisdiction of Certain Actions
The Certificate of Incorporation provides that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and
only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law: (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action or processing asserting a claim of breach of or based on a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, other employee, agent or stockholder of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim against the Company or any current or former director, officer or other employee of the of the Company or any stockholder in such stockholder’s capacity as such arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time), (iv) any action or proceeding to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws (including any right, obligation or remedy thereunder), (v) any action or proceeding as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, and (vi) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any director, officer or other employee of the Company or any stockholder, governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in all cases to the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. The provisions would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all such Securities Act actions. Accordingly, both state and federal courts have jurisdiction to entertain such claims. To prevent having to litigate claims in multiple jurisdictions and the threat of inconsistent or contrary rulings by different courts, among other considerations, Local Bounti’s Certificate of Incorporation provides that, unless the Company consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the exclusive forum for the resolution any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Any person or entity holding, owning or otherwise acquiring any interest in any security of the Company will be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in the Certificate of Incorporation.
While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a stockholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions. In such instance, we would expect to vigorously assert the validity and enforceability of the exclusive forum provisions of Local Bounti’s Certificate of Incorporation. This may require significant additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions and there can be no assurance that the provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions.
Transfer Agent
The transfer agent for our Common Stock and Public Warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.