Exhibit 4.2
Description of the Registrant’s Securities
Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
The following description of the capital stock of Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (“certificate of incorporation”) and amended and restated bylaws (“bylaws”) are summaries and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”).
Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. References herein to “we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company” refer to Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. and not to any of its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified.
General
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes capital stock consisting of:
Certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws summarized below may be deemed to have an anti-takeover effect and may delay or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of common stock.
Common Stock
Class A Common Stock
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders.
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to any restrictions on the payment of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred stock.
Upon our dissolution or liquidation, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock are entitled to receive ratable
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portions of our remaining assets available for distribution; provided, that the holders of shares of Class B common stock are not entitled to receive more than $0.01 per share of Class B common stock and upon receiving such amount, shall not be entitled to receive any of our other assets or funds with respect to such shares of Class B common stock.
Holders of shares of our Class A common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights with respect to such shares of Class A common stock. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class A common stock.
Class B Common Stock
Each share of our Class B common stock entitles its holders to ten votes per share on all matters presented to our stockholders generally.
Shares of Class B common stock are issued only to the extent necessary to maintain a one-to-one ratio between the number of Class A Units held by the “Continuing Equity Owners,” which group includes direct or indirect holders of Class A common units of Bridge Investment Group Holdings LLC (“Class A Units”), and the number of shares of Class B common stock issued to the Continuing Equity Owners. Shares of Class B common stock are transferable only together with an equal number of Class A Units. Only permitted transferees of Class A Units held by the Continuing Equity Owners are permitted transferees of Class B common stock.
Holders of shares of our Class B common stock vote together with holders of our Class A common stock as a single class on all matters presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except for certain amendments to our certificate described below or as otherwise required by applicable law or the certificate.
Holders of our Class B common stock do not have any right to receive dividends or to receive a distribution upon dissolution or liquidation other than the right to receive $0.01 per share of Class B common stock. Additionally, holders of shares of our Class B common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights with respect to such shares of Class B common stock. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class B common stock. Any amendment of our certificate of incorporation that gives holders of our Class B common stock (1) any rights to receive dividends or any other kind of distribution other than in connection with a dissolution or liquidation, (2) any right to convert into or be exchanged for Class A common stock or (3) any other economic rights will require, in addition to any other vote required by law or our certificate of incorporation, the affirmative vote of holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our Class A common stock, voting separately as a class.
Forum Selection
Our certificate of incorporation provides (A) (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any current or former director, officer, other employee or stockholder of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws (as either may be amended or restated) or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of
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the State of Delaware or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the law of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be exclusively brought in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or, if such court does not have subject matter jurisdiction thereof, the federal district court of the State of Delaware; and (B) the federal district courts of the United States shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exclusive forum provision does not apply to claims seeking to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act. Our certificate of incorporation also provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing. By agreeing to this provision, however, stockholders are not deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Dividends
Declaration and payment of any dividend are subject to the discretion of our board of directors. The time and amount of dividends are dependent upon our business prospects, results of operations, financial condition, cash requirements and availability, debt repayment obligations, capital expenditure needs, contractual restrictions, covenants in the agreements governing our current and future indebtedness, industry trends, the provisions of Delaware law affecting the payment of distributions to stockholders and any other factors our board of directors may consider relevant.
Anti-Takeover Provisions
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer or discourage another party from acquiring control of us. We expect 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 us to first negotiate with our board of directors, which we believe may result in an improvement of the terms of any such acquisition in favor of our stockholders. However, they also give our board of directors the power to discourage acquisitions that some stockholders may favor.
Authorized but Unissued Shares
The authorized but unissued shares of our common stock and our preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the listing rules of the New York Stock Exchange. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate finance transactions, acquisitions and employee benefit plans and funding of redemptions of the Class A Units. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could make more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Classified Board of Directors
Our certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible and each class serving three-year
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staggered terms. Our certificate of incorporation also provides that subject to the rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock then outstanding, for as long as the certificate of incorporation provides for a classified board of directors, any director, or the entire board of directors, may otherwise be removed only for cause by an affirmative vote of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66 2/3%) of the voting power of all the outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, at a meeting duly called for that purpose; provided, however, that the directors appointed pursuant to the stockholders agreement by and among us and certain of the Continuing Equity Owners may be removed with or without cause in accordance with the terms thereof and the requirements of the DGCL. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control of us or our management.
Stockholder Action by Written Consent
Our certificate of incorporation provides that any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be effected by any consent in writing in lieu of a meeting of such stockholders.
Special Meetings of Stockholders
Our bylaws provide that only the chairperson of our board of directors or a majority of our board of directors may call special meetings of our stockholders.
Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations
In addition, our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders, including proposed nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder has to comply with advance notice and provide us with certain information. Stockholders at an annual meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our board of directors or by a qualified stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has delivered timely written notice in proper form to our secretary of the stockholder’s intention to bring such business before the meeting. These provisions could have the effect of delaying stockholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities until the next stockholder meeting.
Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws
The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation requires a greater percentage. Our bylaws may be amended or repealed by a majority vote of our board of directors or by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock generally entitled to vote on the election of directors.
Section 203 of the DGCL
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Our certificate of incorporation contains a provision opting out of Section 203 of the DGCL. However, our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that are similar to Section 203. Specifically, our certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to certain exceptions, we are not to engage in a “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for three years following the time that the person became an interested stockholder, unless the interested stockholder attained such status with the approval of our board of directors or unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger or consolidation involving us and the “interested stockholder” and the sale of more than 10% of our 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.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide indemnification for our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may, in some cases, be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained under Delaware law. In addition, as permitted by Delaware law, our certificate of incorporation includes provisions that eliminate the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages resulting from breaches of certain fiduciary duties as a director. The effect of this provision is to restrict our rights and the rights of our stockholders in derivative suits to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of fiduciary duties as a director.
These provisions may be held not to be enforceable for violations of the federal securities laws of the United States.
Corporate Opportunity Doctrine
Delaware law permits corporations to adopt provisions renouncing any interest or expectancy in certain opportunities that are presented to the corporation or its officers, directors or stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation, to the fullest extent permitted from time to time by Delaware law, provides that we renounce any interest or expectancy that we otherwise would have in, and all rights to be offered an opportunity to participate in, any business opportunity that from time to time may be presented to certain of our officers, directors or stockholders or their respective affiliates, and any of its or their respective principals, members, directors, partners, stockholders, officers, employees or other representatives (other than any such person who is also our employee or an employee of our subsidiaries), or any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our subsidiaries, and we refer to each such person as an exempt person. Our certificate of incorporation provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, no exempt person has any duty to refrain from (1) engaging in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar lines of business in which we or our subsidiaries now engage or propose to engage or (2) otherwise competing with us or our subsidiaries. In addition, to the fullest extent permitted by law, if an exempt person acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself or himself or its or his affiliates or for us or our subsidiaries, such exempt person will have no duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us or any of our subsidiaries and such exempt person may take any such
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opportunity for themselves or offer it to another person or entity. The forgoing provisions shall not apply to an opportunity that was expressly offered to an exempt person solely in their capacity as a director, executive officer or employee of us or our subsidiaries. To the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, no potential transaction or business opportunity may be deemed to be a corporate opportunity of the corporation or its subsidiaries unless (1) we or our subsidiaries would be permitted to undertake such transaction or opportunity in accordance with the certificate of incorporation, (2) we or our subsidiaries, at such time have sufficient financial resources to undertake such transaction or opportunity, (3) we or our subsidiaries have an interest or expectancy in such transaction or opportunity, and (4) such transaction or opportunity would be in the same or similar line of our or our subsidiaries’ business in which we or our subsidiaries are engaged or a line of business that is reasonably related to, or a reasonable extension of, such line of business.
Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment
Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of the Company. Pursuant to the DGCL, stockholders who properly request and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Stockholders’ Derivative Actions
Under the DGCL, any of our stockholders may bring an action in our name to procure a judgment in our favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the stockholder bringing the action is a holder of our shares at the time of the transaction to which the action relates or such stockholder’s stock thereafter devolved by operation of law.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC.
Trading Symbol and Market
Our Class A common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “BRDG.”
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