Exhibit 3.1
RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION
OF
NORTHERN OIL AND GAS, INC.
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), hereby certifies as follows:
1. The name of the corporation is Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (the “Company”). The Company filed its Certificate of Incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State on May 9, 2018 (the “Certificate of Incorporation”).
2. This Restated Certificate of Incorporation restates in its entirety the Certificate of Incorporation.
3. This Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted by the directors in accordance with Section 245 of the DGCL and only restates and integrates and does not further amend the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation.
4. The text of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company is hereby restated in its entirety to read as follows:
ARTICLE ONE
The name of this corporation is Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. (the “Corporation”).
ARTICLE TWO
The registered office of the Corporation in the State of Delaware is located at 1209 Orange Street, in the City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19801. The name of its registered agent at such address is The Corporation Trust Company.
ARTICLE THREE
The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “Delaware General Corporation Law”).
ARTICLE FOUR
Section 1 Authorized Shares. The total number of shares of all classes of capital stock that the Corporation has authority to issue is 680,000,000 shares, consisting of:
| (a) | 5,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Preferred Stock”); and |
| (b) | 675,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”). |
The Preferred Stock and the Common Stock shall have the rights, preferences and limitations set forth below.
Section 2 Preferred Stock. Shares of Preferred Stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. The Board of Directors of the Corporation (the “Board of Directors”) is authorized, to provide by resolution or resolutions from time to time for the issuance, out of the authorized but unissued shares of Preferred Stock, of all or any of the shares of Preferred Stock in one or more series, and to establish the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the voting powers (full, limited or no voting powers), designations, powers, preferences, and relative, participating, optional or other rights, if any, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, or such series, including, without limitation, that any such series may be (i) subject to redemption at such time or times and at such price or prices, (ii) entitled to receive dividends (which may be cumulative or non-cumulative) at such rates, on such conditions, and at such times, and payable in preference to, or in such relation to, the dividends payable on any other class or classes or series of capital stock, (iii) entitled to such rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of, or upon any distribution of the assets of, the Corporation or (iv) convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or classes of capital stock, or of any other series of the same class of capital stock, of the Corporation at such price or prices or at such rates and with such adjustments; all as may be stated in such resolution or resolutions, which resolution or resolutions shall be set forth on a certificate of designations filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware in accordance with the Delaware General Corporation Law. Except as otherwise provided in this Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate
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of Incorporation”), no vote of the holders of Preferred Stock or Common Stock shall be a prerequisite to the designation or issuance of any shares of any series of Preferred Stock authorized by and complying with the conditions of this Certificate of Incorporation. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the number of authorized shares of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote, without the separate vote of the holders of the Preferred Stock as a class. Subject to Section 1 of this ARTICLE FOUR, the Board of Directors is also expressly authorized to increase or decrease the number of shares of any series of Preferred Stock subsequent to the issuance of shares of that series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding. Unless otherwise expressly provided in the certificate of designations in respect of any series of Preferred Stock, in case the number of shares of such series shall be decreased in accordance with the foregoing sentence, the shares constituting such decrease shall resume the status that they had prior to the adoption of the resolution originally fixing the number of shares of such series.
Section 3 Common Stock.
(a) Voting Rights. Except as otherwise provided by the Delaware General Corporation Law or this Certificate of Incorporation and subject to the rights of holders of Preferred Stock, all of the voting power of the stockholders of the Corporation shall be vested in the holders of the Common Stock, and each holder of Common Stock shall have one vote for each share held by such holder on all matters voted upon by the stockholders of the Corporation. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Certificate of Incorporation to the contrary, the holders of Common Stock shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Certificate of Incorporation (including any certificate of designation in respect of any series of Preferred Stock) 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 separate or together as a class with the holders of one or more such other series, to vote thereon pursuant to this Certificate of Incorporation or the Delaware General Corporation Law.
(b) Dividends. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, and to the other provisions of this Certificate of Incorporation, holders of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive equally, on a per share basis, such dividends and other distributions in cash, securities or other property of the Corporation as may be declared thereon by the Board of Directors from time to time out of assets or funds of the Corporation legally available therefor.
(c) Liquidation Rights. In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the affairs of the Corporation, whether voluntary or involuntary, after payment or provision for payment of the Corporation’s debts and subject to the rights of the holders of shares of any series of Preferred Stock upon such dissolution, liquidation or winding up, the remaining net assets of the Corporation shall be distributed among holders of shares of Common Stock equally on a per share basis. A merger or consolidation of the Corporation with or into any other corporation or entity, or a sale, lease, exchange, conveyance or other disposition of all or any part of the assets of the Corporation shall not be deemed to be a voluntary or involuntary liquidation or dissolution or winding up of the Corporation within the meaning of this Section 3(c).
(d) Conversion Rights. The Common Stock shall not be convertible into, or exchangeable for, shares of any other class or classes or of any other series of the same class of the Corporation’s capital stock.
(e) Preemptive Rights. No holder of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to preemptive or subscription rights pursuant to this Certificate of Incorporation.
ARTICLE FIVE
The Corporation shall have perpetual existence.
ARTICLE SIX
The name and mailing address of the sole incorporator are as follows:
| NAME | MAILING ADDRESS | |
| Eirk Romslo | 601 Carlson Parkway, Suite 990 Minnetonka, MN 55305 | |
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ARTICLE SEVEN
Section 1 Board of Directors, Number and Term. Unless otherwise provided by this Certificate of Incorporation or the Delaware General Corporation Law, the business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors. Subject to any rights of the holders of Preferred Stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors which shall constitute the Board of Directors shall be fixed from time to time by resolution adopted by the Board of Directors. No decrease in the number of directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director.
Section 2 Term of Office. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the directors of the Corporation shall hold office until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, removal or retirement. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the bylaws of the Corporation (as the same may be amended and/or restated from time to time, the “Bylaws”) shall so provide.
Section 3 Newly-Created Directorships and Vacancies. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, any newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors or any vacancies in the Board of Directors resulting from death, resignation, retirement, disqualification, removal from office or any other cause shall be filled exclusively by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining director, and shall not be filled by stockholders. A director elected to fill a vacancy shall be elected for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor in office and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, and a director chosen to fill a position resulting from an increase in the number of directors shall hold office until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified, or, in each case, his or her earlier death, resignation, removal or retirement.
Section 4 Removal of Directors. Subject to the rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, any director may be removed from office at any time, at a meeting called for that purpose, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.
Section 5 Rights of Holders of Preferred Stock. Notwithstanding the provisions of this ARTICLE SEVEN, whenever the holders of one or more series of Preferred Stock issued by the Corporation shall have the right, voting separately or together by series, to elect directors at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, the election, term of office, filling of vacancies and other features of such directorship shall be governed by the rights of such Preferred Stock as set forth in the certificate of designations or certificates of designations governing such series.
Section 6 No Cumulative Voting. Except as may otherwise be set forth in the resolution or resolutions of the Board of Directors providing the issue of one or more series of Preferred Stock, and then only with respect to such series of Preferred Stock, cumulative voting in the election of directors is specifically denied.
ARTICLE EIGHT
Section 1 Limitation of Liability. To the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law as it now exists or may hereafter be amended, no director of the Corporation shall be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty or other act or omission as a director; provided, however, that nothing contained in this ARTICLE EIGHT shall eliminate or limit the liability of a director (a) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (b) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (c) pursuant to the provisions of Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or (d) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended hereafter to permit the further elimination or limitation of the liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended. Any repeal or modification of this Section 1 of ARTICLE EIGHT shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of the Corporation existing hereunder with respect to any act or omission occurring at or prior to the time of such repeal or modification.
Section 2 Right to Indemnification. Each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise subject to or involved in any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or an officer of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan (an “Indemnitee”), whether the basis of such Proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent or in any other capacity while serving as a director, officer, employee or agent, shall be indemnified by the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted or
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required by the Delaware General Corporation Law and any other applicable law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than such law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), against all expense, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes or penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such Indemnitee in connection therewith (“Indemnifiable Losses”); provided, however, that, except as provided in Section 5 of this ARTICLE EIGHT with respect to Proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification, the Corporation shall indemnify any such Indemnitee pursuant to this Section 2 in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such Indemnitee only if such Proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors.
Section 3 Right to Advancement of Expenses. The right to indemnification conferred in Section 2 of this ARTICLE EIGHT shall include the right to advancement by the Corporation of any and all expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and expenses) incurred in defending any such Proceeding in advance of its final disposition (an “Advancement of Expenses”); provided, however, that, if the Delaware General Corporation Law so requires, an Advancement of Expenses incurred by an Indemnitee in his or her capacity as a director or officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such Indemnitee, including without limitation service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made pursuant to this Section 3 only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking (an “Undertaking”), by or on behalf of such Indemnitee, to repay, without interest, all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal (a “Final Adjudication”) that such Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under this Section 3. An Indemnitee’s right to an Advancement of Expenses pursuant to this Section 3 is not subject to the satisfaction of any standard of conduct and is not conditioned upon any prior determination that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification under Section 2 of this ARTICLE EIGHT with respect to the related Proceeding or the absence of any prior determination to the contrary.
Section 4 Contract Rights. The rights to indemnification and to the Advancement of Expenses conferred in Sections 2 and 3 of this ARTICLE EIGHT shall be contract rights and such rights shall continue as to an Indemnitee who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the Indemnitee’s heirs, executors and administrators.
Section 5 Right of Indemnitee to Bring Suit. If a claim under Section 2 or 3 of this ARTICLE EIGHT is not paid in full by the Corporation within 60 calendar days after a written claim has been received by the Corporation, except in the case of a claim for an Advancement of Expenses, in which case the applicable period shall be 20 calendar days, the Indemnitee may at any time thereafter bring suit against the Corporation to recover the unpaid amount of the claim. If successful in whole or in part in any such suit, or in a suit brought by the Corporation to recover an Advancement of Expenses pursuant to the terms of an Undertaking, the Indemnitee shall be entitled to the fullest extent permitted or required by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as the same exists or may hereafter be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent that such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader reimbursements of prosecution or defense expenses than such law permitted the Corporation to provide prior to such amendment), to be paid also the expense of prosecuting or defending such suit.
Section 6 Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights to indemnification and to the Advancement of Expenses conferred in this ARTICLE EIGHT shall not be exclusive of any other right which any person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, the Certificate of Incorporation, Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. Nothing contained in this ARTICLE EIGHT shall limit or otherwise affect any such other right or the Corporation’s power to confer any such other right.
Section 7 Insurance. The Corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect itself and any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not the Corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Section 8 No Duplication of Payments. The Corporation shall not be liable under this ARTICLE EIGHT to make any payment to an Indemnitee in respect of any Indemnifiable Losses to the extent that the Indemnitee has otherwise actually received payment (net of any expenses incurred in connection therewith and any repayment by the Indemnitee made with respect thereto) under any insurance policy or from any other source in respect of such Indemnifiable Losses.
ARTICLE NINE
Section 1 Action by Written Consent. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders of the Corporation may be effected by unanimous consent in writing by such stockholders.
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Section 2 Annual Meetings of Stockholders. Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, the annual meeting of stockholders for the election of directors and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting shall be held at such date, time and place, if any, as shall be determined exclusively by resolution of the Board of Directors in its sole and absolute discretion. Advance notice of stockholder nominations for election of directors and other business to be brought by stockholders at any meeting of stockholders shall be given in the manner provided in the Bylaws.
Section 3 Special Meetings of Stockholders. Subject to any special rights of the holders of any series of Preferred Stock, and to the requirements of applicable law, special meetings of stockholders of the Corporation shall be called exclusively by or at the direction of the Board of Directors pursuant to a written resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of directors which the Corporation would have if there were no vacancies and shall not be called by stockholders. Any business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to matters relating to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice of meeting.
ARTICLE TEN
Section 1 Certificate of Incorporation. The Corporation reserves the right at any time from time to time to alter, amend, repeal or change any provision contained in this Certificate of Incorporation, and to adopt any other provision authorized by the Delaware General Corporation Law, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed herein and by the laws of the State of Delaware, and all rights, preferences and privileges conferred upon stockholders, directors and other persons herein are granted subject to this reservation.
Section 2 Bylaws. In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by law, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to adopt, alter, amend or repeal the Bylaws without any action on the part of the stockholders. Any adoption, alteration, amendment or repeal of the Bylaws by the Board of Directors shall require the approval of a majority of the Board of Directors then in office, provided a quorum is otherwise present. Any Bylaws adopted or amended by the Board of Directors, and any powers conferred thereby, may be amended, altered or repealed by the stockholders.
ARTICLE ELEVEN
Unless the Corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have subject-matter jurisdiction, another state or federal court within the State of Delaware) shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or employee of the Corporation to the Corporation or the Corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, the Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the Corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine. If any stockholder files an action within the scope of the preceding sentence in a court other than a court located within the State of Delaware (a “Foreign Action”), such stockholder shall be deemed to have consented to (a) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of Delaware in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the preceding sentence and (b) having service of process made upon such stockholder in any such action by service upon such stockholder’s counsel in the Foreign Action as agent for such stockholder. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of capital stock of the Corporation (including, without limitation, shares of Common Stock) shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the provisions of this ARTICLE ELEVEN.
ARTICLE TWELVE
If any provision (or any part thereof) of this Certificate of Incorporation shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable as applied to any circumstance for any reason whatsoever: (i) the validity, legality and enforceability of such provision in any other circumstance and of the remaining provisions of this Certificate of Incorporation (including, without limitation, each portion of any section of this Certificate of Incorporation containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and (ii) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Certificate of Incorporation (including, without limitation, any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to permit the Corporation to protect its directors, officers, employees and agents from personal liability in respect of their good faith service or for the benefit of the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by law.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has duly executed this Certificate of Incorporation on this 24th day of August, 2018.
By: /s/ Erik Romslo Name: Erik Romslo Title: Executive Vice President and General Counsel | |
[Signature Page to Restated Certificate of Incorporation - Northern Oil and Gas, Inc.]