There has been significant recent dilution and may continue to be additional future dilution of our Class A common stock, which could adversely affect the market price of shares of our Class A common stock. The risks of future dilution must also be weighed against the risks of failing to increase our authorized shares, which could adversely affect the market price of shares of our Class A common stock.
From January 1, 2020 through June 2, 2021, we have issued 449,307,737 shares of our Class A common stock in a combination of at-the-market sales, conversion of Class B common stock, conversion of notes, exchanges of notes, transaction fee payments, and equity grant vesting. As of June 2, 2021, there were 501,780,240 shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding. The dilutive effect of these issuances was partially offset by the cancellation of 51,769,784 shares of our Class B common stock. This offering will increase our outstanding shares of Class A common stock by up to 11,550,000 additional shares. Subject to shareholder approval of the increase in authorized shares described below, in the future, we may issue additional shares of Class A common stock to raise cash to bolster our liquidity, to refinance indebtedness, for working capital, to finance strategic initiatives and future acquisitions or for other purposes. We may also issue securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, or that represent the right to receive, shares of Class A common stock. We may also acquire interests in other companies or other assets by using a combination of cash and shares of Class A common stock or just shares of Class A common stock. Any of these events may dilute the ownership interests of current stockholders, reduce our earnings per share or have an adverse effect on the price of our shares of Class A common stock.
In addition, on January 27, 2021, our board of directors approved an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to increase the total number of shares of Class A common stock the Company shall have the authority to issue by 500,000,000 shares to a total of 1,024,173,073 shares of Class A common stock (the “Charter Amendment”). The Charter Amendment was subject to the approval of at least a majority of the capital stock entitled to vote and we submitted the Charter Amendment to our stockholders for approval at our annual meeting of stockholders. However, on April 27, 2021, our board of directors determined not to seek stockholder approval of the Charter Amendment and withdrew such proposal from stockholder consideration at our annual meeting of stockholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the proxy materials for our rescheduled annual meeting of stockholders will include a proposal to authorize additional shares of Class A common stock but in a quantity significantly smaller than the previous request and which will not become effective until January 2022, and the board of directors may from time to time in the future make additional proposals to increase our authorized share capital, in each case subject to stockholder approval, in each case subject to stockholder approval. If any such amendment to our certificate of incorporation is approved by our stockholders, we may issue an increased number of shares relative to the number of shares currently authorized by our certificate of incorporation. These future issuances may be dilutive to your investment and result in a decline in the market price of our Class A common stock.
This risk of future dilution must be weighed against the risk that our stockholders fail to approve an increase in our authorized number of shares of Class A common stock. If we are unable to issue equity in the future, this would create substantial risks, which could have an adverse effect on the price of our shares of Class A common stock, including:
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we will be unable to issue equity to bolster our liquidity and respond to future challenges, including if attendance levels do not return on the timing and to the levels assumed;
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for future financing, we may be required to issue additional debt, which may be unavailable on favorable terms or at all, or which would exacerbate the challenges created by our high leverage;
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we will be unable to issue equity in deleveraging transactions, including exchanges, redemptions or buy- backs of debt, which will limit our flexibility to delever; and
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we will be unable to issue equity as currency in strategic transactions, including acquisitions, joint ventures or in connection with landlord negotiations, which may prevent us from entering into transactions that could increase shareholder value.
A “short squeeze” due to a sudden increase in demand for shares of our Class A common stock that largely exceeds supply and/or focused investor trading in anticipation of a potential short squeeze have led to, may be currently leading to, and could again lead to, extreme price volatility in shares of our Class A common stock.
Investors may purchase shares of our Class A common stock to hedge existing exposure or to speculate on the price of our Class A common stock. Speculation on the price of our Class A common stock may