EXHIBIT 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this exhibit to “we,” “our,” “AST SpaceMobile” and the “Company” refer to the business and operations of AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (formerly known as New Providence Acquisitions Corp.) and its consolidated subsidiaries.
The following summary of the material terms of our capital stock is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities and is qualified in its entirety by reference to our second Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter”), our amended and restated Bylaws (the “Bylaws”) and the Warrant Agreement, dated as of September 13, 2019, between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Company (the “Warrant Agreement”), all of which are attached as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 (the “Annual Report”). The summary below is also qualified by reference to the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), as applicable. You are encouraged to read the applicable provisions of the DGCL, the Charter and the Bylaws in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities.
Authorized and Outstanding Capital Stock
Our Charter authorizes the issuance of 1,225,000,000 shares, of which 800,000,000 shares are shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), 200,000,000 shares are shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B Common Stock”), 125,000,000 shares are shares of Class C common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class C Common Stock”, and, together with the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, the “Common Stock”), 100,000,000 shares are shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share with such designation, rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors”).
On February 16, 2023, we filed a petition in the Delaware Court of Chancery pursuant to Section 205 of the DGCL seeking (i) the validation of the April 1, 2021 stockholder vote approving the proposal to amend and restate our certificate of incorporation, in the current form of our Charter (including its filing and effectiveness, in each case as of April 6, 2021) (the “Charter Proposal”), and (ii) the validation and declaration of effectiveness of (a) our Charter and (b) the securities issued or to be issued in reliance on the approval of the Charter and/or the Charter Proposal, as of the respective dates of issuance to resolve any uncertainty with respect to those matters (captioned, In re AST SpaceMobile, Inc., C.A. No. 2023-0202-LWW (Del. Ch.)). On March 14, 2023, the Court of Chancery approved our request for relief and entered an order under Section 205 of the DGCL.
As of March 28, 2023, we had approximately 71,877,559 shares of Class A Common Stock, 50,041,757 shares of Class B Common Stock, 78,163,078 shares of Class C Common Stock and warrants to purchase 17,597,600 shares of Class A Common Stock, issued and outstanding. As of such date, there were 21 holders of record of Class A Common Stock, six holders of record of Class B Common Stock, one holder of record of Class C Common Stock and five holders of record of warrants.
Common Stock
Voting
Under our Charter, holders of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to the stockholders for their vote or approval, except as required by applicable law. Holders of Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to the stockholders for their vote or approval. Prior to the Sunset Date, the holders of Class C Common Stock are entitled to the lesser of (i) 10 votes per share and (ii) the Class C Share Voting Amount on all matters submitted to stockholders for their vote or approval. From and after the Sunset Date, which, as defined in the Stockholders’ Agreement, is the earliest to occur of (i) the retirement or resignation of Abel Avellan, AST SpaceMobile’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (“Avellan”) from the Board of Directors, (ii) the date on which Avellan and his permitted transferees beneficially own less than 20% of the Class A Common Stock that Avellan beneficially owns as of immediately after the closing of the initial business combination (the “Business
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Combination”) contemplated by that certain Equity Purchase Agreement, dated as of December 15, 2020, by and among AST & Science LLC (“AST & Science”), New Providence Acquisition Corp. (“NPA”), New Providence Management LLC, the AST Existing Equityholder Representative and the AST Existing Equityholders (the “Equity Purchase Agreement”, and such closing of the Business Combination, the “Closing”) and (iii) Avellan’s death or permanent incapacitation, holders of Class C Common Stock will be entitled to one vote per share.
As of March 31, 2022, Avellan and his permitted transferees control, as a group, approximately 86.5% of the combined voting power of the Common Stock as a result of their ownership of all of the Class C Common Stock. Accordingly, Avellan controls the Company’s business policies and affairs and can control any action requiring the general approval of its stockholders, including the election of our Board of Directors, the adoption of amendments to its certificate of incorporation and bylaws and approval of any merger or sale of substantially all of its assets. Until the Sunset Date, Avellan will continue to control the outcome of matters submitted to the stockholders.
Dividends
The holders of Class A Common Stock are entitled to receive dividends, as and if declared by our Board of Directors out of legally available funds. With respect to stock dividends, holders of Class A Common Stock must receive Class A Common Stock.
The holders of Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock will not have any right to receive dividends other than stock dividends consisting of shares of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock, as applicable, in each case paid proportionally with respect to each outstanding share of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock.
Liquidation or Dissolution
Upon our liquidation or dissolution, the holders of all classes of Common Stock are entitled to their respective par value, and the holders of Class A Common Stock will then be entitled to share ratably in those of our assets that are legally available for distribution to stockholders after payment of liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any holders of preferred stock then outstanding. Other than their par value, the holders of Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock will not have any right to receive a distribution upon a liquidation or dissolution of the Company.
Conversion, Transferability and Exchange
Subject to the terms of the Fifth Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Operating Agreement of AST & Science (the “A&R Operating Agreement”), the members of AST & Science (other than the Company) may from time to time cause AST & Science to redeem any or all of their units of ownership interest in AST & Science which entitles the holder thereof to the distributions, allocations, and other rights under the A&R Operating Agreement (the “AST Common Units”) in exchange for, at the Company’s election (subject to certain exceptions), either cash (based on the market price for a share of the Class A Common Stock) (the “Existing Equityholder Cash Out”) or shares of Class A Common Stock (the “Existing Equityholder Share Settlement”); provided that the Company’s election to effect such redemption as an Existing Equityholder Cash Out or an Existing Equityholder Share Settlement must be approved by a committee of the our Board of Directors comprised solely of directors who were not nominated pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement or other contractual right by, and are not otherwise affiliated with, holders of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock. At the Company’s election, such transaction may be effectuated via a direct exchange of Class A Common Stock or cash by the Company for the redeemed AST Common Units (an “Existing Equityholder Direct Exchange”).
Our Charter provides that (a) if a holder of Class B Common Stock exercises either the Existing Equityholder Cash Out, or the Existing Equityholder Share Settlement or Existing Equityholder Direct Exchange (collectively, the “Existing Equityholder Conversion”), then the number of shares of Class B Common Stock held by such holder equal to the number of AST Common Units so redeemed, cashed out or exchanged will automatically be cancelled by the Company for no consideration and (b) if a holder of Class C Common Stock (i) exercises the Existing Equityholder Cash Out or (ii) exercises the Existing Equityholder Share Settlement or Existing Equityholder Direct Exchange and subsequently transfers the Class A Common Stock issued in connection with such redemption and exchange to a
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person or entity other than Avellan and his permitted transferees, then the number of Class C Common Stock held by such holder equal to the number of AST Common Units so redeemed and exchanged then transferred or cashed out will automatically be cancelled by the Company for no consideration. If Avellan and his permitted transferees exercise the Existing Equityholder Conversion, then the voting power of the Class C Common Stock is reduced commensurate with the voting power of the newly issued Class A Common Stock. The voting power of the Class C Common Stock will be further adjusted if Avellan or his permitted transferees transfers Class A Common Stock to a person or entity that is not Avellan or his permitted transferees.
We may not issue Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock such that after the issuance of Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock the holder of such stock does not hold an identical number of AST Common Units.
Other Provisions
None of the Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock has any pre-emptive or other subscription rights.
Preferred Stock
We are authorized to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our Board of Directors is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law and our Charter, to determine the terms and conditions of the preferred stock, including whether the shares of preferred stock will be issued in one or more series, the number of shares to be included in each series and the powers (including the voting power), designations, preferences and rights of the shares. Our Board of Directors also will be authorized to designate any qualifications, limitations or restrictions on the shares without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of the Company and may adversely affect the voting and other rights of the holders of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock, which could have a negative impact on the market price of the Class A Common Stock.
Redeemable Warrants
Public Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of the Business Combination. Pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A Common Stock. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. The warrants will expire on April 6, 2026, five years after the completion of the Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We are not obligated to deliver any shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to us satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of a warrant unless, if at the time, the Class A Common Stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant.
We are obligated to file and maintain an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to use commercially reasonable best efforts to cause such registration statement to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the Warrant Agreement. Pursuant to such obligations, on May 6, 2021, we filed a Form S-1 covering the shares of Class A Common
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Stock issuable upon exercise and on June 10, 2022, we filed a Form S-3 covering the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise, which was declared effective on July 1, 2022. Notwithstanding the above, if Class A Common Stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies 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” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act 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 our commercially reasonable best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
We may call the warrants for redemption:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
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| ● | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
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| ● | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
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| ● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
We may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A Common Stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, its cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on its stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (as defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If we select this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, New Providence Acquisition Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”) and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
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A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Class A Common Stock, or by a split-up of shares of Class A Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock. A rights offering to holders of Class A Common Stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Class A Common Stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Class A Common Stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A Common Stock) and (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A Common Stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A Common Stock, in determining the price payable for Class A Common Stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Class A Common Stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A Common Stock on account of such shares of Class A Common Stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the warrants are convertible), other than (i) as described above or, (ii) certain ordinary cash dividends (initially defined as up to $0.50 per share in a 365 day period), then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A Common Stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Class A Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Class A Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Class A Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Class A Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A Common Stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another entity (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of our assets or other property as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of Class A Common Stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A Common Stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class
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A Common Stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the Warrant Agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants in order to determine and realize the option value component of the warrant. This formula is to compensate the warrant holder for the loss of the option value portion of the warrant due to the requirement that the warrant holder exercise the warrant within 30 days of the event. The Black-Scholes model (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) is an accepted pricing model for estimating fair market value where no quoted market price for an instrument is available.
The warrants are issued in registered form under the Warrant Agreement. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any other change.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) are not redeemable by us so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. The Sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Other than these terms and as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the public warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the public warrants.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the private placement warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the private placement warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A Common Stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent.
Exclusive Forum
Our Bylaws provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and unless we provide notice in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, in the event that the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of
EXHIBIT 4.1
breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or to our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our Charter or Bylaws or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to such Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. Our Bylaws further provide that the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a provision relating to causes of action arising under the Securities Act, and investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The clauses described above will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of our Charter and Bylaws
The provisions of our Charter and Bylaws and of the DGCL summarized below may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, defer or prevent a tender offer or takeover attempt that you might consider in your best interest, including an attempt that might result in your receipt of a premium over the market price for your shares of Class A Common Stock.
Our Charter and Bylaws will contain certain provisions that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our Board of Directors and that may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing our future takeover or change in control unless such takeover or change in control is approved by our Board of Directors.
These provisions include:
Action by Written Consent; Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our Charter provides that stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and cannot be taken by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Our Charter and Bylaws also provide that, subject to any special rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock and except as otherwise required by applicable law, special meetings of the stockholders can only be called by our Board of Directors, the chairman of our Board of Directors, or, until the earlier of (i) the Sunset Date or (ii) the time we are no longer a “controlled company,” by our secretary at the request of holders representing a majority of the total voting power of our issued and outstanding capital stock entitled to vote in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. Except as described above, stockholders are not permitted to call a special meeting or to require our Board of Directors to call a special meeting.
Advance Notice Procedures. Our Bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, and for stockholder nominations of persons for election to our Board of Directors to be brought before an annual or special meeting of stockholders. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to 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 of directors or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business or nomination before the meeting. Although our Bylaws do not give our Board of Directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, as applicable, our Bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
Authorized but Unissued Shares. Our authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to, in the case of the Class A Common Stock, rules of the securities exchange on which the Class A Common Stock is listed. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions, in connection with the redemption or exchange of AST Common Units and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock and preferred stock, coupled with the extraordinary voting right of
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the Class C Common Stock, could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of a majority of our Common Stock by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Business Combinations with Interested Stockholders. Our Charter provides that we are not subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an anti-takeover law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination, such as a merger, with an “interested stockholder” (which includes a person or group owning 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock) for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless (with certain exceptions) the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Accordingly, we are not subject to any anti-takeover effects of Section 203.
Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our Bylaws limit the liability of our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL and provides that we will provide them with customary indemnification and advancement and prepayment of expenses. We have entered into customary indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors that provide them, in general, with customary indemnification in connection with their service to us or on our behalf.
Our Bylaws provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and unless we provide notice in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action, suit or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed to us or to our stockholders by any of our directors, officers, employees or agents, (iii) any action, suit or proceeding arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our Charter or Bylaws or (iv) any action, suit or proceeding asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to such Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. Our Charter further provides that the federal district courts of the United States will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such a provision relating to causes of action arising under the Securities Act, and investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. The clauses described above will not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Registration Rights Agreements
In connection with NPA’s IPO, we entered into that certain Registration and Stockholder Rights Agreement, dated as of September 13, 2019, by and among the Company, the Sponsor and the other parties thereto (collectively, the “2019 Holders”, and such agreement, the “2019 Registration Rights Agreement”) pursuant to which we granted the 2019 Holders certain registration rights with respect to, among other things, the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A Common Stock that were issued at the Closing upon conversion of the 2019 Holders’ founder shares. The 2019 Holders of the majority of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the 2019 Holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
On December 16, 2020, we entered into subscription agreements with investors who participated in the Private Investment in Public Equity Investment (such investment, the “PIPE Investment”, such agreements, the “PIPE Subscription Agreements” and such investors, the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which we (i) issued an aggregate of 23,000,000 shares of Class A Common Stock to the PIPE Investors at the Closing and (ii) agreed to register such shares.
At the Closing, we entered into the Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of April 6, 2021, by and among the Company, the Sponsor and the Existing Equityholders (collectively, the “Holders”, and such agreement, the “2021 Registration Rights Agreement”) pursuant to which we granted the Holders certain registration rights with respect to the registrable securities of the Company. Among other things, the 2021 Registration Rights Agreement requires us to register the shares of Class A Common Stock issued in connection with the Business Combination and any shares of Class A Common Stock issued upon the redemption of any AST Common Units. The Holders are entitled to (i)
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make a written demand for registration under the Securities Act of all or part of their shares of Class A Common Stock (up to a maximum of two demands in any 12-month period) and not more than five times in the aggregate and only if the offering will include registrable securities with a total offering price reasonably expected to exceed, in the aggregate, $50 million, and (ii) “piggy-back” registration rights to registration statements filed following the Business Combination. We will bear all of the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statement.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent for our Common Stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. Each person investing in our Class A Common Stock held through The Depository Trust Company must rely on the procedures thereof and on institutions that have accounts therewith to exercise any rights of a holder of our Class A Common Stock.
For as long as any shares of our Class A Common Stock are listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the “Nasdaq”) or on any other stock exchange operating in the United States, the laws of the State of New York shall apply to the property law aspects of our Class A Common Stock (including securities exercisable for or convertible into our Class A Common Stock) reflected in the register administered by our transfer agent.
We have listed shares of our Class A Common Stock in registered form and such shares, through the transfer agent, will not be certificated. We have appointed Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company as our agent in New York to maintain our stockholders’ register on behalf of our Board of Directors and to act as transfer agent and registrar for our Class A Common Stock. Shares of our Class A Common Stock are traded on Nasdaq in book-entry form.
The warrant agent for the warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.
Listing of Class A Common Stock and Warrants
Our Class A Common Stock and warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “ASTS” and “ASTSW,” respectively.