TMC the metals (TMC) 10-K 2022 FY Annual report

Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

The following summary of the material terms of the authorized capital of TMC the metals company Inc. is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities, and is qualified by reference to our notice of articles and articles (“Notice and Articles”) and the provisions of applicable law, including the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (“BCBCA”) and the warrant-related documents described herein, each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K to which this Exhibit is filed, and certain provisions of British Columbia law. We urge you to read each of the Notice and Articles and the warrant-related documents described herein in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities. Unless the context requires otherwise, all references to “we”, “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “TMC” in this section refer solely to TMC the metals company Inc. and not to our subsidiaries.

Authorized Share Capital

We are authorized to issue (a) an unlimited number of Common Shares, without par value (“Common Shares”), (b) an unlimited number of preferred shares, issuable in series, (c) 5,000,000 Class A Special Shares, no par value (“Class A Special Shares”), (d) 10,000,000 Class B Special Shares, no par value (“Class B Special Shares”), (e) 10,000,000 Class C Special Shares, no par value (“Class C Special Shares”), (f) 20,000,000 Class D Special Shares, no par value (“Class D Special Shares”) (g) 20,000,000 Class E Special Shares, no par value (“Class E Special Shares”), (h) 20,000,000 Class F Special Shares, no par value (“Class F Special Shares”), (i) 25,000,000 Class G Special Shares, no par value (“Class G Special Shares”), (j) 25,000,000 Class H Special Shares, no par value (“Class H Special Shares”), (k) 500,000 Class I Special Shares, no par value (“Class I Special Shares”) and (l) 741,000 Class J Special Shares, no par value (“Class J Special Shares”) each without par value.

Business Combination

The Company was originally known as Sustainable Opportunities Acquisition Corp. (“SOAC”). On September 9, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), we consummated a business combination (the “Business Combination”) pursuant to the terms of the business combination agreement dated as of March4, 2021 (the “Business Combination Agreement”) by and among SOAC, 1291924 B.C.Unlimited Liability Company, an unlimited liability company existing under the laws of British Columbia, Canada (“NewCo Sub”), and DeepGreen Metals Inc., a company existing under the laws of British Columbia, Canada (“Legacy DeepGreen”).

Prior to the Effective Time (as defined below), SOAC migrated and was continued from the Cayman Islands to British Columbia, Canada and was domesticated as a company existing under the laws of British Columbia, pursuant to Part XII of the Cayman Islands Companies Act (as Revised) and Part 9, Division 8 of the BCBCA (such continuance, the “Continuance”). As a result and upon the consummation of the Continuance, (i) the identifying name of the Class A ordinary shares of SOAC, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A ordinary shares”), and Class B ordinary shares of SOAC, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class B ordinary shares”), were changed to Common Shares and the Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares were changed from shares with par value to shares without par value; (ii) the rights and restrictions attached to the renamed Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares of SOAC were deleted and the shares have the rights and restrictions attached to the Common Shares, as described herein and in the Notice and Articles; (iii) the number of authorized Common Shares were unlimited; (iv) each issued and outstanding whole warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share automatically represented the right to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share on the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable agreements; (v) the Notice and Articles became the governing documents of the Company; and (vi) SOAC’s name changed to “TMC the metals company Inc.”

On the Closing Date, pursuant to a court-approved plan of arrangement (the “Plan of Arrangement,” and the arrangement pursuant to such Plan of Arrangement, the “Arrangement”) under the BCBCA, (i) SOAC acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares in the capital of Legacy DeepGreen (the “DeepGreen Common Shares”); (ii) the shareholders and the optionholders of Legacy DeepGreen became entitled to receive at the Effective Time, in exchange for their DeepGreen Common Shares and options to purchase DeepGreen Common Shares, as applicable, an aggregate of (a) 229,162,651 Common Shares (which includes Common Shares underlying options), (b) 4,999,973 Class A Special Shares (which includes Class A Special Shares underlying options), (c) 9,999,853 Class B Special

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Shares (which includes Class B Special Shares underlying options), (d) 9,999,853 Class C Special Shares (which includes Class C Special Shares underlying options ), (e) 19,999,855 Class D Special Shares (which includes Class D Special Shares underlying options), (f) 19,999,855 Class E Special Shares (which includes Class E Special Shares underlying options), (g) 19,999,855 Class F Special Shares (which includes Class F Special Shares underlying options), (h) 24,999,860 Class G Special Shares (which includes Class G Special Shares underlying options), and (i) 24,999,860 Class H Special Shares (which includes Class H Special Shares underlying options), in each case, in the capital of the Company, each of which Special Share is automatically convertible into Common Shares on a one-for-one basis (unless adjusted as described herein) if certain Common Share price thresholds are met as described herein (collectively, the “DeepGreen Earnout Shares”); (iii) Legacy DeepGreen became a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company; and (iv) Legacy DeepGreen and NewCo Sub amalgamated to continue as one unlimited liability company existing under the laws of British Columbia, Canada. In addition, we assumed a warrant issued to Allseas Group S.A. which became a warrant to purchase our Common Shares upon the consummation of the Business Combination, in accordance with its terms. As a consequence of the Business Combination, each option to purchase DeepGreen Common Shares, whether vested or unvested, that was outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time was assumed by the Company and became an option (vested or unvested, as applicable) to purchase a number of Common Shares based on an exchange ration determined under the Combination Agreement. The time that the Arrangement became effective is referred to as the “Effective Time.”

Immediately prior to the Effective Time, Sustainable Opportunities Holdings LLC (the “Sponsor”), exchanged 741,000 Common Shares for 500,000 Class I Special Shares and 741,000 Class J Special Shares, each of which is automatically convertible into Common Shares on a one-for-one basis if certain Common Share price thresholds are met as described below.

In connection with the foregoing and concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, SOAC entered into subscription agreements with certain investors, pursuant to which such investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 11,030,000 Common Shares at a purchase price of $10.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $110,300,000, which closed concurrently with the Business Combination.

Common Shares

Holders of Common Shares are entitled to one (1) vote per share on all matters upon which holders of shares are entitled to vote. Subject to the BCBCA and prior rights of the holders of preferred shares and any other class ranking senior to the Common Shares, the holders of Common Shares are entitled to receive non-cumulative dividends as, if and when declared by the board of directors. Subject to the prior rights of the holders of special shares (“Special Shares”) and preferred shares, and any other class ranking senior to the Common Shares, in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up or other distribution of our assets among our shareholders, the holders of Common Shares will be entitled to share pro rata in the distribution of the balance of our assets. Holders of Common Shares will have no pre-emptive or conversion or exchange rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption, retraction, purchase for cancellation or surrender provisions or sinking or purchase fund provisions applicable to Common Shares. There is no provision in the Notice and Articles requiring holders of Common Shares to contribute additional capital, or permitting or restricting the issuance of additional securities or any other material restrictions. The special rights or restrictions attached to Common Shares are subject to and may be adversely affected by, the rights attached to any series of preferred shares that the board of directors may designate in the future.

Preferred Shares

We are authorized to issue an unlimited number of preferred shares, issuable in series. Accordingly, the board of directors is authorized, without shareholder approval but subject to the provisions of the BCBCA and the Notice and Articles, to determine the maximum number of shares of each series, create an identifying name for each series and attach such special rights or restrictions, including dividend, liquidation and voting rights, as the board of directors may determine, and such special rights or restrictions, including dividend, liquidation and voting rights, may be superior to those of the Common Shares. The issuance of preferred shares, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging potential acquisition proposals and might adversely affect the market price of the Common Shares and the voting and other rights of the holders of Common Shares. We have no current plan to issue any preferred shares.

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Special Shares

Holders of Special Shares are not entitled to any voting rights, except as required under the BCBCA in certain circumstances, and are not entitled to receive dividends. Subject to the prior rights of the holders of preferred shares, in the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up or other distribution of our assets among our shareholders, the holders of Special Shares will be entitled to receive an amount equal to $0.00000000001 per Special Share (the “Redemption Price”). Holders of Special Shares have no pre-emptive or exchange rights or other subscription rights. There is no provision in the Notice and Articles requiring holders of Special Shares to contribute additional capital. The special rights or restrictions attached to Special Shares are subject to and may be adversely affected by, the rights attached to any series of preferred shares that the board of directors may designate in the future. The Notice and Articles provide that the Special Shares may not be, directly or indirectly, sold, transferred, assigned, pledged, mortgaged, exchanged, hypothecated or encumbered without the prior approval of the board of directors, which shall only be given under certain circumstances specified in the Notice and Articles (a “Permitted Transfer”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, any holder of Special Shares may, at any time, provide an irrevocable direction and agreement in favor of us that a proposed transfer shall be deemed not to be a Permitted Transfer and that irrevocable direction may provide that any other Permitted Transfer shall require that the transferee provide an identical type of irrevocable direction and agreement.

Subject to the provisions of the BCBCA, any Special Shares then outstanding shall be redeemed by us without any action on the part of the holders of Special Shares (i) at any time after the 15^th year anniversary of the original issue date of the Special Shares or (ii) at any time after a Change of Control, in each case at the Redemption Price. For the purposes of the Notice and Articles, “Change of Control” shall mean any transaction or series of related transactions (x) under which any person or one or more persons that are affiliates or that are acting as a “group” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, acquires or otherwise purchases (i) the Company or (ii) all or a material portion of assets, businesses or our Equity Securities (as defined below) or (y) that results, directly or indirectly, in the shareholders of TMC as of immediately prior to such transaction holding, in the aggregate, less than 50% of the voting Equity Securities immediately after the consummation thereof (excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any Special Shares and the Common Shares issuable upon conversion thereof) (in the case of each of clause (x) and (y), whether by amalgamation, merger, consolidation, arrangement, tender offer, recapitalization, purchase or issuance of Equity Securities or otherwise), and “Equity Securities” shall refer to Common Shares, the preferred shares, Special Shares or any other class of shares or series thereof in the capital of the Company or similar interest in the Company (including any stock appreciation, phantom stock, profit participation or similar rights), and any option, warrant, right or security (including debt securities) convertible, exchangeable or exercisable therefor.

The Special Shares will automatically convert into Common Shares on a one (1) for one (1) basis (the “Conversion Rate”) (unless adjusted as described below) upon the occurrence of the following events:

● in the case of the Class A Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30)trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $15.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $15.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class B Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $25.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $25.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class C Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $35.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $35.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class D Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $50.00,

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or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $50.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class E Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $75.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $75.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class F Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $100.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $100.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class G Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $150.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $150.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class H Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $200.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $200.00 per Common Share;

● in the case of the Class I Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $50.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $50.00 per Common Share; and

● in the case of the Class J Special Shares, if (a) on any twenty (20) trading days within any thirty (30) trading day period, the Common Shares trade on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which Common Shares are then traded for a price that is greater than or equal to $12.00, or (b) there occurs any transaction resulting in a Change of Control with a valuation of the Common Shares that is greater than or equal to $12.00 per Common Share.

No fractional Common Share will be issued upon the conversion of the Special Shares and no payment will be made to the holders of Special Shares in lieu thereof. Rather, the holders of Special Shares shall be entitled to the number of Common Shares determined by rounding the entitlement down to the nearest whole number.

In the event that the Common Shares are at any time sub-divided, consolidated, converted or exchanged for a greater or lesser number of shares of the same or another class, then appropriate adjustments will be made in the rights and conditions attaching to the Special Shares so as to preserve in all respects the benefits of the holders of Special Shares.

In the event of any merger, amalgamation, consolidation, arrangement, reorganization or other business combination involving the Company with another entity, other than a Change of Control, the holders of Special Shares will be entitled to receive, on conversion, such securities or other property as if on the effective date of the event they were registered holders of the number of Common Shares which such holders of Special Shares were entitled to receive upon conversion of their Special Shares.

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Warrants

Public Warrants

As of March 24, 2023, there were an aggregate of 15,000,000 outstanding warrants issued in connection with the May 2020 initial public offering of (the “public warrants”), which entitle the holder to acquire Common Shares. Each whole public warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, beginning on October 9, 2021. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Common Shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you hold at least three units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire on September 9, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

We will not be obligated to deliver any Common Shares 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 Common Shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Common Share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Common Share 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. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Common Share underlying such unit.

Redemptions

Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:

● in whole and not in part;

● at a price of $0.01 per warrant;

● upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and

● if, and only if, the closing price of the Common Shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, 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 notice of the redemption is given to the warrant holder.

If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.

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 his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Common Shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.

Redemption procedures and cashless exercise

If we call the warrants for redemption when the price per share of Common Shares equals or exceeds $18.00, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis” beginning on the third trading day prior to the date on which notice of the redemption is given to the holders of warrants. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our

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management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Common Shares 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 equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Common Shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.365. The “fair market value” will mean the average closing price of the Common Shares for the ten (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 our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Common Shares 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 after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management team does not take advantage of this option, Sustainable Opportunities Holdings LLC (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.

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% (as specified by the holder) of the Common Shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.

Anti-dilution adjustments

If the number of outstanding Common Shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Common Shares, or by a split-up of common shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Common Shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding common shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of common shares entitling holders to purchase Common Shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Common Shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Common Shares 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 Common Shares) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Common Shares paid in such rights offering and (y) the historical fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Common Shares, 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) “historical fair market value” means the volume weighted average price of Common Shares as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Common Shares 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 all or substantially all the holders of Common Shares on account of such shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Common Shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of Common Shares issuable on exercise of each warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, or (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Common Shares in connection with the Business Combination, 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 Common Shares in respect of such event.

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If the number of outstanding Common Shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share split or reclassification of share of Common Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share split, reclassification or similar event, the number of Common Shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Common Shares.

Whenever the number of Common Shares 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 Common Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Common Shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.

In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Common Shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Common Shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of with or into another company (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing company and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Common Shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another company or entity of the assets or other property of us 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 Common Shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Common Shares 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 Common Shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of Common Shares 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 (30) 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.

The warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. 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 or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in SOAC’s prospectus for its initial public offering, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to the Annual Report of which this Exhibit is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.

The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Common Shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Common Shares.

No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. 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 the number of Common Shares to be issued to the warrant holder.

Private Placement Warrants

As of March 24, 2023, there were 9,500,000 private placement warrants outstanding. The private placement warrants (including the Common Shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) were not transferable, assignable or salable until October 9, 2021, except pursuant to limited exceptions to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliates with the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants, and they are not redeemable by us, except as described above when the prices per share of Common Shares equals or exceeds $10.00, so long as they are held by Sponsor or its permitted transferees. The Sponsor, or its permitted transferees, has the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis. Except as described below, the private

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placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the public warrants. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than 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. The private placement warrants were transferred to permitted transferees in December 2021.

Except as described above regarding redemption procedures and cashless exercise in respect of 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 his, her or its warrants for that number of Common Shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Common Shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing price of the Common Shares for the ten (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.

Registration Rights

At the closing of the Business Combination, we, the initial shareholders, including the Sponsor (the “Sponsor Group Holders”), and certain holders of Legacy DeepGreen securities immediately prior to the Effective Time (the “DeepGreen Holders”) entered into an amended and restated registration rights agreement (the “Amended and Restated Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which, among other things, the Sponsor Group Holders and the DeepGreen Holders were granted certain registration rights with respect to their respective Common Shares on the terms and subject to the conditions therein. Additionally, pursuant to subscription agreements entered into on March 4, 2021, certain investors purchased Common Shares immediately prior to the closing of the Business Combination, which provide these investors with certain registration rights. The Company filed a Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-260126) on October 7, 2021, which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2022, which has subsequently been amended, with respect to the shares covered by these registration rights.

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Certain Important Provisions of the Notice and Articles and the BCBCA

The following is a summary of certain important provisions of our Articles and certain related sections of the BCBCA. Please note that this is only a summary and is not intended to be exhaustive. This summary is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, the provisions of our Articles and the BCBCA.

Stated Objects or Purposes

The Notice and Articles do not contain stated objects or purposes and do not place any limitations on the business that we may carry on.

Directors

Power to vote on matters in which a director is materially interested. Under the BCBCA, a director or senior officer of a company is liable to account to the company for any profit that accrues to the director or senior officer under or as a result of a contract or transaction in which the director or officer holds a disclosable interest if the contract or transaction is material to the company, the company has entered, or proposes to enter, into the contract or transaction, and either the director or senior officer has a material interest in the contract or transaction or is a director or senior officer of, or has a material interest in, a person who has a material interest in the contract or transaction, unless otherwise provided for in the BCBCA. A director does not hold a disclosable interest in a contract or transaction if the contract or transaction: (i) is an arrangement by way of security granted by the company for money loaned to, or obligations undertaken by, the director, or a person in whom the director has a material interest, for the benefit the company or for one of our affiliates’ benefit; (ii) relates to an indemnity or insurance permitted under the BCBCA;

(iii) relates to the remuneration of the director in his or her capacity as director, officer, employee or agent of the company or of one of its affiliates; (iv) relates to a loan to the company and the director, or a person in whom the director has a material interest, is the guarantor of some or all of the loan; or (v) is with a company that is affiliated to the company and the director is also a director or senior officer of that company or an affiliate of that company.

A director who holds a disclosable interest may also be liable to account to the company for any profit that accrues to the director under or as a result of a contract or transaction in which the director holds a disclosable interest, if the contract or transaction is: (i) approved by the other non-interested directors (unless all directors have a disclosable interest) or by a special resolution of the shareholders, after the nature and extent of the disclosable interest has been disclosed to the directors or shareholders, as applicable, or (ii) the contract or transaction was entered into before the individual became a director, the disclosable interest was disclosed to the other directors or shareholders and the director who holds the disclosable interest does not vote on any decision or resolution touching on the contract or transaction. Directors are also required to comply with certain other relevant provisions of the BCBCA regarding conflicts of interest. A director who holds such disclosable interest in respect of any material contract or transaction into which the company has entered or propose to enter may be required to absent himself or herself from the meeting while discussions and voting with respect to the matter are taking place.

Directors’ power to determine the remuneration of directors. The remuneration of our directors, if any, may be determined by our directors subject to our Articles. The remuneration may be in addition to any salary or other remuneration paid to any of our employees (including executive officers) who are also directors.

Number of shares required to be owned by a director. Our Articles do not and the BCBCA does not provide that a director is required to hold any of Common Shares as a qualification for holding his or her office. The board of directors has discretion to prescribe minimum share ownership requirements for directors.

Shareholder Meetings

Subject to applicable exchange requirements, and the BCBCA, we will have to hold a general meeting of our shareholders at least once every year at a time and place determined by our board of directors, provided that the meeting must not be held later than 15 months after the preceding annual general meeting, unless an extension is obtained. A meeting of our shareholders may be held anywhere in or outside British Columbia. The board of directors may also determine that shareholders may attend a meeting of shareholders by means of telephone, electronic or other communications facilities that permit all participants to communicate with each other during the meeting.

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A notice to convene a meeting, specifying the date, time and location of the meeting, and, where a meeting is to consider special business, the general nature of the special business, among other things, must be sent to each shareholder entitled to attend the meeting and to each director, so long that the company is a public company, not less than 21 days and no more than two months prior to the meeting, although, as a result of applicable securities laws, the minimum time for notice is effectively longer in most circumstances. Under the BCBCA, shareholders entitled to notice of a meeting may waive or reduce the period of notice for that meeting, provided applicable securities laws are met. The accidental omission to send notice of any meeting of shareholders to, or the non-receipt of any notice by, any person entitled to notice does not invalidate any proceedings at that meeting.

A quorum for meetings of shareholders is present if at least two shareholders who, in the aggregate, hold at least one-third (33^⅓%) of the issued shares entitled to vote at the meeting, are present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting. If a quorum is not present within one half hour from the time set for the opening of any meeting of shareholders, the meeting stands adjourned to the same day in the next week at the same time and place, unless the meeting was requisitioned by shareholders, in which case the meeting is dissolved.

Holders of Common Shares are entitled to attend and vote at meetings of our shareholders except meetings at which only holders another class of shares are entitled to vote. Except as otherwise provided with respect to any particular series of preferred shares or Special Shares, and except as otherwise required by law, the holders of our preferred shares and/or Special Shares are not entitled to receive notice of, or to attend or vote at any meetings of our shareholders. Our directors and officers, our auditor and any other persons invited by our directors or the chair of the meeting are entitled to attend any meeting of our shareholders but will not be counted in the quorum or be entitled to vote at the meeting unless he or she is a shareholder or proxyholder entitled to vote at the meeting.

Shareholder Proposals and Advance Notice Procedures

Under the BCBCA, qualified shareholders holding at least (i) 1% of the Common Shares or (ii) Common Shares with a fair market value in excess of CAD$2,000 may make proposals for matters to be considered at the annual general meeting of shareholders. Such proposals must be sent to us in advance of any proposed meeting by delivering a timely written notice in proper form to our registered office in accordance with the requirements of the BCBCA. The notice must include information on the business the shareholder intends to bring before the meeting. To be a qualified shareholder, a shareholder must currently be and have been a registered or beneficial owner of at least one Common Share for at least two years before the date of signing the proposal.

Certain advance notice provisions with respect to the election of our directors are included in the Notice and Articles (the “Advance Notice Provisions”). The Advance Notice Provisions are intended to: (i) facilitate orderly and efficient annual general meetings or, where the need arises, special meetings; (ii) ensure that all shareholders receive adequate notice of board nominations and sufficient information with respect to all nominees; and (iii) allow shareholders to register an informed vote. Only persons who are nominated in accordance with the Advance Notice Provisions will be eligible for election as directors at any annual meeting of shareholders, or at any special meeting of shareholders if one of the purposes for which the special meeting was called was the election of directors.

Under the Advance Notice Provisions, a shareholder wishing to nominate a director would be required to provide us notice, in the prescribed form, within the prescribed time periods. These time periods include, (i) in the case of an annual meeting of shareholders (including annual and special meetings), not less than 30 days prior to the date of the annual meeting of shareholders; provided, that if the first public announcement of the date of the annual meeting of shareholders (the “Notice Date”) is less than 50 days before the meeting date, not later than the close of business on the 10^th day following the Notice Date; and (ii) in the case of a special meeting (which is not also an annual meeting) of shareholders called for any purpose which includes electing directors, not later than the close of business on the 15^th day following the Notice Date.

These provisions could have the effect of delaying until the next shareholder meeting the nomination of certain persons for director that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities.

Forum Selection

The Notice and Articles include a forum selection provision that provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Supreme Court of British Columbia, Canada and the appellate courts therefrom, are the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any

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derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; (ii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, or other employees to our company; (iii) any action or proceeding asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the BCBCA or the Notice and Articles (as each may be amended from time to time); or (iv) any action or proceeding asserting a claim otherwise related to the relationships among us, our affiliates and our respective shareholders, directors and/or officers, but excluding claims related to our business or of such affiliates. The forum selection provision also provides that our securityholders are deemed to have consented to personal jurisdiction in the Province of British Columbia and to service of process on their counsel in any foreign action initiated in violation of the foregoing provisions. This provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder.

For claims brought under the Securities Act, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder and the Notice and Articles provides that the federal district courts of the United States of America, to the fullest extent permitted by law, are the sole and exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act (the “Federal Forum Provision”). Application of the Federal Forum Provision means that suits brought by our shareholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act must be brought in federal court and cannot be brought in state court.

Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Accordingly, actions by our shareholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder must be brought in federal court. Our shareholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in any of Common Shares shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the aforementioned forum selection provisions, including the Federal Forum Provision. Additionally, our shareholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. These provisions may limit our shareholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in the Notice and Articles to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

Under the BCBCA, a company may indemnify: (i) a current or former director or officer of that company; (ii) a current or former director or officer of another company if, at the time such individual held such office, such company was an affiliate of the company, or if such individual held such office at the company’s request; or (iii) an individual who, at the request of the company, held, or holds, an equivalent position in another entity (an “indemnifiable person”) against all judgments, penalties or fines, or amounts paid to settle a proceeding or an action, in respect of any civil, criminal, administrative or other legal proceeding or investigative action (whether current, threatened, pending or completed) in which he or she is involved because of that person’s position as an indemnifiable person (an “eligible proceeding”), unless: (i) the individual did not act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of such company or the other entity, as the case may be; or (ii) in the case of a proceeding other than a civil proceeding, the individual did not have reasonable grounds for believing that the individual’s conduct in respect of which proceeding was brought was lawful. A company cannot indemnify an indemnifiable person if it is prohibited from doing so under its articles or by applicable law. A company may pay, as they are incurred in advance of the final disposition of an eligible proceeding, the expenses actually and reasonably incurred.

Ownership and Exchange Controls

There is no limitation imposed by Canadian law or by the Notice and Articles on the right of a non-resident to hold or vote Common Shares, other than discussed below.

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Competition Act

Limitations on the ability to acquire and hold Common Shares may be imposed by the Competition Act (Canada). This legislation permits the Commissioner of Competition (the “Commissioner”), to review any acquisition or establishment, directly or indirectly, including through the acquisition of shares, of control over or of a significant interest in us. This legislation grants the Commissioner jurisdiction, for up to one year after the acquisition has been substantially completed, to challenge this type of acquisition by seeking a remedial order, including an order to prohibit the acquisition or require divestitures, from the Canadian Competition Tribunal, which may be granted where the Competition Tribunal finds that the acquisition substantially prevents or lessens, or is likely to substantially prevent or lessen, competition.

This legislation also requires any person or persons who intend to acquire more than 20% of our voting shares or, if such person or persons already own more than 20% of our voting shares prior to the acquisition, more than 50% of our voting shares, to file a notification with the Canadian Competition Bureau if certain financial thresholds are exceeded. Where a notification is required, unless an exemption is available, the legislation prohibits completion of the acquisition until the expiration of the applicable statutory waiting period, unless the Commissioner either waives or terminates such waiting period or issues an advance ruling certificate. The Commissioner’s review of a notifiable transaction for substantive competition law considerations may take longer than the statutory waiting period.

Investment Canada Act

The Investment Canada Act requires each “non Canadian” (as defined in the Investment Canada Act) who acquires “control” of an existing “Canadian business,” to file a notification in prescribed form with the responsible federal government department or departments not later than 30 days after closing, provided the acquisition of control is not a reviewable transaction under the Investment Canada Act. Subject to certain exemptions, a transaction that is reviewable under the Investment Canada Act may not be implemented until an application for review has been filed and the responsible Minister of the federal cabinet has determined that the investment is likely to be of “net benefit to Canada” taking into account certain factors set out in the Investment Canada Act. Under the Investment Canada Act, an investment in Common Shares by a non-Canadian who is an investor originating from a country with which Canada has a free trade agreement, including a United States investor, would be reviewable only if it were an investment to acquire control of us pursuant to the Investment Canada Act and our enterprise value (as determined pursuant to the Investment Canada Act and its regulations) was equal to or greater than the amount specified, which is currently CAD$1.931 billion. For most other investors who are not state-owned enterprises the threshold is currently CAD$1.287 billion for 2023.

The Investment Canada Act contains various rules to determine if there has been an acquisition of control. Generally, for purposes of determining whether an investor has acquired control of a corporation by acquiring shares, the following general rules apply, subject to certain exceptions: the acquisition of a majority of the undivided ownership interests in the voting shares of the corporation is deemed to be acquisition of control of that corporation; the acquisition of less than a majority, but one-third or more, of the voting shares of a corporation or of an equivalent undivided ownership interest in the voting shares of the corporation is presumed to be acquisition of control of that corporation unless it can be established that, on the acquisition, the corporation is not controlled in fact by the acquirer through the ownership of voting shares; and the acquisition of less than one-third (1/3) of the voting shares of a corporation or of an equivalent undivided ownership interest in the voting shares of the corporation is deemed not to be acquisition of control of that corporation.

Under the national-security-review regime in the Investment Canada Act, review on a discretionary basis may also be undertaken by the federal government in respect to a much broader range of investments by a non-

Canadian to “acquire, in whole or part, or to establish an entity carrying on all or any part of its operations in Canada.” No financial threshold applies to a national-security review. The relevant test is whether such investment by a non-Canadian could be “injurious to national security.” The responsible ministers have broad discretion to determine whether an investor is a non-Canadian and therefore subject to national-security review. Review on national-security grounds is at the discretion of the responsible ministers, and may occur on a pre- or post-closing basis.

Certain transactions relating to Common Shares will generally be exempt from the Investment Canada Act, subject to the federal government’s prerogative to conduct a national-security review, including:

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● the acquisition of Common Shares by a person in the ordinary course of that persons business as a trader or dealer in securities;

● the acquisition of control of us in connection with the realization of security granted for a loan or other financial assistance and not for any purpose related to the provisions of the Investment Canada Act; and

● the acquisition of control of us by reason of an amalgamation, merger, consolidation or corporate reorganization following which the ultimate direct or indirect control in fact of us, through ownership of Common Shares, remains unchanged.

Other

There is no law, governmental decree or regulation in Canada that restricts the export or import of capital, or that would affect the remittance of dividends (if any) or other payments by us to non-resident holders of Common Shares, other than withholding tax requirements.

Transfer Agent, Warrant Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent for our Common Shares and the Warrant Agent for the Public Warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

Stock Exchange Listing

Our Common Shares and Public Warrants to purchase Common Shares are listed for trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol “TMC” and “TMCWW”, respectively.

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