SEC Info - Energy Focus, Inc/DE - ‘10-K’ for 12/31/19

EXHIBIT 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

The following is a brief description of the securities of Energy Focus, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our” and the “Company”), registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the “Exchange Act”. This description of the terms of our stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the applicable provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law, and the full text of our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws.

General.

Our certificate of incorporation provides that we may issue up to 55,000,000 shares of stock comprised of the following:


•	50,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share; and


•	5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

Common Stock.

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters to be voted upon by stockholders. In accordance with Delaware law, the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares represented and voting at a duly held meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the stockholders. The shares of common stock have no pre-emptive rights, no redemption or sinking fund provisions, and are not liable for further call or assessment.

Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends when and as declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available for dividends. We have not declared or paid any cash dividends and we do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

Upon a liquidation of the Company, our creditors and holders of our preferred stock with preferential liquidation rights will be paid before any distribution to holders of our common stock. The holders of common stock would be entitled to receive a pro rata distribution per share of any excess amount.

Preferred Stock.

Our certificate of incorporation empowers our board of directors to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors may fix the designation, privileges, preferences and rights and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions of those shares, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption rights, terms of sinking funds, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any additional series or the designation of the series. Terms selected could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to holders of our common stock or adversely affect the rights and power, including voting rights, of the holders of our common stock without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The rights of holders of common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued by us in the future. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of us or make removal of management more difficult. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of decreasing the market price of our common stock, and may adversely affect the voting and other rights of the holders of common stock.

Our board of directors has designated 3,300,000 shares of our preferred stock as Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

Antitakeover Effects of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws.

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws 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 a future takeover or change in control of the Company unless that takeover or change in control is approved by our board of directors. These provisions include:

Action by Written Consent. Our bylaws provide 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.

Advance Notice Procedures. Our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to the board of directors. Stockholders at an annual meeting are only able to consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the board 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 accordance with our bylaws, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although the bylaws do not give the 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, the 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 the Company.

Authorized but Unissued Shares. Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred 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.

Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute.

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law regulating corporate takeovers. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging, under certain circumstances, in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder unless:


•	prior to the date of the transaction, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;


•	upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, calculated as provided under Section 203; or


•	at or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Generally, a business combination includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of a corporation’s outstanding voting stock. We expect the existence of this provision to have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions our board of directors does not approve in advance. We also anticipate that Section 203 may also discourage attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.

The provisions of Delaware law and the provisions of our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they might also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions might also have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors.

Our certificate of incorporation limits the liability of our directors to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, and our bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by such law.

Listing.

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “EFOI.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar.

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc., 51 Mercedes Way, Edgewood, New York 11717.

Energy Focus, Inc/DE – ‘10-K’ for 12/31/19 – ‘EX-4.1’

On: Tuesday, 3/24/20, at 5:19pm ET · For: 12/31/19 · Accession #: 924168-20-13 · File #: 1-36583

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Annual Report — Form 10-K — Sect. 13 / 15(d) – SEA’34
Filing Table of Contents

‘EX-4.1’ — Instrument Defining the Rights of Security Holders

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