As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 10, 2021
Registration No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
SQUARESPACE,
INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware | 20-0375811 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
Squarespace, Inc.
225 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10014
(646) 580-3456
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of principal executive offices)
Squarespace, Inc. Amended 2008 Equity Incentive Plan
Squarespace, Inc. Amended and Restated 2008 Equity Incentive Plan
Squarespace, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan
Squarespace, Inc. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase
Plan
(Full title of the plan)
Anthony Casalena
Chief Executive Officer
Squarespace, Inc.
225 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10014
(Name and address of agent for service)
(646) 580-3456
(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Courtenay O’Connor
Jessica Krasner
Squarespace, Inc.
225 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10014
(646) 580-3456
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer | ¨ | Accelerated filer | ¨ | |
Non-accelerated filer | x | Smaller reporting company | ¨ | |
Emerging growth company | x |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ¨
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
Title of securities to be registered | Amount to be registered(1) | Proposed maximum offering price per share | Proposed maximum aggregate offering price | Amount of registration fee |
Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share: | ||||
- 2021 Equity Incentive Plan | 19,250,000(2) | $0.000033(8) | $635.25 | $0.07 |
- 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan | 2,700,000(3) | $0.000033(8) | $89.10 | $0.01 |
- Amended 2008 Equity Incentive Plan | 1,547,691(4) | — (9) | — | — |
- Amended and Restated 2008 Equity Incentive Plan | 1,905,003(5) | — (9) | — | — |
Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share: | ||||
- Amended 2008 Equity Incentive Plan | 1,547,691(6) | $1.26(10) | $1,950,090.66 | $212.75 |
- Amended and Restated 2008 Equity Incentive Plan | 1,905,003(7) | $4.15(11) | $7,905,762.45 | $862.52 |
Total: | 28,855,388 | $9,856,577.46 | $1,075.35 |
(1) | Pursuant to Rule 416(a) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement also covers any additional shares of the Registrant’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), or the Registrant’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B Common Stock”), that may become issuable under the Registrant’s Amended 2008 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Amended 2008 Plan”), Amended and Restated 2008 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Amended and Restated 2008 Plan”), 2017 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2017 Plan”), 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”) and 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”) by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected that results in an increase to the number of outstanding shares of Registrant’s Class A Common Stock or Class B Common Stock, as applicable. |
(2) | Represents 19,250,000 shares of Class A Common Stock reserved for issuance pursuant to future awards under the 2021 Plan. |
(3) | Represents 2,700,000 shares of Class A Common Stock reserved for issuance pursuant to future awards under the ESPP. |
(4) | Represents 1,547,691 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock underlying equity awards outstanding under the Amended 2008 Plan as of the date of this Registration Statement. |
(5) | Represents 1,905,003 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock underlying equity awards outstanding under the Amended and Restated 2008 Plan as of the date of this Registration Statement. |
(6) | Represents 1,547,691 shares of Class B Common Stock reserved for issuance pursuant to stock option awards outstanding under the Amended 2008 Plan as of the date of this Registration Statement. |
(7) | Represents 1,905,003 shares of Class B Common Stock reserved for issuance pursuant to stock option awards outstanding under the Amended and Restated 2008 Plan as of the date of this Registration Statement. |
(8) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee in accordance with Rule 457(a). Given that there is no proposed maximum offering price per share of Class A common stock, the Registrant calculates the proposed maximum aggregate offering price, by analogy to Rule 457(f)(2), based on one-third of the par value per share of the Registrant’s Class A common stock, or $0.000033 per share, because the Registrant has an accumulated capital deficit based on the Registrant’s unaudited pro forma balance sheet as of March 31, 2021. Given that the Registrant’s shares of Class A common stock are not traded on an exchange or over-the-counter, the Registrant did not use the market prices of its Class A common stock in accordance with Rule 457(c). |
(9) | Pursuant to Rule 457(i), there is no fee associated with the registration of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock (a convertible security) being registered under this Registration Statement because no additional consideration will be received in connection with the conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock. |
(10) | Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee on the basis of $1.26 per share, which is the weighted average exercise price of stock option awards outstanding under the Amended 2008 Plan as of the date of this Registration Statement. |
(11) | Estimated in accordance with Rule 457(h) solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee on the basis of $4.15 per share, which is the weighted average exercise price of stock option awards outstanding under the Amended and Restated 2008 Plan as of the date of this Registration Statement. |
Part
I
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(A) PROSPECTUS
The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be delivered to the participants in the equity benefit plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.
Part
II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. | Incorporation of Documents by Reference. |
Squarespace, Inc. (the “Registrant”) hereby incorporates by reference into the Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”):
(a) Amendment No. 2 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1, filed with the Commission on May 3, 2021 (File No. 333-255284), which contains the Registrant’s audited financial statements for the latest fiscal year which such statements have been filed; and
(b) The description of the Registrant’s Class A Common Stock contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-40393) filed with the Commission on May 7, 2021, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.
All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of the Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of the Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document that also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of the Registration Statement.
Item 4. | Description of Securities. |
Not applicable.
Item 5. | Interests of Named Experts and Counsel. |
Not applicable.
Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) authorizes a court to award, or a corporation’s board of directors to grant, indemnity to directors and officers under certain circumstances and subject to certain limitations. The terms of Section 145 of the DGCL are sufficiently broad to permit indemnification under certain circumstances for liabilities, including reimbursement of expenses incurred, arising under the Securities Act.
The Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the Registrant will indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted under the DGCL, each person who was or is a party or threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise involved in any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person, or a person for whom such person is the legal representative, is or was a director or officer or while a director or officer of the Registrant, is or was serving at the request of the Registrant as a director, member, manager, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, enterprise or nonprofit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans (all such persons being referred to as an “Indemnitee”), against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) reasonably incurred by such Indemnitee in such Proceeding.
In addition, the Registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation allows the Registrant, by the action of the Registrant’s board of directors, to indemnify and advance expenses to any person (and the heirs, executors or administrators of such person) who was or is made or is threatened to be made or is otherwise involved in any Proceeding by reason of the fact that such person, or a person for whom such person is the legal representative, is or was an employee or agent of the Registrant or, while an employee or agent of the Registrant, is or was serving at the request of the Registrant as a director, member, manager, officer, employee or agent of another corporation or of a partnership, joint venture, limited liability company, trust, enterprise or nonprofit entity, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, against all liability and loss suffered and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding, including in defending any Proceeding in advance of its final disposition.
The Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its current directors and executive officers. Each indemnification agreement provides, among other things, for indemnification to the fullest extent permitted by law against any and all expenses, judgments, fines, penalties and amounts paid in settlement (with the Registrant’s consent) of any Proceeding. The indemnification agreements provide for the advancement or payment of all expenses to the Indemnitee and for reimbursement of such advanced expenses to the Registrant if it is found that such Indemnitee is not entitled to such indemnification under applicable law.
The Registrant maintains a general liability insurance policy that covers certain liabilities of directors and officers of the Registrant arising out of Proceedings based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers.
Reference is made to Item 9 for the undertakings of the Registrant with respect to indemnification of liabilities arising under the Securities Act.
Item 7. | Exemption from Registration Claimed. |
Not applicable.
Item 8. | Exhibits. |
*Incorporated by reference.
Item 9. | Undertakings. |
A. The Registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:
(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;
(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement;
(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement; Provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8, and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.
B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new Registration Statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the city of New York, state of New York, on May 10, 2021.
Squarespace, Inc. | |||
By: | /s/ Anthony Casalena | ||
Anthony Casalena | |||
Chief Executive Officer |
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Anthony Casalena, Marcela Martin and Courtenay O’Connor, and each of them, as such individual’s true and lawful attorney in fact and agent with full power of substitution, for such individual in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney in fact, proxy and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully for all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney in fact, proxy and agent, or the individual’s substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date |
||
/s/ Anthony Casalena |
Chief Executive Officer and Director | May 10, 2021 | ||
Anthony Casalena | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
/s/ Marcela Martin |
Chief Financial Officer | May 10, 2021 | ||
Marcela Martin | (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) | |||
/s/ Andrew Braccia |
Director | May 10, 2021 | ||
Andrew Braccia | ||||
/s/ Michael Fleisher |
Director | May 10, 2021 | ||
Michael Fleisher | ||||
/s/ Liza Landsman |
Director | May 10, 2021 | ||
Liza Landsman | ||||
/s/ Anton Levy |
Director | May 10, 2021 | ||
Anton Levy | ||||
/s/ Jonathan Klein |
Director | May 10, 2021 | ||
Jonathan Klein |
Exhibit 4.2
AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE
OF
INCORPORATION OF SQUARESPACE, INC.
(Pursuant to Sections 242 and 245 of the
General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware)
May 10, 2021
Squarespace, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “General Corporation Law”),
DOES HEREBY CERTIFY:
FIRST: That the name of this corporation is Squarespace, Inc. The original certificate of incorporation of this corporation was filed in the office of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on October 29, 2007.
SECOND: That the Board of Directors of the corporation (the “Board”) duly adopted resolutions proposing to amend and restate the Certificate of Incorporation of this corporation, declaring said amendment and restatement to be advisable and in the best interests of this corporation and its stockholders, and authorizing the appropriate officers of this corporation to solicit the consent of the stockholders therefor, which resolution setting forth the proposed amendment and restatement is as follows:
RESOLVED, that the Certificate of Incorporation, as amended through the date hereof, of this corporation be amended and restated in its entirety as follows:
Article I
The name of this corporation is Squarespace, Inc.
Article II
The address of the registered office of this corporation in the State of Delaware is 3500 South DuPont Highway, County of Kent, Dover, DE USA 19901. The name of its registered agent at such address is Incorporating Services, Ltd.
Article III
The nature of the business or purposes to be conducted or promoted is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law.
Article IV
The total number of shares of all classes of stock that this corporation is authorized to issue is Two Billion Two Hundred Million (2,200,000,000) shares, consisting of (a) One Billion (1,000,000,000) shares of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Common Stock”), (b) One Hundred Million (100,000,000) shares of Class B Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B Common Stock”), (c) One Billion (1,000,000,000) shares of Class C Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class C Common Stock”) and (d) One Hundred Million (100,000,000) shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.0001 per share (“Preferred Stock”), undesignated as to series and issuable in accordance with the provisions of Article VI and the General Corporation Law.
Article V
1. General. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or as required by applicable law, the holders of Common Stock shall vote together and not as separate series or classes on all matters (including the election of directors) submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the corporation; provided, however, that, except as otherwise required by the General Corporation Law or other applicable law, holders of shares of Common Stock, as such, shall not be entitled to vote on any amendment to this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any certificate of designations relating to any class or series of Preferred Stock) that relates solely to the terms of one or more outstanding classes or series of Preferred Stock if the holders of such affected class or series are entitled, either separately or together with the holders of one or more other such classes or series of Preferred Stock, to vote thereon pursuant to this Amended and Restated Certificate (including any certificate of designations relating to any class or series of Preferred Stock) or pursuant to the General Corporation Law.
2. Identical Rights. Except as otherwise provided in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or as required by applicable law, shares of Common Stock shall have the same rights and powers (including as to dividends, distributions and any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the corporation but excluding voting as described in Section 4 below), share ratably and be identical in all respects as to all matters, including:
(a) Subject to the prior rights of holders of all classes and series of stock at the time outstanding having prior rights as to dividends, the holders of the Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to receive, when, as and if declared by the Board, out of any assets of the corporation legally available therefor, such dividends as may be declared from time to time by the Board. Any dividends paid to the holders of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock shall be paid pro rata, on an equal priority, pari passu basis, unless different treatment of the shares of each such class is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the applicable class of Common Stock treated adversely, voting separately as a class.
(b) The corporation shall not declare or pay any dividend or make any other distribution to the holders of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock payable in securities of the corporation unless the same dividend or distribution with the same record date and payment date shall be declared and paid on all shares of Common Stock; provided, however, that (i) dividends or other distributions payable in shares of Class A Common Stock or rights to acquire shares of Class A Common Stock may be declared and paid to the holders of Class A Common Stock without the same dividend or distribution being declared and paid to the holders of the Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock if, and only if, (A) a dividend payable in shares of Class B Common Stock, or rights to acquire shares of Class B Common Stock, as applicable, is declared and paid to the holders of Class B Common Stock at the same rate and with the same record date and payment date and (B) a dividend payable in shares of Class C Common Stock, or rights to acquire shares of Class C Common Stock, as applicable, is declared and paid to the holders of Class C Common Stock at the same rate and with the same record date and payment date; (ii) dividends or other distributions payable in shares of Class B Common Stock or rights to acquire shares of Class B Common Stock may be declared and paid to the holders of Class B Common Stock without the same dividend or distribution being declared and paid to the holders of the Class A Common Stock or Class C Common Stock if, and only if, (A) a dividend payable in shares of Class A Common Stock, or rights to acquire shares of Class A Common Stock, as applicable, is declared and paid to the holders of Class A Common Stock at the same rate and with the same record date and payment date and (B) a dividend payable in shares of Class C Common Stock, or rights to acquire shares of Class C Common Stock, as applicable, is declared and paid to the holders of Class C Common Stock at the same rate and with the same record date and payment date; and (iii) dividends or other distributions payable in shares of Class C Common Stock or rights to acquire shares of Class C Common Stock may be declared and paid to the holders of Class C Common Stock without the same dividend or distribution being declared and paid to the holders of the Class A Common Stock or Class B Common Stock if, and only if, (A) a dividend payable in shares of Class A Common Stock, or rights to acquire shares of Class A Common Stock, as applicable, is declared and paid to the holders of Class A Common Stock at the same rate and with the same record date and payment date and (B) a dividend payable in shares of Class B Common Stock, or rights to acquire shares of Class B Common Stock, as applicable, is declared and paid to the holders of Class B Common Stock at the same rate and with the same record date and payment date. For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this paragraph (b) shall prevent the corporation from declaring and paying an identical dividend or other distribution payable in shares of one class of Common Stock or rights to acquire one class of Common Stock to holders of each class of Common Stock.
(c) If the corporation in any manner subdivides or combines the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock, then the outstanding shares of all other classes of Common Stock shall be subdivided or combined in the same proportion and manner, unless different treatment is approved by (i) the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class A Common Stock, (ii) the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B Common Stock and (iii) the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class C Common Stock, each of (i) through (iii) voting as separate class.
3. Reservation of Stock Issuable Upon Conversion. This corporation shall at all times reserve and keep available out of its authorized but unissued shares of Class A Common Stock, solely for the purpose of effecting the conversion of the shares of Class B Common Stock, such number and type of its shares of Class A Common Stock as shall from time to time be sufficient to effect the conversion of all outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock.
4. Voting Rights.
(a) Class A Common Stock. Each holder of shares of Class A Common Stock shall be entitled to one (1) vote for each share thereof held.
(b) Class B Common Stock. Each holder of shares of Class B Common Stock shall be entitled to ten (10) votes for each share thereof held.
(c) Class C Common Stock. Each holder of shares of Class C Common Stock shall be entitled to no votes for each share thereof held.
5. Class B Common Stock Protective Provisions. Prior to the Final Conversion Date, in addition to any vote required hereunder, by applicable law or in the Bylaws of the corporation (the “Bylaws”), the corporation shall not, without the approval of a majority of the voting power of the Class B Common Stock, voting as a separate class, directly or indirectly, or whether by amendment, or through merger, recapitalization, consolidation or otherwise:
(a) amend, alter, or repeal any provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (including any filing of a Certificate of Designation) in a manner that adversely modifies the voting, conversion or other powers, preferences, or other special rights or privileges, or restrictions of the Class B Common Stock;
(b) (A) create, or authorize the creation of, or issue or obligate itself to issue shares of, any additional class or series of capital stock having the right to more than one (1) vote for each share thereof, or (B) increase the authorized number of shares of any additional class or series of capital stock of the corporation having the right to more than one (1) vote for each share thereof; or
(c) reclassify, alter or amend any existing security of the corporation if such reclassification, alteration or amendment would provide such other security with the right to more than one (1) vote for each share thereof.
6. Authorized Shares. Except as required by applicable law, the number of authorized shares of each class of Common Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding or the number required to be reserved hereunder to effectuate the conversion of shares of Class B Common Stock into Class A Common Stock) by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares of stock of this corporation representing a majority of the votes represented by all outstanding shares of Common Stock entitled to vote, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the General Corporation Law; provided, that, for the avoidance of doubt, the number of authorized shares of Class B Common Stock shall not be increased or decreased without the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock, voting as a separate class.
7. Liquidation and Change of Control Rights.
(a) Liquidation. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the corporation, subject to the rights of any Preferred Stock that may then be outstanding, the remaining assets of the corporation legally available for distribution to stockholders shall be distributed on an equal priority, pro rata basis per share to the holders of Common Stock, unless different treatment of the shares of each such class is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock, each voting separately as a class; provided, however, that for the avoidance of doubt, consideration to be paid or received by a holder of Common Stock in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding up pursuant to any bona fide employment, consulting, severance or similar services arrangement shall not be deemed to be “distribution to stockholders.”
(b) Change of Control. In the event of a Change of Control Transaction, shares of Common Stock shall be treated equally, identically and shall share ratably, on a per share basis, in any consideration into which such shares are converted or any consideration paid or otherwise distributed to holders of Common Stock, unless different treatment of the shares of each such class is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock and Class C Common Stock, each voting separately as a class; provided, however, that for the avoidance of doubt, consideration to be paid or received by a holder of Common Stock in connection with any liquidation, dissolution or winding up pursuant to any bona fide employment, consulting, severance or similar services arrangement shall not be deemed to be a “payment” or “distribution.” In the event that the holders of shares of Class A Common Stock, Class B Common Stock or Class C Common Stock are granted rights to elect to receive one of two or more alternative forms of consideration in connection with a Change of Control Transaction, the foregoing sentence shall be deemed satisfied if holders of shares of Class A Common Stock, the holders of Class B Common Stock and the holders of shares of Class C Common Stock are granted identical election rights.
8. Conversion of the Class B Common Stock.
(a) Optional Conversion. At the option of the holder thereof, each share of Class B Common Stock shall be convertible, at any time or from time to time, into one fully paid and nonassessable share of Class A Common Stock as provided herein. Each holder of Class B Common Stock who elects to convert the same into shares of Class A Common Stock shall surrender the certificate or certificates therefor, as applicable, duly endorsed, at the office of the corporation or any transfer agent for the Class B Common Stock, and shall give written notice to the corporation at such office that such holder elects to convert the same and shall state therein the number of shares of Class B Common Stock being converted. Such notice may specify a future event or time upon which such conversion shall become effective. Thereupon, the corporation shall promptly issue and deliver at such office to such holder, or to the nominee or nominees of such holder, a certificate or certificates, as applicable, for the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to which such holder is entitled upon such conversion (or if such shares are uncertificated, register such shares in book-entry form). Such conversion shall be deemed to have been made immediately prior to the close of business on the date of such surrender of the certificate or certificates, as applicable, representing the shares of Class B Common Stock to be converted, and the person entitled to receive the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon such conversion shall be treated for all purposes as the record holder of such shares of Class A Common Stock on such date; provided that if a conversion election under this Section 8(a) of Article V is conditioned upon the occurrence of any future event or time, the holder making such election who is entitled to receive Class A Common Stock upon conversion of their Class B Common Stock shall not be deemed to have converted such shares of Class B Common Stock until immediately prior to the occurrence of such event or time.
(b) Automatic Conversion Upon Transfer. Each share of Class B Common Stock shall automatically be converted into one fully paid and nonassessable share of Class A Common Stock upon a Transfer of such share of Class B Common Stock, other than a Permitted Transfer. Such conversion shall occur automatically without the need for any further action by the holders of such shares and whether or not the certificates, as applicable, representing such shares are surrendered to the corporation or its transfer agent; provided, however, that the corporation shall not be obligated to issue certificates evidencing the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon such conversion (or register such shares of Class A Common Stock in book-entry form) unless the certificates evidencing such shares of Class B Common Stock are either delivered to the corporation or its transfer agent as provided below, or the holder notifies the corporation or its transfer agent that such certificates have been lost, stolen or destroyed and executes an agreement satisfactory to the corporation to indemnify the corporation from any loss incurred by it in connection with such certificates. Upon the occurrence of such automatic conversion of the Class B Common Stock, the holders of Class B Common Stock so converted shall surrender the certificates, as applicable, representing such shares at the office of the corporation or any transfer agent for the Class A Common Stock. Thereupon, there shall be issued and delivered to such holder promptly at such office and in its name as shown on such surrendered certificate or certificates, as applicable, a certificate or certificates (or if such shares are uncertificated, registration of such shares in book-entry form) for the number of shares of Class A Common Stock into which the shares of Class B Common Stock surrendered were convertible on the date on which such automatic conversion occurred.
(c) Automatic Conversion Upon Death. Each share of Class B Common Stock held of record by a natural person shall automatically, without any further action, convert into one fully paid and nonassessable share of Class A Common Stock upon the death of such stockholder.
(d) Automatic Conversion on the Final Conversion Date. On the Final Conversion Date (as defined below), each one (1) issued share of Class B Common Stock shall automatically, without any further action, convert into one (1) share of Class A Common Stock. Following the Final Conversion Date, the corporation may no longer issue any additional shares of Class B Common Stock.
(e) Policies and Procedures. The Board, or a committee thereof, may, from time to time, establish such policies and procedures, not in violation of applicable law or this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, relating to the conversion of shares of the Class B Common Stock into shares of Class A Common Stock as it may deem necessary or advisable. If the Board, or a committee thereof, has reason to believe that a Transfer that is not a Permitted Transfer has occurred, the Board, or a committee thereof, may request that the purported transferor furnish affidavits or other evidence to the corporation as it reasonably deems necessary to determine whether a Transfer that is not a Permitted Transfer has occurred, and if such transferor does not within thirty (30) days after the date of such request furnish sufficient (as determined by the Board or a committee thereof) evidence to the corporation (in the manner provided in the request) to enable the corporation to determine that no such Transfer that is not a Permitted Transfer has occurred, any such shares of Class B Common Stock, to the extent not previously converted, shall be automatically converted into shares of Class A Common Stock and such conversion shall thereupon be registered on the books and records of the corporation. In connection with any action of the stockholders of the corporation taken at a meeting, the stock ledger of the corporation shall be presumptive evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders and the classes of shares held by each such stockholder and the number of shares of each class held by such stockholder.
9. No Reissuance of Class B Common Stock. No share or shares of Class B Common Stock acquired by the corporation by reason of redemption, purchase, conversion or otherwise shall be reissued, and all such shares shall be cancelled, retired and eliminated from the shares that the corporation shall be authorized to issue.
10. Definitions. For purposes of this Article V, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) “Change of Control Transaction” means:
(i) the closing of the sale, transfer or other disposition of all or substantially all of (1) the assets of the corporation or (2) the assets of one or more direct or indirect subsidiaries of the corporation constituting all or substantially all of the assets of the corporation (determined on a consolidated basis with all of the corporation’s direct and indirect subsidiaries), provided that any sale, transfer or other disposition of assets exclusively between or among the corporation and any direct or indirect subsidiary or subsidiaries of the corporation shall not be deemed a “Change of Control Transaction”; or
(ii) the merger, consolidation, business combination or other similar transaction of the corporation with or into any other entity.
(b) “Disability” means, with respect to the Founder, permanent and total disability such that the Founder is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months as determined by a licensed medical practitioner.
(c) “Family Member” shall mean with respect to any Qualified Stockholder who is a natural person, the spouse, parents, grandparents, lineal descendants, siblings and lineal descendants of siblings (in each case whether by blood relation or adoption) of such Qualified Stockholder.
(d) “Final Conversion Date” means 5:00 p.m. in New York City, New York on the earliest to occur of (i) the first date on which the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock held by the Founder and his Permitted Transferees represent less than seven percent (7%) of the aggregate number of shares of the then outstanding Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock on an as-converted basis, (ii) the date specified by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B Common Stock or (iii) date of the Founder’s death or Disability.
(e) “Founder” means Anthony Casalena.
(f) “Initial Public Event” means the effectiveness of a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) that registers shares of the corporation’s Class A Common Stock in a ‘direct listing’, where the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock are each a “covered security” as described in Section 18(b) of the Securities Act.
(g) “Permitted Entity” shall mean, any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, foundation (including a private foundation), donor-advised fund, or supporting organization within the meaning of Section 509(a)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in which a Qualified Stockholder directly, or indirectly through one or more Permitted Transferees, either (i) owns shares, partnership interests or membership interests, as applicable, with sufficient voting power in the corporation, partnership, limited liability company, foundation (including a private foundation), donor-advised fund, or supporting organization, as the case may be, or (ii) otherwise has legally enforceable rights, in each case such that the Qualified Stockholder retains exclusive Voting Control with respect to all shares of Class B Common Stock held of record by such corporation, partnership, limited liability company, foundation (including a private foundation), donor-advised fund, or supporting organization, as the case may be.
(h) “Permitted Transfer” shall mean, and be restricted to, any Transfer of a share of Class B Common Stock, as set forth below, in each case so long as such Qualified Stockholder retains sufficient Voting Control, as the case may be, or otherwise has legally enforceable rights, such that the Qualified Stockholder retains exclusive Voting Control with respect to all shares of Class B Common Stock held of record by the applicable transferee:
(i) by a Qualified Stockholder to the trustee of a Permitted Trust of such Qualified Stockholder;
(ii) by a Permitted Trust of a Qualified Stockholder, to such Qualified Stockholder or the trustee of any other Permitted Trust of such Qualified Stockholder;
(iii) by a Qualified Stockholder to a Family Member of such Qualified Stockholder;
(iv) by a Family Member of a Qualified Stockholder, to such Qualified Stockholder;
(v) by a Qualified Stockholder to any Permitted Entity of such Qualified Stockholder; or
(vi) by a Permitted Entity of a Qualified Stockholder, to such Qualified Stockholder or any other Permitted Entity of such Qualified Stockholder.
(i) “Permitted Transferee” shall mean a transferee of shares of Class B Common Stock received in a Transfer that constitutes a Permitted Transfer.
(j) “Permitted Trust” shall mean a bona fide trust for the benefit of a Qualified Stockholder or Family Members of the Qualified Stockholder, if such Transfer does not involve any payment of cash, securities, property or other consideration (other than an interest in such trust) to the Qualified Stockholder, or a trust under the terms of which such Qualified Stockholder has retained a “qualified interest” within the meaning of §2702(b)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code and/or a reversionary interest, in each case so long as the Qualified Stockholder has exclusive Voting Control with respect to the shares of Class B Common Stock held by such trust.
(k) “Qualified Stockholder” shall mean (i) the registered holder of a share of Class B Common Stock immediately prior to the Initial Public Event; (ii) the initial registered holder of any shares of Class B Common Stock that are originally issued by the corporation; and (iii) a Permitted Transferee.
(l) “Transfer” of a share of Class B Common Stock shall mean any direct or direct sale, assignment, transfer, conveyance, hypothecation or other transfer or disposition of such share or any legal or beneficial interest in such share, whether or not for value and whether voluntary or involuntary or by operation of law, including, without limitation, a transfer of a share of Class B Common Stock to a broker or other nominee (regardless of whether there is a corresponding change in beneficial ownership), or the transfer of, or entering into a binding agreement with respect to, Voting Control over such share by proxy or otherwise, such that the previous holders of such voting power no longer retain exclusive Voting Control with respect to the shares of Class B Common Stock held by such holder; provided, however, that the following shall not be considered a “Transfer” within the meaning of this Article V:
(i) the granting of a revocable proxy to officers or directors of the corporation at the request of the Board in connection with actions to be taken at an annual or special meeting of stockholders;
(ii) entering into a voting trust, agreement or arrangement (with or without granting a proxy) solely with stockholders who are holders of Class B Common Stock that (A) is disclosed either in a Schedule 13D or Schedule 13G filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission or in writing to the Secretary of the corporation, (B) either has a term not exceeding one (1) year or is terminable by the holder of the shares subject thereto at any time and (C) does not involve any payment of cash, securities, property or other consideration to the holder of the shares subject thereto other than the mutual promise to vote shares in a designated manner;
(iii) the pledge of shares of Class B Common Stock by a stockholder that creates a mere security interest in such shares pursuant to a bona fide loan or indebtedness transaction for so long as such stockholder continues to exercise Voting Control over such pledged shares; provided, however, that a foreclosure on such shares or other similar action by the pledgee shall constitute a “Transfer” unless such foreclosure or similar action qualifies as a “Permitted Transfer”;
(iv) entering into, or reaching an agreement, arrangement or understanding regarding, a support, voting, tender or similar agreement or arrangement (with or without granting a proxy) in connection with a Change of Control Transaction, liquidation or dissolution or winding up of the corporation approved by the Board; or
(v) entering into a trading plan pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with a broker or other nominee; provided, however, that a sale of such shares of Class B Common Stock pursuant to such plan shall constitute a “Transfer” at the time of such sale.
A “Transfer” shall also be deemed to have occurred with respect to a share of Class B Common Stock beneficially held by (i) an entity that is a Permitted Entity, if there occurs any act or circumstance that causes such entity to no longer be a Permitted Entity or (ii) an entity that is a Qualified Stockholder, if there occurs a Transfer on a cumulative basis, from and after November 9, 2017, of a majority of the voting power of the voting securities of such entity or any direct or indirect Parent of such entity, other than a Transfer to parties that were, as of November 9, 2017, holders of voting securities of any such entity or Parent of such entity. “Parent” of an entity shall mean any entity that directly or indirectly owns or controls a majority of the voting power of the voting securities of such entity.
(m) “Voting Control” shall mean, with respect to a share of Class B Common Stock, the power (whether exclusive or shared) to vote or direct the voting of such share by proxy, voting agreement or otherwise.
Article VI
1. Rights of Preferred Stock. The Board is hereby empowered, without any action or vote by the stockholders (except as may otherwise be provided herein or by the terms of any class or series of Preferred Stock then outstanding), to authorize by resolution or resolutions from time to time the issuance of one or more classes or series of Preferred Stock and to fix the designations, powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative, participating, optional or other rights, if any, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, if any, with respect to each such class or series of Preferred Stock and the number of shares constituting each such class or series, and to increase or decrease the number of shares of any such class or series to the extent permitted by the General Corporation Law. The powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other rights of, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of each series of Preferred Stock, if any, may differ from those of any and all other classes or series at any time outstanding.
2. Authorized Shares. Except as required by applicable law, the number of authorized shares of each class of Preferred Stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of shares of stock of this corporation representing a majority of the votes represented by all outstanding shares of Common Stock entitled to vote, irrespective of the provisions of Section 242(b)(2) of the General Corporation Law.
Article VII
1. Board Power. The business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board.
2. Board Size. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock, the number of directors that shall constitute the Board shall be fixed in accordance with the Bylaws.
3. Removal. Except as otherwise required by applicable law and subject to the rights, if any, of holders of any series of Preferred Stock, any director or the entire Board may be removed from office at any time, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the corporation entitled to vote in the election of directors, voting together as a single class.
4. Vacancies. Vacancies on the Board resulting from death, resignation, removal or otherwise and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the number of directors may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office (although less than a quorum), by the sole remaining director or as otherwise provided in the Bylaws. Each director so elected shall be elected to hold office until such director’s term expires and a successor is duly elected and qualified or until such director’s death, resignation or removal.
5. Written Ballot. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless otherwise provided in the Bylaws.
6. No Cumulative Voting. No stockholder will be permitted to cumulate votes at any election of directors.
Article VIII
1. Annual Meetings. An annual meeting of stockholders for the election of directors and for the transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting shall be held at such place, on such date, and at such time as the Board shall determine.
2. Special Meetings. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock, special meetings of stockholders for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time only by a majority of the Board, the chairperson of the Board or the Chief Executive Officer of the corporation, and may not be called by any other person or persons. Business transacted at any special meeting of stockholders shall be limited to the purpose or purposes stated in the notice of meeting.
3. Stockholder Action by Written Consent. Any action required or permitted to be taken by the stockholders of the corporation must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders of the corporation, and the ability of the stockholders to consent in writing to the taking of any action is hereby specifically denied.
Article IX
A director of this corporation shall not be personally liable to this corporation or any of its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director; provided, however, that to the extent required by the provisions of Section 102(b)(7) of the General Corporation Law or any successor statute, or any other laws of the State of Delaware, this provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a director (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to this corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the General Corporation Law, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived any improper personal benefit. If the General Corporation Law is amended after approval by the stockholders of this Article IX to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of this corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law as so amended.
Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article IX by the stockholders of this corporation shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director of this corporation existing at the time of, or increase the liability of any director of this corporation with respect to any acts or omissions of such director occurring prior to, such repeal or modification.
Article X
1. Board of Directors. The Board is expressly empowered to adopt, amend or repeal the Bylaws, subject to any restrictions that may be set forth in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation.
2. Stockholders. The stockholders may not adopt, amend, alter or repeal the Bylaws, or adopt any provision inconsistent therewith, unless such action is approved, in addition to any other vote required by this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds in voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the corporation entitled to vote thereon.
3. Amendments. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, or the fact that a lesser percentage may be specified by law, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds in voting power of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the corporation entitled to vote thereon shall be required to amend or repeal, or to adopt any provision inconsistent with, this Article X.
Article XI
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this corporation shall provide indemnification of (and advancement of expenses to) directors, officers and agents of this corporation (and any other persons to which General Corporation Law permits this corporation to provide indemnification) through provisions in the Bylaws, agreements with such agents or other persons, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, in excess of the indemnification and advancement otherwise permitted by Section 145 of the General Corporation Law, subject only to limits created by applicable General Corporation Law (statutory or non-statutory), with respect to actions for breach of duty to this corporation, its stockholders, and others.
Any amendment, repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article XI shall not adversely affect any right or protection of a director, officer, agent, or other person existing at the time of, or increase the liability of any director of this corporation with respect to any acts or omissions of such director, officer or agent occurring prior to, such amendment, repeal or modification.
Article XII
Unless the corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum (an “Alternative Forum Consent”), the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the corporation, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a duty (including any fiduciary duty) owed by any current or former director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the corporation to the corporation or the corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against the corporation or any current or former director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the corporation arising out of or relating to any provision of the General Corporation Law or this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against the corporation or any current or former director, officer, stockholder, employee or agent of the corporation governed by the internal affairs doctrine of the State of Delaware; provided, however, that, in the event that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction over any such action or proceeding, the sole and exclusive forum for such action or proceeding shall be another state or federal court located within the State of Delaware, in each such case, unless the Court of Chancery (or such other state or federal court located within the State of Delaware, as applicable) has dismissed a prior action by the same plaintiff asserting the same claims because such court lacked personal jurisdiction over an indispensable party named as a defendant therein. Unless the corporation gives an Alternative Forum Consent, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Failure to enforce the foregoing provisions would cause the corporation irreparable harm and the corporation shall be entitled to equitable relief, including injunctive relief and specific performance, to enforce the foregoing provisions. Any person or entity purchasing, otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of capital stock of the corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of this Article XII. The existence of any prior Alternative Forum Consent shall not act as a waiver of the corporation’s ongoing consent right as set forth above in this Article XII with respect to any current or future actions or claims.
Article XIII
Except as otherwise provided in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this reservation.
* * *
THIRD: The foregoing amendment and restatement was approved by the holders of the requisite number of shares of said corporation in accordance with Section 228 of the General Corporation Law.
FOURTH: That said Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which restates and integrates and further amends the provisions of this corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation, has been duly adopted in accordance with Sections 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law.
In Witness Whereof, this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation has been executed by a duly authorized officer of this corporation on the date first set forth above.
By: | /s/ Anthony Casalena | |
Anthony Casalena, Chief Executive Officer |
Signature Page to Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Exhibit 4.3
AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
OF
SQUARESPACE, INC.
A Delaware Corporation
May 10, 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||
ARTICLE I
OFFICES |
||
Section 1. | Registered Office | 1 |
Section 2. | Other Offices | 1 |
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS |
||
Section 1. | Place of Meetings | 1 |
Section 2. | Annual Meetings | 1 |
Section 3. | Special Meetings. | 1 |
Section 4. | Notice | 2 |
Section 5. | Adjournments and Postponements | 2 |
Section 6. | Quorum | 2 |
Section 7. | Voting | 2 |
Section 8. | Proxies | 3 |
Section 9. | List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote | 3 |
Section 10. | Record Date | 4 |
Section 11. | Stock Ledger | 4 |
Section 12. | Conduct of Meetings | 5 |
Section 13. | Inspectors of Election | 5 |
Section 14. | Nature of Business at Meetings of Stockholders | 5 |
Section 15. | Nomination of Directors | 7 |
ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS |
||
Section 1. | Number and Election of Directors | 9 |
Section 2. | Vacancies | 9 |
Section 3. | Duties and Powers | 9 |
Section 4. | Meetings | 9 |
Section 5. | Organization | 9 |
Section 6. | Resignations and Removals of Directors | 9 |
Section 7. | Quorum | 10 |
Section 8. | Actions of the Board by Written Consent | 10 |
Section 9. | Meetings by Means of Conference Telephone | 10 |
Section 10. | Committees | 10 |
Section 11. | Subcommittees | 11 |
Section 12. | Compensation | 11 |
Section 13. | Interested Directors | 11 |
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ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS |
||
Section 1. | General | 12 |
Section 2. | Election | 12 |
Section 3. | Voting Securities Owned by the Corporation | 12 |
Section 4. | Chairperson of the Board of Directors | 12 |
Section 5. | President | 12 |
Section 6. | Vice Presidents | 12 |
Section 7. | Secretary | 13 |
Section 8. | Treasurer | 13 |
Section 9. | Assistant Secretaries | 13 |
Section 10. | Assistant Treasurers | 13 |
Section 11. | Other Officers | 13 |
ARTICLE V
STOCK |
||
Section 1. | Shares of Stock | 14 |
Section 2. | Signatures | 14 |
Section 3. | Lost Certificates | 14 |
Section 4. | Transfers | 14 |
Section 5. | Dividend Record Date | 14 |
Section 6. | Record Owners | 14 |
Section 7. | Transfer and Registry Agents | 14 |
ARTICLE VI
NOTICES |
||
Section 1. | Notices | 15 |
Section 2. | Waivers of Notice | 15 |
ARTICLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS |
||
Section 1. | Dividends | 15 |
Section 2. | Disbursements | 15 |
Section 3. | Fiscal Year | 15 |
Section 4. | Corporate Seal | 15 |
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ARTICLE VIII
INDEMNIFICATION |
||
Section 1. | Indemnification of Officers and Directors | 16 |
Section 2. | Advance of Expenses | 16 |
Section 3. | Non-Exclusivity of Rights | 16 |
Section 4. | Indemnification Contracts | 16 |
Section 5. | Insurance | 16 |
Section 6. | Effect of Amendment | 16 |
ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS |
||
Section 1. | Amendments | 17 |
Section 2. | Entire Board of Directors | 17 |
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AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS
OF
SQUARESPACE, INC.
(hereinafter called the “Corporation”)
May 10, 2021
ARTICLE I
OFFICES
Section 1. Registered Office. The registered office of the Corporation shall be 3500 South DuPont Highway, County of Kent, Dover, DE USA 19901.
Section 2. Other Offices. The Corporation may also have offices at such other places, both within and without the State of Delaware, as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine.
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS
Section 1. Place of Meetings. Meetings of the stockholders for the election of directors or for any other purpose shall be held at such time and place, either within or without the State of Delaware, as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may, in its sole discretion, determine that a meeting of the stockholders shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication in the manner authorized by Section 211 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”).
Section 2. Annual Meetings. The Annual Meeting of Stockholders for the election of directors shall be held on such date and at such time as shall be designated from time to time by the Board of Directors. Any other proper business may be transacted at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders.
Section 3. Special Meetings. Unless otherwise required by law or by the certificate of incorporation of the Corporation, as amended and restated from time to time (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), Special Meetings of Stockholders, for any purpose or purposes, may only be called by (i) a majority of the Board of Directors, (ii) the Chairperson of the Board of Directors or (iii) the President, and may not be called by any other person or persons. Such request shall state the purpose or purposes of the proposed meeting. At a Special Meeting of Stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall be specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto).
Section 4. Notice. Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a notice of the meeting, in the form of a writing or electronic transmission, shall be given which shall state the place, if any, date and hour of the meeting, the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such meeting, the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting, if such date is different from the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of such meeting and, in the case of a Special Meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. Unless otherwise required by law, notice of any meeting shall be given not less than ten (10) nor more than sixty (60) days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of such meeting.
Section 5. Adjournments and Postponements. Any meeting of the stockholders may be adjourned or postponed from time to time by the chairperson of such meeting or by the Board of Directors, without the need for approval thereof by stockholders to reconvene or convene, respectively at the same or some other place. Notice need not be given of any such adjourned or postponed meeting if the time and place, if any, thereof, and the means of remote communications, if any, by which stockholders and proxy holders may be deemed to be present in person and vote at such adjourned or postponed meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken or, with respect to a postponed meeting, are publicly announced. At the adjourned or postponed meeting, the Corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment or postponement is for more than thirty (30) days, notice of the adjourned or postponed meeting in accordance with the requirements of Section 4 hereof shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If, after the adjournment or postponement, a new record date for stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned or postponed meeting, the Board of Directors shall fix a new record date for notice of such adjourned or postponed meeting in accordance with Section 11 hereof, and shall give notice of the adjourned or postponed meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such adjourned or postponed meeting as of the record date fixed for notice of such adjourned or postponed meeting.
Section 6. Quorum. Unless otherwise required by the DGCL or other applicable law or the Certificate of Incorporation, the holders of a majority of the voting power of the Corporation’s capital stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote thereat, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum at all meetings of the stockholders for the transaction of business. A quorum, once established, shall not be broken by the withdrawal of enough votes to leave less than a quorum. If, however, such quorum shall not be present or represented at any meeting of the stockholders, the stockholders entitled to vote thereat, present in person or represented by proxy, shall have power to adjourn the meeting from time to time, in the manner provided in Section 5 hereof, until a quorum shall be present or represented.
Section 7. Voting. Unless otherwise required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, or permitted by the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange, any question brought before any meeting of the stockholders, other than the election of directors, shall be decided by the vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the Corporation’s capital stock present at the meeting in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such question, voting as a single class. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, and subject to Section 11 of this Article II, each stockholder represented at a meeting of the stockholders shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote for each share of the capital stock entitled to vote thereat held by such stockholder. Such votes may be cast in person or by proxy as provided in Section 8 of this Article II. The Board of Directors, in its discretion, or the chairperson of a meeting of the stockholders, in his or her discretion, may require that any votes cast at such meeting shall be cast by written ballot.
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Section 8. Proxies. Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of the stockholders may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted upon after three years from its date, unless such proxy provides for a longer period. Without limiting the manner in which a stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy, the following shall constitute a valid means by which a stockholder may grant such authority:
(a) A stockholder may execute a document, which includes handwritten, typed, printed or similar instruments and electronic transmissions, authorizing another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy. Execution may be accomplished in the manner permitted by the DGCL, including by electronic signature, by the stockholder or such stockholder’s authorized officer, director, employee or agent.
(b) A stockholder may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder as proxy by transmitting or authorizing the transmission of an electronic transmission to the person who will be the holder of the proxy or to a proxy solicitation firm, proxy support service organization or like agent duly authorized by the person who will be the holder of the proxy to receive such transmission, provided that any such transmission must either set forth or be submitted with information from which it can be determined that the transmission was authorized by the stockholder. If it is determined that such transmissions are valid, the inspectors or, if there are no inspectors, such other persons making that determination shall specify the information on which they relied.
(c) Any copy or other reliable reproduction of the document (including any electronic transmission) authorizing another person or persons to act as proxy for a stockholder may be substituted or used in lieu of the original document for any and all purposes for which the original document could be used; provided, however, that such copy or other reproduction shall be a complete reproduction of the entire original document.
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Section 9. List of Stockholders Entitled to Vote. The Corporation shall prepare, at least ten (10) days before every meeting of the stockholders, a complete list of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting; provided, however, if the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote is less than ten (10) days before the meeting date, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the tenth (10th) day before the meeting date. Such list shall be arranged in alphabetical order, and show the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder; provided, that the Corporation shall not be required to include electronic mail addresses or other electronic contact information on such list. Such list shall be open to the examination of any stockholder for any purpose germane to the meeting for a period of at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting (i) on a reasonably accessible electronic network, provided that the information required to gain access to such list is provided with the notice of the meeting, or (ii) during ordinary business hours, at the principal place of business of the Corporation. In the event that the Corporation determines to make the list available on an electronic network, the Corporation may take reasonable steps to ensure that such information is available only to stockholders of the Corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then a list of stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting shall be produced and kept at the time and place of the meeting during the whole time thereof and may be examined by any stockholder who is present. If the meeting is to be held solely by means of remote communication, then the list shall also be open to the examination of any stockholder during the whole time of the meeting on a reasonably accessible electronic network, and the information required to access such list shall be provided with the notice of the meeting.
Section 10. Record Date. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of any meeting of the stockholders or any adjournment thereof, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted by the Board of Directors, and which record date shall not be more than sixty (60) nor less than ten (10) days before the date of such meeting. If the Board of Directors so fixes a date, such date shall also be the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to vote at such meeting unless the Board of Directors determines, at the time it fixes such record date, that a later date on or before the date of the meeting shall be the date for making such determination. If no record date is fixed by the Board of Directors, the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at a meeting of the stockholders shall be at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which notice is given, or, if notice is waived, at the close of business on the day next preceding the day on which the meeting is held. A determination of stockholders of record entitled to notice of or to vote at a meeting of the stockholders shall apply to any adjournment of the meeting; provided, however, that the Board of Directors may fix a new record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting, and in such case shall also fix, as the record date for stockholders entitled to notice of such adjourned meeting, the same or an earlier date as that fixed for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the adjourned meeting in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this Section 10.
Section 11. Stock Ledger. The stock ledger of the Corporation shall be the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the list of stockholders required by Section 11 of this Article II or the books and records of the Corporation, or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders. As used herein, the stock ledger of the Corporation shall refer to one (1) or more records administered by or on behalf of the Corporation in which the names of all of the Corporation’s stockholders of record, the address and number of shares registered in the name of each such stockholder, and all issuances and transfer of stock of the Corporation are recorded in accordance with Section 224 of the DGCL.
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Section 12. Conduct of Meetings. The Board of Directors of the Corporation may adopt by resolution such rules and regulations for the conduct of any meeting of the stockholders as it shall deem appropriate. Meetings of stockholders shall be presided over by the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, if there shall be one, or in his or her absence, or there shall not be a Chairperson of the Board of Directors or in his or her absence, the President. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to appoint a temporary chairperson to serve at any meeting of the stockholders if the Chairperson of the Board of Directors or the President is unable to do so for any reason. Except to the extent inconsistent with any rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Directors, the chairperson of any meeting of the stockholders shall have the right and authority to prescribe such rules, regulations and procedures and to do all such acts as, in the judgment of such chairperson, are appropriate for the proper conduct of the meeting. Such rules, regulations or procedures, whether adopted by the Board of Directors or prescribed by the chairperson of the meeting, may include, without limitation, the following: (i) the establishment of an agenda or order of business for the meeting; (ii) the determination of when the polls shall open and close for any given matter to be voted on at the meeting; (iii) rules and procedures for maintaining order at the meeting and the safety of those present; (iv) limitations on attendance at or participation in the meeting to stockholders of record of the Corporation, their duly authorized and constituted proxies or such other persons as the chairperson of the meeting shall determine; (v) restrictions on entry to the meeting after the time fixed for the commencement thereof; and (vi) limitations on the time allotted to questions or comments by stockholders.
Section 13. Inspectors of Election. In advance of any meeting of the stockholders, the Board of Directors, by resolution, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors or the President shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting and make a written report thereof. One or more other persons may be designated as alternate inspectors to replace any inspector who fails to act. If no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of the stockholders, the chairperson of the meeting shall appoint one or more inspectors to act at the meeting. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, inspectors may be officers, employees or agents of the Corporation. Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of the duties of inspector, shall take and sign an oath faithfully to execute the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of such inspector’s ability. The inspector shall have the duties prescribed by law and shall take charge of the polls and, when the vote is completed, shall execute and deliver to the Corporation a certificate of the result of the vote taken and of such other facts as may be required by applicable law.
Section 14. Nature of Business at Meetings of Stockholders. Only such business (other than nominations for election to the Board of Directors, which must comply with the provisions of Section 15 of this Article II) may be transacted at an Annual Meeting of Stockholders as is either (a) specified in the notice of meeting (or any supplement thereto) given by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof), (b) otherwise properly brought before the Annual Meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof), or (c) otherwise properly brought before the Annual Meeting by any stockholder of the Corporation (i) who is a stockholder of record on the date of the giving of the notice provided for in this Section 14 of this Article II and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at such Annual Meeting and (ii) who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 14 of this Article II.
(a) In addition to any other applicable requirements, for business to be properly brought before an Annual Meeting by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary of the Corporation.
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(b) To be timely, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must be delivered to or be mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not less than one hundred twenty (120) days nor more than one hundred fifty (150) days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding Annual Meeting of Stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that the Annual Meeting is called for a date that is not within twenty-five (25) days before or after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder in order to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which such notice of the date of the Annual Meeting was mailed or such public disclosure of the date of the Annual Meeting was made, whichever first occurs. In no event shall the adjournment or postponement of an Annual Meeting, or the public announcement of such an adjournment or postponement, commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.
(c) To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must set forth the following information: (a) as to each matter such stockholder proposes to bring before the Annual Meeting, a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the Annual Meeting and the proposed text of any proposal regarding such business (including the text of any resolutions proposed for consideration and, if such business includes a proposal to amend these bylaws, the text of the proposed amendment), and the reasons for conducting such business at the Annual Meeting, and (b) as to the stockholder giving notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the proposal is being made, (i) the name and address of such person, (ii) (A) the class or series and number of all shares of stock of the Corporation which are owned beneficially or of record by such person and any affiliates or associates of such person, (B) the name of each nominee holder of shares of all stock of the Corporation owned beneficially but not of record by such person or any affiliates or associates of such person, and the number of such shares of stock of the Corporation held by each such nominee holder, (C) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest or other transaction has been entered into by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation and (D) whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares of stock of the Corporation) has been made by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of stock price changes for, such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation; (iii) a description of all agreements, arrangements, or understandings (whether written or oral) between or among such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, and any other person or persons (including their names) in connection with or relating to (A) the Corporation or (B) the proposal, including any material interest in, or anticipated benefit from the proposal to such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, (iv) a representation that the stockholder giving notice intends to appear in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting to bring such business before the meeting; and (v) any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filing required to be made in connection with the solicitation of proxies by such person with respect to the proposed business to be brought by such person before the Annual Meeting pursuant to Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(d) A stockholder providing notice of business proposed to be brought before an Annual Meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 14 of this Article II shall be true and correct as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of the Annual Meeting and such update and supplement shall be delivered to or be mailed and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of the Annual Meeting.
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(e) No business shall be conducted at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders except business brought before the Annual Meeting in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 14 of this Article II; provided, however, that, once business has been properly brought before the Annual Meeting in accordance with such procedures, nothing in this Section 14 of this Article II shall be deemed to preclude discussion by any stockholder of any such business. If the chairperson of an Annual Meeting determines that business was not properly brought before the Annual Meeting in accordance with the foregoing procedures, the chairperson shall declare to the meeting that the business was not properly brought before the meeting and such business shall not be transacted.
(f) Nothing contained in this Section 14 of this Article II shall be deemed to affect any rights of stockholders to request inclusion of proposals in the Corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act (or any successor provision of law).
Section 15. Nomination of Directors. Only persons who are nominated in accordance with the following procedures shall be eligible for election as directors of the Corporation, except as may be otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation with respect to the right of holders of preferred stock of the Corporation to nominate and elect a specified number of directors in certain circumstances. Nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors may be made at any Annual Meeting of Stockholders, or at any Special Meeting of Stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, (a) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or any duly authorized committee thereof) or (b) by any stockholder of the Corporation (i) who is a stockholder of record on the date of the giving of the notice provided for in this Section 15 of this Article II and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of and to vote at such Annual Meeting or Special Meeting and (ii) who complies with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 15 of this Article II.
(a) In addition to any other applicable requirements, for a nomination to be made by a stockholder, such stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the Secretary of the Corporation.
(b) To be timely, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must be delivered to or be mailed and received at the principal executive offices of the Corporation (a) in the case of an Annual Meeting, not less than one hundred twenty (120) days nor more than one hundred fifty (150) days prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding Annual Meeting of Stockholders; provided, however, that in the event that the Annual Meeting is called for a date that is not within twenty-five (25) days before or after such anniversary date, notice by the stockholder in order to be timely must be so received not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which such notice of the date of the Annual Meeting was mailed or such public disclosure of the date of the Annual Meeting was made, whichever first occurs; and (b) in the case of a Special Meeting of Stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors, not later than the close of business on the tenth (10th) day following the day on which notice of the date of the Special Meeting was mailed or public disclosure of the date of the Special Meeting was made, whichever first occurs. In no event shall the adjournment or postponement of an Annual Meeting or a Special Meeting called for the purpose of electing directors, or the public announcement of such an adjournment or postponement, commence a new time period (or extend any time period) for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described above.
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(c) To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the Secretary must set forth the following information: (a) as to each person whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election as a director (i) the name, age, business address and residence address of such person, (ii) the principal occupation or employment of such person, (iii) (A) the class or series and number of all shares of stock of the Corporation which are owned beneficially or of record by such person and any affiliates or associates of such person, (B) the name of each nominee holder of shares of all stock of the Corporation owned beneficially but not of record by such person or any affiliates or associates of such person, and the number of such shares of stock of the Corporation held by each such nominee holder, (C) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest or other transaction has been entered into by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation and (D) whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares of stock of the Corporation) has been made by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of stock price changes for, such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation, (iv) such person’s written representation and agreement that such person (A) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding with, and has not given any commitment or assurance to, any person or entity as to how such person, if elected as a director of the Corporation, will act or vote on any issue or question, (B) is not and will not become a party to any agreement, arrangement or understanding with any person or entity other than the Corporation with respect to any direct or indirect compensation, reimbursement or indemnification in connection with service or action as a director of the Corporation that has not been disclosed to the Corporation in such representation and agreement and (C) in such person’s individual capacity, would be in compliance, if elected as a director of the Corporation, and will comply with, all applicable publicly disclosed confidentiality, corporate governance, conflict of interest, Regulation FD, code of conduct and ethics, and stock ownership and trading policies and guidelines of the Corporation and (v) any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with solicitations of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder; and (b) as to the stockholder giving the notice, and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is being made, (i) the name and record address of the stockholder giving the notice and the name and principal place of business of such beneficial owner; (ii) (A) the class or series and number of all shares of stock of the Corporation which are owned beneficially or of record by such person and any affiliates or associates of such person, (B) the name of each nominee holder of shares of the Corporation owned beneficially but not of record by such person or any affiliates or associates of such person, and the number of shares of stock of the Corporation held by each such nominee holder, (C) whether and the extent to which any derivative instrument, swap, option, warrant, short interest, hedge or profit interest or other transaction has been entered into by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation and (D) whether and the extent to which any other transaction, agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares of stock of the Corporation) has been made by or on behalf of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, the effect or intent of any of the foregoing being to mitigate loss to, or to manage risk or benefit of stock price changes for, such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, or to increase or decrease the voting power or pecuniary or economic interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, with respect to stock of the Corporation; (iii) a description of (A) all agreements, arrangements, or understandings (whether written or oral) between such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, and any proposed nominee, or any affiliates or associates of such proposed nominee, (B) all agreements, arrangements, or understandings (whether written or oral) between such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, and any other person or persons (including their names) pursuant to which the nomination(s) are being made by such person, or otherwise relating to the Corporation or their ownership of capital stock of the Corporation, and (C) any material interest of such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person, in such nomination, including any anticipated benefit therefrom to such person, or any affiliates or associates of such person; (iv) a representation that the stockholder giving notice intends to appear in person or by proxy at the Annual Meeting or Special Meeting to nominate the persons named in its notice; and (v) any other information relating to such person that would be required to be disclosed in a proxy statement or other filings required to be made in connection with the solicitation of proxies for election of directors pursuant to Section 14 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Such notice must be accompanied by a written consent of each proposed nominee to being named as a nominee and to serve as a director if elected.
(d) A stockholder providing notice of any nomination proposed to be made at an Annual Meeting or Special Meeting shall further update and supplement such notice, if necessary, so that the information provided or required to be provided in such notice pursuant to this Section 15 of this Article II shall be true and correct as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of the Annual Meeting or Special Meeting, and such update and supplement shall be delivered to or be mailed and received by the Secretary at the principal executive offices of the Corporation not later than five (5) business days after the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to receive notice of such Annual Meeting or Special Meeting.
(e) No person shall be eligible for election as a director of the Corporation unless nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 15 of this Article II. If the chairman of the meeting determines that a nomination was not made in accordance with the foregoing procedures, the chairman shall declare to the meeting that the nomination was defective and such defective nomination shall be disregarded.
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ARTICLE III
DIRECTORS
Section 1. Number and Election of Directors. The Board of Directors shall consist of not less than one nor more than twelve members, each of whom shall be a natural person, the exact number of which shall be fixed by the Board of Directors. Except as provided in Section 2 of this Article III, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at each Annual Meeting of Stockholders and each director so elected shall hold office until the next Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until such director’s successor is duly elected and qualified, or until such director’s earlier death, resignation or removal. Directors need not be stockholders.
Section 2. Vacancies. Unless otherwise required by law or the Certificate of Incorporation, vacancies on the Board of Directors or any committee thereof resulting from the death, resignation or removal of a director, or from an increase in the number of directors constituting the Board of Directors or such committee or otherwise, may be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, though less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. The directors so chosen shall, in the case of the Board of Directors, hold office until the next annual election and until their successors are duly elected and qualified, or until their earlier death, resignation or removal and, in the case of any committee of the Board of Directors, shall hold office until their successors are duly appointed by the Board of Directors or until their earlier death, resignation or removal.
Section 3. Duties and Powers. The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors which may exercise all such powers of the Corporation except as may be otherwise provided in the DGCL, the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws or required by the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange.
Section 4. Meetings. The Board of Directors and any committee thereof may hold meetings, both regular and special, either within or without the State of Delaware. Regular meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof may be held without notice at such time and at such place as may from time to time be determined by the Board of Directors or such committee, respectively. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, if there be one, or the President. Notice of any special meeting stating the place, date and hour of the meeting shall be given to each director (or, in the case of a committee, to each member of such committee) not less than twenty-four hours before the date of the meeting, by telephone, or in the form of a writing or electronic transmission, or on such shorter notice as the person or persons calling such meeting may deem necessary or appropriate in the circumstances.
Section 5. Organization. At each meeting of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors or the chairperson of such committee, as the case may be, or, in his or her absence or if there be none, a director chosen by a majority of the directors present, shall act as chairperson of such meeting. Except as provided below, the Secretary of the Corporation shall act as secretary at each meeting of the Board of Directors and of each committee thereof. In case the Secretary shall be absent from any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof, an Assistant Secretary shall perform the duties of secretary at such meeting; and in the absence from any such meeting of the Secretary and all the Assistant Secretaries, the chairperson of the meeting may appoint any person to act as secretary of the meeting. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the members of each committee of the Board of Directors may appoint any person to act as secretary of any meeting of such committee and the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary of the Corporation may, but need not if such committee so elects, serve in such capacity.
Section 6. Resignations and Removals of Directors. Any director of the Corporation may resign from the Board of Directors or any committee thereof at any time, by giving notice in writing or by electronic transmission to the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, if there be one, the President or the Secretary of the Corporation and, in the case of a committee, to the chairperson of such committee, if there be one. Such resignation shall take effect when delivered or, if such resignation specifies a later effective time or an effective time, determined upon the happening of an event or events, in which case, such resignation takes effect upon such effective time. Unless otherwise specified in such resignation, the acceptance of such resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. A resignation which is conditioned upon the director failing to receive a specified vote for reelection as a director may provide that it is irrevocable. Except as otherwise required by applicable law and subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of shares of preferred stock then outstanding, any director or the entire Board of Directors may be removed from office at any time, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority in voting power of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote in the election of directors. Any director serving on a committee of the Board of Directors may be removed from such committee at any time by the Board of Directors.
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Section 7. Quorum. Except as otherwise required by law, or the Certificate of Incorporation or the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange, at all meetings of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, a majority of the entire Board of Directors or a majority of the directors constituting such committee, as the case may be, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and the vote of a majority of the directors or committee members, as applicable, present at any meeting at which there is a quorum shall be the act of the Board of Directors or such committee, as applicable. If a quorum shall not be present at any meeting of the Board of Directors or any committee thereof, the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting of the time and place of the adjourned meeting, until a quorum shall be present.
Section 8. Actions of the Board by Written Consent. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Board of Directors or of any committee thereof may be taken without a meeting, if all the members of the Board of Directors or such committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission. Any person, whether or not then a director, may provide, through instruction to an agent or otherwise, that a consent to action will be effective at a future time (including a time determined upon the happening of an event) no later than sixty (60) days after such instruction is given or such provision is made and such consent shall be deemed to have been given at such effective time so long as such person is then a director and did not revoke the consent prior to such time. Any such consent shall be revocable prior to its becoming effective. After an action is taken, the consent or consents relating thereto shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Board of Directors, or the committee thereof, in the same paper or electronic form as the minutes are maintained.
Section 9. Meetings by Means of Conference Telephone. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, members of the Board of Directors of the Corporation, or any committee thereof, may participate in a meeting of the Board of Directors or such committee by means of a conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and participation in a meeting pursuant to this Section 9 shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.
Section 10. Committees. The Board of Directors may designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the Corporation. Each member of a committee must meet the requirements for membership, if any, imposed by applicable law and the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange. The Board of Directors may designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of any such committee. Subject to the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange, in the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, and in the absence of a designation by the Board of Directors of an alternate member to replace the absent or disqualified member, the member or members thereof present at any meeting and not disqualified from voting, whether or not such member or members constitute a quorum, may unanimously appoint another qualified member of the Board of Directors to act at the meeting in the place of any absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent permitted by law and provided in the resolution establishing such committee, shall have and may exercise all the powers and authority of the Board of Directors in the management of the business and affairs of the Corporation, and may authorize the seal of the Corporation to be affixed to all papers which may require it; provided, however, that no such committee shall have the power or authority to (i) approve, adopt, or recommend to the stockholders any action or matter (other than the election or removal of directors) expressly required by the DGCL to be submitted to stockholders for approval, or (ii) adopt, amend, or repeal any of these Bylaws. Each committee shall keep regular minutes and report to the Board of Directors when required. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Article III, the resolution of the Board of Directors establishing any committee of the Board of Directors and/or the charter of any such committee may establish requirements or procedures relating to the governance and/or operation of such committee that are different from, or in addition to, those set forth in these Bylaws and, to the extent that there is any inconsistency between these Bylaws and any such resolution or charter, the terms of such resolution or charter shall be controlling.
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Section 11. Subcommittees. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws, or the resolution of the Board of Directors designating a committee, such committee may create one or more subcommittees, each subcommittee to consist of one or more members of the committee, and delegate to a subcommittee any or all of the powers and authority of the committee. Except for references to committees and members of committees in Section 10 of this Article III, every reference in these Bylaws to a committee of the Board of Directors or a member of a committee shall be deemed to include a reference to a subcommittee or member of a subcommittee.
Section 12. Compensation. The directors may be paid their expenses, if any, of attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors and may be paid a fixed sum for attendance at each meeting of the Board of Directors or a stated salary for service as director, payable in cash or securities. No such payment shall preclude any director from serving the Corporation in any other capacity and receiving compensation therefor. Members of special or standing committees may be allowed like compensation for service as committee members.
Section 13. Interested Directors. No contract or transaction between the Corporation and one or more of its directors or officers, or between the Corporation and any other corporation, partnership, association or other organization in which one or more of its directors or officers are directors or officers or have a financial interest, shall be void or voidable solely for this reason, or solely because the director or officer is present at or participates in the meeting of the Board of Directors or committee thereof which authorizes the contract or transaction, or solely because any such director’s or officer’s vote is counted for such purpose if: (i) the material facts as to the director’s or officer’s relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the Board of Directors or the committee, and the Board of Directors or committee in good faith authorizes the contract or transaction by the affirmative votes of a majority of the disinterested directors, even though the disinterested directors be less than a quorum; or (ii) the material facts as to the director’s or officer’s relationship or interest and as to the contract or transaction are disclosed or are known to the stockholders entitled to vote thereon, and the contract or transaction is specifically approved in good faith by vote of the stockholders; or (iii) the contract or transaction is fair as to the Corporation as of the time it is authorized, approved or ratified by the Board of Directors, a committee thereof or the stockholders. Common or interested directors may be counted in determining the presence of a quorum at a meeting of the Board of Directors or of a committee which authorizes such contract or transaction.
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ARTICLE IV
OFFICERS
Section 1. General. The officers of the Corporation shall be chosen by the Board of Directors and shall be a President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Board of Directors, in its discretion, also may choose a Chairperson of the Board of Directors (who must be a director) and one or more Vice Presidents, Assistant Secretaries, Assistant Treasurers and other officers. Any number of offices may be held by the same person, unless otherwise prohibited by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws. The officers of the Corporation need not be stockholders of the Corporation nor, except in the case of the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, need such officers be directors of the Corporation.
Section 2. Election. The Board of Directors, at its first meeting held after each Annual Meeting of Stockholders, shall elect the officers of the Corporation who shall hold their offices for such terms and shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as shall be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors; and each officer of the Corporation shall hold office until such officer’s successor is elected and qualified, or until such officer’s earlier death, resignation or removal. Any officer elected by the Board of Directors may be removed at any time by the Board of Directors. Any vacancy occurring in any office of the Corporation shall be filled by the Board of Directors. The salaries of all officers of the Corporation shall be fixed by the Board of Directors.
Section 3. Voting Securities Owned by the Corporation. Powers of attorney, proxies, waivers of notice of meeting, consents and other instruments relating to securities owned by the Corporation may be executed in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation by the President or any Vice President or any other officer authorized to do so by the Board of Directors and any such officer may, in the name of and on behalf of the Corporation, take all such action as any such officer may deem advisable to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of security holders of any corporation or other entity in which the Corporation may own securities and at any such meeting shall possess and may exercise any and all rights and power incident to the ownership of such securities and which, as the owner thereof, the Corporation might have exercised and possessed if present. The Board of Directors may, by resolution, from time to time confer like powers upon any other person or persons.
Section 4. Chairperson of the Board of Directors. The Chairperson of the Board of Directors, if there be one, shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and of the Board of Directors. The Chairperson of the Board of Directors shall also perform such other duties and may exercise such other powers as may from time to time be assigned by these Bylaws or by the Board of Directors.
Section 5. President. The President shall, subject to the oversight and control of the Board of Directors and, if there be one, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, have general supervision of the business of the Corporation and shall see that all orders and resolutions of the Board of Directors are carried into effect. In the absence or disability of the Chairperson of the Board of Directors, or if there be none, the President shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and, if the President is also a director, the Board of Directors. The President shall also perform such other duties and may exercise such other powers as may from time to time be assigned to such officer by these Bylaws or by the Board of Directors.
Section 6. Vice Presidents. At the request of the President or in the President’s absence or in the event of the President’s inability or refusal to act (and if there be no Chairperson of the Board of Directors), the Vice President, or the Vice Presidents if there are more than one (in the order designated by the Board of Directors), shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President. Each Vice President shall perform such other duties and have such other powers as the Board of Directors from time to time may prescribe. If there be no Chairperson of the Board of Directors and no Vice President, the Board of Directors shall designate the officer of the Corporation who, in the absence of the President or in the event of the inability or refusal of the President to act, shall perform the duties of the President, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the President.
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Section 7. Secretary. The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Board of Directors and all meetings of the stockholders and record all the proceedings thereat in a book or books to be kept for that purpose; the Secretary shall also perform like duties for committees of the Board of Directors when required. The Secretary shall give, or cause to be given, notice of all meetings of the stockholders and special meetings of the Board of Directors, and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors or the President, under whose supervision the Secretary shall be. If the Secretary shall be unable or shall refuse to cause to be given notice of all meetings of the stockholders and special meetings of the Board of Directors, and if there be no Assistant Secretary, then either the Board of Directors or the President may choose another officer to cause such notice to be given. The Secretary shall have custody of the seal of the Corporation and the Secretary or any Assistant Secretary, if there be one, shall have authority to affix the same to any instrument requiring it and when so affixed, it may be attested by the signature of the Secretary or by the signature of any such Assistant Secretary. The Board of Directors may give general authority to any other officer to affix the seal of the Corporation and to attest to the affixing by such officer’s signature. The Secretary shall see that all books, reports, statements, certificates and other documents and records required by law to be kept or filed are properly kept or filed, as the case may be.
Section 8. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have the custody of the Corporation’s funds and securities and shall keep full and accurate accounts of receipts and disbursements in books belonging to the Corporation and shall deposit all moneys and other valuable effects in the name and to the credit of the Corporation in such depositories as may be designated by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall disburse the funds of the Corporation as may be ordered by the Board of Directors or the President taking proper vouchers for such disbursements, and shall render to the President and the Board of Directors, at its regular meetings, or when the Board of Directors so requires, an account of all transactions as Treasurer and of the financial condition of the Corporation.
Section 9. Assistant Secretaries. Assistant Secretaries, if there be any, shall perform such duties and have such powers as from time to time may be assigned to them by the Board of Directors, the President, any Vice President, if there be one, or the Secretary, and in the absence of the Secretary or in the event of the Secretary’s inability or refusal to act, shall perform the duties of the Secretary, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Secretary.
Section 10. Assistant Treasurers. Assistant Treasurers, if there be any, shall perform such duties and have such powers as from time to time may be assigned to them by the Board of Directors, the President, any Vice President, if there be one, or the Treasurer, and in the absence of the Treasurer or in the event of the Treasurer’s inability or refusal to act, shall perform the duties of the Treasurer, and when so acting, shall have all the powers of and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Treasurer.
Section 11. Other Officers. Such other officers as the Board of Directors may choose shall perform such duties and have such powers as from time to time may be assigned to them by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may delegate to any other officer of the Corporation the power to choose such other officers and to prescribe their respective duties and powers.
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ARTICLE V
STOCK
Section 1. Shares of Stock. The shares of capital stock of the Corporation shall be represented by a certificate, unless and until the Board of Directors of the Corporation adopts a resolution permitting shares to be uncertificated. Every holder of capital stock of the Corporation theretofore represented by certificates shall be entitled to have a certificate for shares of capital stock of the Corporation signed by, or in the name of, the Corporation by any two (2) authorized officers of the Corporation, certifying the number of shares owned by such stockholder in the Corporation. The Corporation shall not have power to issue a certificate in bearer form.
Section 2. Signatures. Any or all of the signatures on a certificate may be a facsimile. In case any officer, transfer agent or registrar who has signed or whose facsimile signature has been placed upon a certificate shall have ceased to be such officer, transfer agent or registrar before such certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same effect as if such person were such officer, transfer agent or registrar at the date of issue.
Section 3. Lost Certificates. The Board of Directors may direct a new certificate or uncertificated shares to be issued in place of any certificate theretofore issued by the Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be lost, stolen or destroyed. When authorizing such issuance of a new certificate or uncertificated shares, the Board of Directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to advertise the same in such manner as the Board of Directors shall require and/or to give the Corporation a bond in such sum as it may direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against the Corporation on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.
Section 4. Transfers. Stock of the Corporation shall be transferable in the manner prescribed by applicable law and in these Bylaws. Transfers of stock shall be made on the books of the Corporation, and in the case of certificated shares of stock, only by the person named in the certificate or by such person’s attorney lawfully constituted in writing and upon the surrender of the certificate therefor, properly endorsed for transfer and payment of all necessary transfer taxes; or, in the case of uncertificated shares of stock, upon receipt of proper transfer instructions from the registered holder of the shares or by such person’s attorney lawfully constituted in writing, and upon payment of all necessary transfer taxes and compliance with appropriate procedures for transferring shares in uncertificated form; provided, however, that such surrender and endorsement, compliance or payment of taxes shall not be required in any case in which the officers of the Corporation shall determine to waive such requirement. With respect to certificated shares of stock, every certificate exchanged, returned or surrendered to the Corporation shall be marked “Cancelled,” with the date of cancellation, by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or the transfer agent thereof. No transfer of stock shall be valid as against the Corporation for any purpose until it shall have been entered in the stock records of the Corporation by an entry showing from and to whom transferred.
Section 5. Dividend Record Date. In order that the Corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to receive payment of any dividend or other distribution or allotment of any rights or the stockholders entitled to exercise any rights in respect of any change, conversion or exchange of stock, or for the purpose of any other lawful action, the Board of Directors may fix a record date, which record date shall not precede the date upon which the resolution fixing the record date is adopted, and which record date shall be not more than sixty (60) days prior to such action. If no record date is fixed, the record date for determining stockholders for any such purpose shall be at the close of business on the day on which the Board of Directors adopts the resolution relating thereto.
Section 6. Record Owners. The Corporation shall be entitled to recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as the owner of shares to receive dividends, and to vote as such owner, and to hold liable for calls and assessments a person registered on its books as the owner of shares, and shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of any other person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise required by law.
Section 7. Transfer and Registry Agents. The Corporation may from time to time maintain one or more transfer offices or agencies and registry offices or agencies at such place or places as may be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.
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ARTICLE VI
NOTICES
Section 1. Notices. Whenever written notice is required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, to be given to any director, member of a committee or stockholder, such notice may be given in writing directed to such director’s, committee member’s or stockholder’s mailing address (or by electronic transmission directed to such director’s, committee member’s or stockholder’ electronic mail address, as applicable) as it appears on the records of the Corporation and shall be given: (a) if mailed, when the notice is deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, (b) if delivered by courier service, the earlier of when the notice is received or left at such director’s, committee member’s or stockholder’s address or (c) if given by electronic mail, when directed to such director’s, committee member’s or stockholder’s electronic mail address unless such director, committee member or stockholder has notified the corporation in writing or by electronic transmission of an objection to receiving notice by electronic mail or such notice is prohibited under applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws. Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, but subject to Section 232(e) of the DGCL, any notice to stockholders given by the Corporation under applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws shall be effective if given by a form of electronic transmission consented to by the stockholder to whom the notice is given. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder by written notice or electronic transmission to the Corporation. Notice given by electronic transmission, as described above, shall be deemed given: (i) if by a posting on an electronic network, together with separate notice to the stockholder of such specific posting, upon the later of (A) such posting and (B) the giving of such separate notice; and (ii) if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a notice may not be given by an electronic transmission from and after the time that (i) the Corporation is unable to deliver by such electronic transmission two consecutive notices given by the Corporation and (ii) such inability becomes known to the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Corporation or to the transfer agent, or other person responsible for the giving of notice, provided, however, the inadvertent failure to discover such inability shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.
Section 2. Waivers of Notice. Whenever any notice is required, by applicable law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws, to be given to any director, member of a committee or stockholder, a waiver thereof in writing, signed by the person or persons entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person or persons entitled to notice, whether before or after the time stated therein, shall be deemed equivalent thereto. Attendance of a person at a meeting, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where the person attends the meeting for the express purpose of objecting at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of any business because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any Annual or Special Meeting of Stockholders or any regular or special meeting of the directors or members of a committee of directors need be specified in any written waiver of notice or any waiver by electronic transmission unless so required by law, the Certificate of Incorporation or these Bylaws.
ARTICLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Dividends. Dividends upon the capital stock of the Corporation, subject to the requirements of the DGCL and the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, if any, may be declared by the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting of the Board of Directors (or any action by written consent in lieu thereof in accordance with Section 8 of Article III hereof), and may be paid in cash, in property, or in shares of the Corporation’s capital stock. Before payment of any dividend, there may be set aside out of any funds of the Corporation available for dividends such sum or sums as the Board of Directors from time to time, in its absolute discretion, deems proper as a reserve or reserves to meet contingencies, or for purchasing any of the shares of capital stock, warrants, rights, options, bonds, debentures, notes, scrip or other securities or evidences of indebtedness of the Corporation, or for equalizing dividends, or for repairing or maintaining any property of the Corporation, or for any proper purpose, and the Board of Directors may modify or abolish any such reserve.
Section 2. Disbursements. All checks or demands for money and notes of the Corporation shall be signed by such officer or officers or such other person or persons as the Board of Directors may from time to time designate.
Section 3. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the Board of Directors.
Section 4. Corporate Seal. The corporate seal shall have inscribed thereon the name of the Corporation, the year of its organization and the words “Corporate Seal, Delaware”. The seal may be used by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or reproduced or otherwise.
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ARTICLE VIII
INDEMNIFICATION
Section 1. Indemnification of Officers and Directors. Each person who was or is made a party to, or is threatened to be made a party to, or is involved in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (each, a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person (or a person of whom such person is the legal representative), is or was a director or officer of the Corporation or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director or officer of another corporation, or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefit plans, shall be indemnified and held harmless by the Corporation to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, against all expenses, liability and loss (including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid or to be paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by such person in connection therewith, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or Proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. Such indemnification shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of such person’s heirs, executors and administrators. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Corporation shall indemnify any such person seeking indemnity in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person only if such Proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the Board of Directors of the Corporation.
Section 2. Advance of Expenses. The Corporation shall pay all expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by such a director or officer in defending any such Proceeding as they are incurred in advance of its final disposition; provided, however, that if the DGCL then so requires, the payment of such expenses incurred by such a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of such Proceeding shall be made only upon delivery to the Corporation of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such director or officer, to repay all amounts so advanced if it should be determined ultimately that such director or officer is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article VIII or otherwise; and provided, further, that the Corporation shall not be required to advance any expenses to a person against whom the Corporation directly brings a claim, in a Proceeding, alleging that such person has breached such person’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation, committed an act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, or derived an improper personal benefit from a transaction.
Section 3. Non-Exclusivity of Rights. The rights conferred on any person in this Article VIII shall not be exclusive of any other right that such person may have or hereafter acquire under any statute, provision of the Certificate of Incorporation, these Bylaws, agreement, vote or consent of disinterested directors, or otherwise, it being the policy of the Corporation that indemnification of the persons specified in Section 1 of this Article VIII shall be made to the fullest extent permitted by law. Additionally, nothing in this Article VIII shall limit the ability of the Corporation, in its discretion, to indemnify or advance expenses to persons whom the Corporation is not obligated to indemnify or advance expenses pursuant to this Article VIII.
Section 4. Indemnification Contracts. The Board of Directors is authorized to cause the Corporation to enter into indemnification contracts with any director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or any person serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including employee benefit plans, providing indemnification rights to such person. Such rights may be greater than those provided in this Article VIII.
Section 5. Insurance. The Corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was a director or officer of the Corporation serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the Corporation would have the power or the obligation to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of this Article VIII.
Section 6. Effect of Amendment. Any amendment, repeal or modification of any provision of this Article VIII shall be prospective only, and shall not adversely affect any right or protection conferred on a person pursuant to this Article VIII and existing at the time of such amendment, repeal or modification.
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ARTICLE IX
AMENDMENTS
Section 1. Amendments. These Bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed, in whole or in part, or new Bylaws may be adopted by the stockholders or by the Board of Directors; provided, however, that notice of such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption of new Bylaws be contained in the notice of a meeting of the stockholders or Board of Directors, as the case may be, called for the purpose of acting upon any proposed alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption of new Bylaws. All such alterations, amendments, repeals or adoptions of new Bylaws must be approved by either the holders of two-thirds of the voting power of the Corporation’s outstanding capital stock entitled to vote thereon or by a majority of the entire Board of Directors then in office. Any amendment to these Bylaws adopted by stockholders which specifies the votes that shall be necessary for the election of directors shall not be further amended or repealed by the Board of Directors.
Section 2. Entire Board of Directors. As used in this Article X and in these Bylaws generally, the term “entire Board of Directors” means the total number of directors which the Corporation would have if there were no vacancies.
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Exhibit 5.1
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom llp
ONE MANHATTAN WEST
New York, NY 10001 |
FIRM/AFFILIATE
OFFICES |
|
________ | ----------- | |
BOSTON | ||
TEL: (212) 735-3000 | CHICAGO | |
FAX: (212) 735-2000 | HOUSTON | |
www.skadden.com | LOS ANGELES | |
PALO ALTO | ||
WASHINGTON, D.C. | ||
WILMINGTON | ||
----------- | ||
May 10, 2021 | BEIJING | |
BRUSSELS | ||
FRANKFURT | ||
HONG KONG | ||
LONDON | ||
MOSCOW | ||
MUNICH | ||
PARIS | ||
SÃO PAULO | ||
SEOUL | ||
SHANGHAI | ||
SINGAPORE | ||
TOKYO | ||
TORONTO |
Squarespace, Inc. 225 Varick Street, 12th Floor New York, New York 10014 |
RE: |
Squarespace, Inc.
Registration Statement on Form S-8 |
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special United States counsel to Squarespace, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the registration statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed on the date hereof by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”). The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Company of (i) up to 25,402,694 shares (the “Class A Shares”) of the Company’s Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class A Common Stock”), consisting of (a) up to 19,250,000 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Squarespace, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”), (b) up to 2,700,000 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Squarespace, Inc. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2021 ESPP”), (c) up to 1,547,691 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Squarespace, Inc. Amended 2008 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Amended 2008 Plan”) and (d) up to 1,905,003 shares of Class A Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Squarespace, Inc. Amended and Restated 2008 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Amended and Restated 2008 Plan” and together with the 2021 Plan, 2021 ESPP and Amended 2008 Plan, the “Plans”) and (ii) up to 3,452,694 shares (together with the Class A Shares, the “Plan Shares”) of the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Class B Common Stock”), consisting of (a) up to 1,547,691 shares of Class B Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Amended 2008 Plan and (b) up to 1,905,003 shares of Class B Common Stock issuable pursuant to the Amended and Restated 2008 Plan.
This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.
Squarespace, Inc.
May 10, 2021
Page 2
In rendering the opinion stated herein, we have examined and relied upon the following:
(a) a copy of the 2021 Plan;
(b) a copy of the 2021 ESPP;
(c) a copy of the Amended 2008 Plan
(d) a copy of the Amended and Restated 2008 Plan;
(e) an executed copy of a certificate of Courtenay O’Connor, Secretary of the Company, dated the date hereof (the “Secretary’s Certificate”);
(f) a copy of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, certified by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware as of May 10, 2021 and certified pursuant to the Secretary’s Certificate (the “Certificate of Incorporation”);
(g) a copy of the Company’s Amended and Restated Bylaws, in effect as of the date hereof, certified pursuant to the Secretary’s Certificate (the “Bylaws”); and
(h) copies of certain resolutions of the Board of Directors of the Company, certified pursuant to the Secretary’s Certificate.
We have also examined originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of such records of the Company and such agreements, certificates and receipts of public officials, certificates of officers or other representatives of the Company and others, and such other documents as we have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinion stated below.
In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, including electronic signatures, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as facsimile, electronic, certified or photocopied copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. In making our examination of executed documents, we have assumed that the parties thereto, other than the Company, had the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, and the execution and delivery by such parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect thereof on such parties. As to any facts relevant to the opinion stated herein that we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others and of public officials, including the facts and conclusions set forth in the Secretary’s Certificate.
We do not express any opinion with respect to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”).
Squarespace, Inc.
May 10, 2021
Page 3
Based upon the foregoing and subject to the qualifications and assumptions stated herein, we are of the opinion that the Plan Shares have been duly authorized by all requisite corporate action on the part of the Company under the DGCL and, when issued, delivered and paid for in accordance with the terms of the Plans and the applicable award agreements under the Plans, the Plan Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
In rendering the opinion stated herein, we have assumed that (i) an appropriate account statement evidencing the Plan Shares credited to a recipient’s account maintained with the Company’s transfer agent has been or will be issued by the Company’s transfer agent; (ii) the issuance of the Plan Shares will be properly recorded in the books and records of the Company; (iii) each award agreement pursuant to which rights to acquire Plan Shares or other awards are granted pursuant to the Plans will be consistent with the Plans and will be duly authorized, executed and delivered by the parties thereto; (iv) the consideration received by the Company for each of the Plan Shares delivered pursuant to the Plans shall not be less than the $0.0001 per share; and (v) the issuance of the Plan Shares does not violate or conflict with any agreement or instrument binding on the Company (except that we do not make this assumption with respect to the Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws).
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder. This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof unless otherwise expressly stated, and we disclaim any undertaking to advise you of any subsequent changes in the facts stated or assumed herein or of any subsequent changes in applicable laws.
Very truly yours, | |
/s/ Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP |
Exhibit 23.2
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form S-8) pertaining to the following plans:
· | 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan |
· | 2021 Equity Incentive Plan |
· | Amended 2008 Equity Incentive Plan |
· | Amended and Restated 2008 Equity Incentive Plan |
of Squarespace, Inc. of our report dated March 11, 2021, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Squarespace, Inc. included in its Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-255284) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
New York, New York
May 10, 2021
Exhibit 23.3
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ CONSENT
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement of Squarespace, Inc. on Form S-8 of our report dated February 26, 2021, with respect to our audit of the financial statements of Tock, Inc. as of December 31, 2020 and for the year then ended which report appears in Squarespace, Inc.’s Registration Statement on Amendment No. 2 to Form S-1 (File No. 333-255284).
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
Chicago, IL
May 10, 2021
Exhibit 99.1
Squarespace, Inc.
2021 Equity Incentive Plan
Adopted
by the Board of Directors: March 25, 2021
Approved by the Stockholders: May 3, 2021
1. | General. |
(a) Successor to and Continuation of Prior Plan. The Plan is not intended to be the successor to and continuation of the Company’s 2017 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Prior Plan”). From and after 12:01 a.m. Eastern time on the Effective Date, no additional awards will be granted under the Prior Plan. All Awards granted on or after 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on the Effective Date will be granted under this Plan. All stock awards granted under the Prior Plan will remain subject to the terms of the Prior Plan.
(b) Eligible Award Recipients. Employees, Directors and Consultants are eligible to receive Awards.
(c) Available Awards. The Plan provides for the grant of the following types of Awards: (i) Incentive Stock Options, (ii) Nonstatutory Stock Options, (iii) Stock Appreciation Rights, (iv) Restricted Stock Awards, (v) Restricted Stock Unit Awards, (vi) Performance Stock Awards, (vii) Performance Cash Awards, and (viii) Other Stock Awards.
(d) Purpose. The Plan, through the grant of Awards, is intended to help the Company secure and retain the services of eligible award recipients, provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and any Affiliate, and provide a means by which the eligible recipients may benefit from increases in value of the Common Stock.
2. | Administration. |
(a) Administration by Board. The Board will administer the Plan. The Board may delegate administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees, as provided in Section 2(c).
(b) Powers of Board. The Board will have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:
(i) To determine: (A) who will be granted Awards; (B) when and how each Award will be granted; (C) what type of Award will be granted; (D) the provisions of each Award (which need not be identical), including when a person will be permitted to exercise or otherwise receive cash or Common Stock under the Award; (E) the number of shares of Common Stock subject to, or the cash value of, an Award; and (F) the Fair Market Value applicable to a Stock Award.
(ii) To construe and interpret the Plan and Awards granted under it, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for administration of the Plan and Awards. The Board, in the exercise of these powers, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan or in any Award Agreement, in a manner and to the extent it will deem necessary or expedient to make the Plan or Award fully effective.
(iii) To settle all controversies regarding the Plan and Awards granted under it.
(iv) To accelerate, in whole or in part, the time at which an Award may be exercised or vest (or the time at which cash or shares of Common Stock may be issued in settlement thereof).
(v) To suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Except as otherwise provided in the Plan or an Award Agreement, suspension or termination of the Plan will not materially impair a Participant’s rights under the Participant’s then-outstanding Awards without the Participant’s written consent, except as provided in subsection (viii) below.
(vi) To amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable, including, without limitation, by adopting amendments relating to Incentive Stock Options and certain nonqualified deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Code and/or bringing the Plan or Awards granted under the Plan into compliance with the requirements for Incentive Stock Options or ensuring that they are exempt from, or compliant with, the requirements for nonqualified deferred compensation under Section 409A of the Code, subject to the limitations, if any, of applicable law. If required by applicable law or listing requirements, and except as provided in Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the Company will seek stockholder approval of any amendment of the Plan that (A) materially increases the number of shares of Common Stock available for issuance under the Plan, (B) materially expands the class of individuals eligible to receive Awards under the Plan, (C) materially increases the benefits accruing to Participants under the Plan, (D) materially reduces the price at which shares of Common Stock may be issued or purchased under the Plan, (E) materially extends the term of the Plan, or (F) expands the types of Awards available for issuance under the Plan. Except as otherwise provided in the Plan or an Award Agreement, no amendment of the Plan will materially impair a Participant’s rights under an outstanding Award without the Participant’s written consent.
(vii) To submit any amendment to the Plan for stockholder approval, including, but not limited to, amendments to the Plan intended to satisfy the requirements of Section 422 of the Code regarding “incentive stock options.”
(viii) To approve forms of Award Agreements for use under the Plan and to amend the terms of any one or more Awards, including, but not limited to, amendments to provide terms more favorable to the Participant than previously provided in the Award Agreement, subject to any specified limits in the Plan that are not subject to Board discretion; provided, however, that a Participant’s rights under any Award will not be impaired by any such amendment unless (A) the Company requests the consent of the affected Participant, and (B) such Participant consents in writing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, (1) a Participant’s rights will not be deemed to have been impaired by any such amendment if the Board, in its sole discretion, determines that the amendment, taken as a whole, does not materially impair the Participant’s rights, and (2) subject to the limitations of applicable law, if any, the Board may amend the terms of any one or more Awards without the affected Participant’s consent (A) to maintain the qualified status of the Award as an Incentive Stock Option under Section 422 of the Code; (B) to change the terms of an Incentive Stock Option, if such change results in impairment of the Award solely because it impairs the qualified status of the Award as an Incentive Stock Option under Section 422 of the Code; (C) to clarify the manner of exemption from, or to bring the Award into compliance with, Section 409A of the Code; or (D) to comply with other applicable laws or listing requirements.
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(ix) Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Board deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company and that are not in conflict with the provisions of the Plan or Awards.
(x) To adopt such procedures and sub-plans as are necessary or appropriate to permit participation in the Plan by Employees, Directors or Consultants who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States (provided that Board approval will not be necessary for immaterial modifications to the Plan or any Award Agreement that are required for compliance with the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction).
(c) Delegation to Committee.
(i) General. The Board may delegate some or all of the administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees. If administration of the Plan is delegated to a Committee, the Committee will have, in connection with the administration of the Plan, the powers theretofore possessed by the Board that have been delegated to the Committee, including the power to delegate to a subcommittee of the Committee any of the administrative powers the Committee is authorized to exercise (and references in this Plan to the Board will thereafter be construed as being to the Committee or subcommittee, as applicable). Any delegation of administrative powers will be reflected in resolutions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, adopted from time to time by the Board or Committee (as applicable). The Committee may, at any time, abolish the subcommittee and/or revest in the Committee any powers delegated to the subcommittee. The Board may retain the authority to concurrently administer the Plan with the Committee and may, at any time, revest in the Board some or all of the powers previously delegated.
(ii) Rule 16b-3 Compliance. The Committee may consist solely of two or more Non-Employee Directors, in accordance with Rule 16b-3.
(d) Delegation to an Officer. The Board may delegate to one (1) or more Officers the authority to do one or both of the following: (i) designate Employees who are not Officers to be recipients of Stock Awards and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, the terms of such Stock Awards, and (ii) determine the number of shares of Common Stock to be subject to such Stock Awards granted to such Employees; provided, however, that the Board resolutions regarding such delegation will specify the total number of shares of Common Stock that may be subject to the Stock Awards granted by such Officer, provide that such Officer may not grant a Stock Award to himself or herself and otherwise contain such terms and conditions as are required by applicable law. Any such Stock Awards will be granted on the form of Stock Award Agreement most recently approved for use by the Board, unless otherwise provided in the resolutions approving the delegation authority. The Board may not delegate authority to an Officer who is acting solely in the capacity of an Officer (and not also as a Director) to determine the Fair Market Value pursuant to Section 15(x)(iii) below.
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(e) Effect of Board’s Decision. All determinations, interpretations and constructions made by the Board will not be subject to review by any person and will be final, binding and conclusive on all persons.
3. | Shares Subject to the Plan. |
(a) Share Reserve. Subject to Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Stock Awards shall be equal to 19,250,000 shares, as increased on January 1 of each fiscal year of the Company beginning on January 1, 2022 by a number of shares of Common Stock equal to 5% of the aggregate number of shares of Capital Stock outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year (the “Share Reserve”).
Notwithstanding the foregoing, (i) the Board may act prior to January 1 of a given year to provide that there will be no increase in the Share Reserve for such year or that the increase in the Share Reserve for such year will be a lesser number of shares of Common Stock than would otherwise occur pursuant to the preceding sentence and (ii) shares of Common Stock may be issued in connection with a merger or acquisition as permitted by applicable stock exchange rules, and such issuance will not reduce the number of shares available for issuance under the Plan.
(b) Reversion of Shares to the Share Reserve. If a Stock Award or any portion thereof (i) expires or otherwise terminates without all of the shares covered by such Stock Award having been issued or (ii) is settled in cash (i.e., the Participant receives cash rather than stock), such expiration, termination or settlement will not reduce (or otherwise offset) the number of shares of Common Stock that may be available for issuance under the Plan. If any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to a Stock Award are forfeited back to or repurchased or reacquired by the Company because of the failure to meet a contingency or condition required to vest such shares in the Participant, then the shares that are forfeited, repurchased or reacquired will revert to and again become available for issuance under the Plan. Any shares reacquired by the Company in satisfaction of tax withholding obligations on a Stock Award or as consideration for the exercise or purchase price of a Stock Award will again become available for issuance under the Plan.
(c) Incentive Stock Option Limit. Subject to the Share Reserve and Section 9(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options will be 19,250,000 shares of Common Stock.
(d) Limitation on Grants to Non-Employee Directors. The maximum number of shares of Common Stock subject to Stock Awards granted under the Plan or otherwise during a single calendar year to any Non-Employee Director for service on the Board, taken together with any cash fees paid by the Company to such Non-Employee Director during such calendar year for service on the Board, will not exceed $1,500,000 in total value (calculating the value of any such Stock Awards based on the grant date fair value of such Stock Awards for financial reporting purposes).
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(e) Source of Shares. The stock issuable under the Plan will be shares of authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock, including shares repurchased by the Company on the open market or otherwise.
4. | Eligibility. |
(a) Eligibility for Specific Stock Awards. Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to employees of the Company or a “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” thereof (as such terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and 424(f) of the Code). Stock Awards other than Incentive Stock Options may be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants; provided, however, that Stock Awards may not be granted to Employees, Directors and Consultants who are providing Continuous Service only to any “parent” of the Company, as such term is defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act, unless (i) the stock underlying such Stock Awards is treated as “service recipient stock” under Section 409A of the Code (for example, because the Stock Awards are granted pursuant to a corporate transaction such as a spin off transaction), (ii) the Company, in consultation with its legal counsel, has determined that such Stock Awards are otherwise exempt from Section 409A of the Code, or (iii) the Company, in consultation with its legal counsel, has determined that such Stock Awards comply with the distribution requirements of Section 409A of the Code.
(b) Ten Percent Stockholders. A Ten Percent Stockholder will not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least 110% of the Fair Market Value on the date of grant and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five years from the date of grant.
5. | Provisions Relating to Options and Stock Appreciation Rights. |
Each Option or SAR will be in such form and will contain such terms and conditions as the Board deems appropriate. All Options will be separately designated Incentive Stock Options or Nonstatutory Stock Options at the time of grant, and, if certificates are issued, a separate certificate or certificates will be issued for shares of Common Stock purchased on exercise of each type of Option. If an Option is not specifically designated as an Incentive Stock Option, or if an Option is designated as an Incentive Stock Option but some portion or all of the Option fails to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option under the applicable rules, then the Option (or portion thereof) will be a Nonstatutory Stock Option. The provisions of separate Options or SARs need not be identical; provided, however, that each Award Agreement will conform to (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the applicable Award Agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:
(a) Term. Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, no Option or SAR will be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date of its grant or such shorter period specified in the Award Agreement.
(b) Exercise Price. Subject to the provisions of Section 4(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, the exercise or strike price of each Option or SAR will be not less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option or SAR on the date the Award is granted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an Option or SAR may be granted with an exercise or strike price lower than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Award if such Award is granted pursuant to an assumption of or substitution for another option or stock appreciation right pursuant to a Corporate Transaction and in a manner consistent with the provisions of Section 409A of the Code and, if applicable, Section 424(a) of the Code. Each SAR will be denominated in shares of Common Stock equivalents.
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(c) Purchase Price for Options. The purchase price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to the exercise of an Option may be paid, to the extent permitted by applicable law and as determined by the Board in its sole discretion, by any combination of the methods of payment set forth below. The Board will have the authority to grant Options that do not permit all of the following methods of payment (or otherwise restrict the ability to use certain methods) and to grant Options that require the consent of the Company to use a particular method of payment. The permitted methods of payment are as follows:
(i) by cash, check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company;
(ii) pursuant to a program developed under Regulation T as promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board that, prior to the issuance of the stock subject to the Option, results in either the receipt of cash (or check) by the Company or the receipt of irrevocable instructions to pay the aggregate exercise price to the Company from the sales proceeds;
(iii) by delivery to the Company (either by actual delivery or attestation) of shares of Common Stock;
(iv) if an Option is a Nonstatutory Stock Option, by a “net exercise” arrangement pursuant to which the Company will reduce the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise by the largest whole number of shares with a Fair Market Value that does not exceed the aggregate exercise price; provided, however, that the Company will accept a cash or other payment from the Participant to the extent of any remaining balance of the aggregate exercise price not satisfied by such reduction in the number of whole shares to be issued. Shares of Common Stock will no longer be subject to an Option and will not be exercisable thereafter to the extent that (A) shares issuable upon exercise are used to pay the exercise price pursuant to the “net exercise,” (B) shares are delivered to the Participant as a result of such exercise, or (C) shares are withheld to satisfy tax withholding obligations; or
(v) in any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board and specified in the applicable Award Agreement.
(d) Exercise and Payment of a SAR. To exercise any outstanding SAR, the Participant must provide written notice of exercise to the Company in compliance with the provisions of the Stock Appreciation Right Agreement evidencing such SAR. The appreciation distribution payable on the exercise of a SAR will be not greater than an amount equal to the excess of (A) the aggregate Fair Market Value (on the date of the exercise of the SAR) of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the number of Common Stock equivalents in which the Participant is vested under such SAR, and with respect to which the Participant is exercising the SAR on such date, over (B) the aggregate strike price of the number of Common Stock equivalents with respect to which the Participant is exercising the SAR on such date. The appreciation distribution may be paid in Common Stock, in cash, in any combination of the two or in any other form of consideration, as determined by the Board and contained in the Award Agreement evidencing such SAR.
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(e) Transferability of Options and SARs. The Board may, in its sole discretion, impose such limitations on the transferability of Options and SARs as the Board will determine. In the absence of such a determination by the Board to the contrary, an Option or SAR will not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution, and will be exercisable during the lifetime of the Participant only by the Participant. The Board may permit transfer of the Option or SAR in a manner that is not prohibited by applicable tax and securities laws. Except as explicitly provided herein, neither an Option nor a SAR may be transferred for consideration.
(f) Vesting Generally. The total number of shares of Common Stock subject to an Option or SAR may vest and become exercisable in periodic installments that may or may not be equal. The Option or SAR may be subject to such other terms and conditions on the time or times when it may or may not be exercised (which may be based on the satisfaction of Performance Goals or other criteria) as the Board may deem appropriate. The vesting provisions of individual Options or SARs may vary. The provisions of this Section 5(f) are subject to any Option or SAR provisions governing the minimum number of shares of Common Stock as to which an Option or SAR may be exercised.
(g) Termination of Continuous Service. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or other written agreement between the Participant and the Company, if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates (other than upon the Participant’s death or Disability), the Participant may exercise an Option or SAR (to the extent that the Participant was entitled to exercise such Award as of the date of termination of Continuous Service) within the period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date that is 90 days following the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service (or such longer or shorter period specified in the applicable Award Agreement), and (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option or SAR as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after termination of Continuous Service, the Participant does not exercise his or her Option or SAR (as applicable) within the applicable time frame, the Option or SAR will terminate.
(h) Disability of Participant. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company, if a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Participant’s Disability, the Participant may exercise his or her Option or SAR (to the extent that the Participant was entitled to exercise such Option or SAR as of the date of termination of Continuous Service), but only within such period of time ending on the earlier of (i) the date 12 months following such termination of Continuous Service (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Award Agreement), and (ii) the expiration of the term of the Option or SAR as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after termination of Continuous Service, the Participant does not exercise his or her Option or SAR within the applicable time frame, the Option or SAR (as applicable) will terminate.
(i) Death of Participant. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Award Agreement or other agreement between the Participant and the Company, if (i) a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates as a result of the Participant’s death, or (ii) the Participant dies within the period (if any) specified in the Award Agreement for exercisability after the termination of the Participant’s Continuous Service for a reason other than death, then the Option or SAR may be exercised (to the extent the Participant was entitled to exercise such Option or SAR as of the date of death) by the Participant’s estate or by a person who acquired the right to exercise the Option or SAR by bequest or inheritance, but only within the period ending on the earlier of (i) the date 12 months following the date of death (or such longer or shorter period specified in the Award Agreement), and (ii) the expiration of the term of such Option or SAR as set forth in the Award Agreement. If, after the Participant’s death, the Option or SAR is not exercised within the applicable time frame, the Option or SAR (as applicable) will terminate.
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6. | Provisions of Stock Awards other than Options and SARS. |
(a) Restricted Stock Awards. Each Restricted Stock Award Agreement will be in such form and will contain such terms and conditions as the Board will deem appropriate. To the extent consistent with the Company’s bylaws, at the Board’s election, shares of Common Stock may be (x) held in book entry form subject to the Company’s instructions until any restrictions relating to the Restricted Stock Award lapse; or (y) evidenced by a certificate, which certificate will be held in such form and manner as determined by the Board. The terms and conditions of Restricted Stock Award Agreements may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate Restricted Stock Award Agreements need not be identical. Each Restricted Stock Award Agreement will conform to (through incorporation of the provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:
(i) Consideration. A Restricted Stock Award may be awarded in consideration for (A) cash, check, bank draft or money order payable to the Company, (B) past or future services to the Company or an Affiliate, or (C) any other form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board, in its sole discretion, and permissible under applicable law.
(ii) Vesting. Shares of Common Stock awarded under the Restricted Stock Award Agreement may be subject to forfeiture to the Company in accordance with a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board.
(iii) Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service. If a Participant’s Continuous Service terminates, the Company may receive through a forfeiture condition or a repurchase right any or all of the shares of Common Stock held by the Participant that have not vested as of the date of termination of Continuous Service under the terms of the Restricted Stock Award Agreement.
(iv) Transferability. Rights to acquire shares of Common Stock under the Restricted Stock Award Agreement will be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the Restricted Stock Award Agreement, as the Board will determine in its sole discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the Restricted Stock Award Agreement remains subject to the terms of the Restricted Stock Award Agreement.
(v) Dividends. A Restricted Stock Award Agreement may provide that any dividends paid on Restricted Stock will be subject to the same vesting and forfeiture restrictions as apply to the shares subject to the Restricted Stock Award to which they relate (including any time-based or performance-based vesting requirements).
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(b) Restricted Stock Unit Awards. Each Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement will be in such form and will contain such terms and conditions as the Board will deem appropriate. The terms and conditions of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreements need not be identical. Each Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement will conform to (through incorporation of the provisions hereof by reference in the Agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:
(i) Consideration. At the time of grant of a Restricted Stock Unit Award, the Board will determine the consideration, if any, to be paid by the Participant upon delivery of each share of Common Stock subject to the Restricted Stock Unit Award. The consideration to be paid (if any) by the Participant for each share of Common Stock subject to a Restricted Stock Unit Award may be paid in any form of legal consideration that may be acceptable to the Board, in its sole discretion, and permissible under applicable law.
(ii) Vesting. At the time of the grant of a Restricted Stock Unit Award, the Board may impose such restrictions on or conditions to the vesting of the Restricted Stock Unit Award as it, in its sole discretion, deems appropriate.
(iii) Payment. A Restricted Stock Unit Award may be settled by the delivery of shares of Common Stock, their cash equivalent, any combination thereof or in any other form of consideration, as determined by the Board and contained in the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement.
(iv) Additional Restrictions. At the time of the grant of a Restricted Stock Unit Award, the Board, as it deems appropriate, may impose such restrictions or conditions that delay the delivery of the shares of Common Stock (or their cash equivalent) subject to a Restricted Stock Unit Award to a time after the vesting of such Restricted Stock Unit Award.
(v) Dividend Equivalents. Dividend equivalents may be credited in respect of shares of Common Stock covered by a Restricted Stock Unit Award, as determined by the Board and contained in the Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement. At the sole discretion of the Board, such dividend equivalents may be converted into additional shares of Common Stock covered by the Restricted Stock Unit Award in such manner as determined by the Board. Unless otherwise set forth in a Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement, any additional shares covered by the Restricted Stock Unit Award credited by reason of such dividend equivalents will be subject to the same vesting and forfeiture restrictions as apply to the underlying Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement to which they relate (including any time-based or performance-based vesting requirements).
(vi) Termination of Participant’s Continuous Service. Except as otherwise provided in the applicable Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement or other written agreement between a Participant and the Company, such portion of the Restricted Stock Unit Award that has not vested will be forfeited upon the Participant’s termination of Continuous Service.
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(c) Performance Awards.
(i) Performance Stock Awards. A Performance Stock Award is a Stock Award that is payable (including that may be granted, may vest or may be exercised) contingent upon the attainment during a Performance Period of certain Performance Goals. A Performance Stock Award may, but need not, require the Participant’s completion of a specified period of Continuous Service. The length of any Performance Period, the Performance Goals to be achieved during the Performance Period, and the measure of whether and to what degree such Performance Goals have been attained will be conclusively determined by the Board, in its sole discretion. In addition, to the extent permitted by applicable law and the applicable Award Agreement, the Board may determine that cash may be used in payment of Performance Stock Awards.
(ii) Performance Cash Awards. A Performance Cash Award is a cash award that is payable contingent upon the attainment during a Performance Period of certain Performance Goals. A Performance Cash Award may, but need not, require the Participant’s completion of a specified period of Continuous Service. The length of any Performance Period, the Performance Goals to be achieved during the Performance Period, and the measure of whether and to what degree such Performance Goals have been attained will be conclusively determined by the Board in its sole discretion. The Board may specify the form of payment of Performance Cash Awards, which may be cash or other property, or may provide for a Participant to have the option for his or her Performance Cash Award, or such portion thereof as the Board may specify, to be paid in whole or in part in cash or other property.
(iii) Board Discretion. The Board retains the discretion to reduce or eliminate the compensation or economic benefit due upon attainment of Performance Goals and to define the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for a Performance Period. Partial achievement of the specified criteria may result in the payment or vesting corresponding to the degree of achievement as specified in the Stock Award Agreement or the written terms of a Performance Cash Award.
(d) Other Stock Awards. Other forms of Stock Awards valued in whole or in part by reference to, or otherwise based on, Common Stock, including the appreciation in value thereof (e.g., options or stock rights with an exercise price or strike price less than 100% of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the time of grant) may be granted either alone or in addition to Stock Awards provided for under Section 5 and the preceding provisions of this Section 6. Subject to the provisions of the Plan, the Board will have sole and complete authority to determine the persons to whom and the time or times at which such Other Stock Awards will be granted, the number of shares of Common Stock (or the cash equivalent thereof) to be granted pursuant to such Other Stock Awards and all other terms and conditions of such Other Stock Awards.
7. | Covenants of the Company. |
(a) Availability of Shares. The Company will keep available at all times the number of shares of Common Stock reasonably required to satisfy then-outstanding Stock Awards.
(b) Securities Law Compliance. The Company will seek to obtain from each regulatory commission or agency, as necessary, such authority as may be required to grant Stock Awards and to issue and sell shares of Common Stock upon exercise or vesting of the Stock Awards; provided, however, that this undertaking will not require the Company to register under the Securities Act or other securities or applicable laws, the Plan, any Stock Award or any Common Stock issued or issuable pursuant to any such Stock Award. If, after reasonable efforts and at a reasonable cost, the Company is unable to obtain from any such regulatory commission or agency the authority that counsel for the Company deems necessary or advisable for the lawful issuance and sale of Common Stock under the Plan, the Company will be relieved from any liability for failure to issue and sell Common Stock upon exercise or vesting of such Stock Awards unless and until such authority is obtained. A Participant will not be eligible for the grant of an Award or the subsequent issuance of cash or Common Stock pursuant to the Award if such grant or issuance would be in violation of any applicable law.
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(c) No Obligation to Notify or Minimize Taxes. The Company will have no duty or obligation to any Participant to advise such holder as to the tax treatment or time or manner of exercising such Stock Award. Furthermore, the Company will have no duty or obligation to warn or otherwise advise such holder of a pending termination or expiration of an Award or a possible period in which the Award may not be exercised. The Company has no duty or obligation to minimize the tax consequences of an Award to the holder of such Award.
8. | Miscellaneous. |
(a) Use of Proceeds from Sales of Common Stock. Proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to Stock Awards will constitute general funds of the Company.
(b) Corporate Action Constituting Grant of Awards. Corporate action constituting a grant by the Company of an Award to any Participant will be deemed completed as of the date of such corporate action, unless otherwise determined by the Board, regardless of when the instrument, certificate, or letter evidencing the Award is communicated to, or actually received or accepted by, the Participant. In the event that the corporate records (e.g., Board consents, resolutions or minutes) documenting the corporate action approving the grant contain terms (e.g., exercise price, vesting schedule or number of shares) that are inconsistent with those in the Award Agreement or related grant documents as a result of a clerical error in the papering of the Award Agreement or related grant documents, the corporate records will control and the Participant will have no legally binding right to the incorrect term in the Award Agreement or related grant documents.
(c) Stockholder Rights. No Participant will be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any shares of Common Stock subject to an Award unless and until (i) such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise of, or the issuance of shares of Common Stock under, the Award pursuant to its terms, and (ii) the issuance of the Common Stock subject to such Award has been entered into the books and records of the Company.
(d) No Employment or Other Service Rights. Nothing in the Plan, any Award Agreement or any other instrument executed thereunder or in connection with any Award granted pursuant thereto will confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Award was granted or will affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate (i) the employment of an Employee with or without notice and with or without cause, (ii) the service of a Consultant pursuant to the terms of such Consultant’s agreement with the Company or an Affiliate, or (iii) the service of a Director pursuant to the bylaws of the Company or an Affiliate, and any applicable provisions of the corporate law of the state or foreign jurisdiction in which the Company or the Affiliate is domiciled or incorporated, as the case may be.
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(e) Change in Time Commitment. In the event a Participant’s regular level of time commitment in the performance of his or her services for the Company and any Affiliates is reduced (for example, and without limitation, if the Participant is an Employee of the Company and the Employee has a change in status from a full-time Employee to a part-time Employee or takes an extended leave of absence) after the date of grant of any Award to the Participant, the Board has the right in its sole discretion to (x) make a corresponding reduction in the number of shares or cash amount subject to any portion of such Award that is scheduled to vest or become payable after the date of such change in time commitment, and (y) in lieu of or in combination with such a reduction, extend the vesting or payment schedule applicable to such Award. In the event of any such reduction, the Participant will have no right with respect to any portion of the Award that is so reduced or extended.
(f) Incentive Stock Option Limitations. To the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value (determined at the time of grant) of Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by any Optionholder during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any Affiliates) exceeds $100,000 (or such other limit established in the Code) or otherwise does not comply with the rules governing Incentive Stock Options, the Options or portions thereof that exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) or otherwise do not comply with such rules will be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options, notwithstanding any contrary provision of the applicable Option Agreement(s).
(g) Investment Assurances. The Company may require a Participant, as a condition of exercising or acquiring Common Stock under any Award, (i) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company as to the Participant’s knowledge and experience in financial and business matters and/or to employ a purchaser representative reasonably satisfactory to the Company who is knowledgeable and experienced in financial and business matters and that such Participant is capable of evaluating, alone or together with the purchaser representative, the merits and risks of exercising the Award; and (ii) to give written assurances satisfactory to the Company stating that the Participant is acquiring Common Stock subject to the Award for the Participant’s own account and not with any present intention of selling or otherwise distributing the Common Stock. The foregoing requirements, and any assurances given pursuant to such requirements, will be inoperative if (A) the issuance of the shares upon the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award has been registered under a then currently effective registration statement under the Securities Act, or (B) as to any particular requirement, a determination is made by counsel for the Company that such requirement need not be met in the circumstances under the then applicable securities laws. The Company may, upon advice of counsel to the Company, place legends on stock certificates issued under the Plan as such counsel deems necessary or appropriate in order to comply with applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, legends restricting the transfer of the Common Stock.
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(h) Withholding Obligations. Unless prohibited by the terms of an Award Agreement, the Company may, in its sole discretion, satisfy any federal, state or local tax withholding obligation relating to an Award by any of the following means or by a combination of such means: (i) causing the Participant to tender a cash payment; (ii) withholding shares of Common Stock from the shares of Common Stock issued or otherwise issuable to the Participant in connection with the Award; provided, that the number of shares of Common Stock which may be so withheld or surrendered shall be limited to the number of shares of Common Stock which have a Fair Market Value on the date of withholding in such amount that will not cause adverse accounting consequences for the Company and its Affiliates and is permitted under applicable withholding rules promulgated by the Internal Revenue Service or another governmental entity; (iii) withholding cash from an Award settled in cash; (iv) withholding payment from any amounts otherwise payable to the Participant; or (v) by such other method as may be set forth in the Award Agreement.
(i) Electronic Delivery. Any reference herein to a “written” agreement or document will include any agreement or document delivered electronically, filed publicly at www.sec.gov (or any successor website thereto) or posted on the Company’s intranet (or other shared electronic medium controlled and/or established by the Company or any of its designees to which the Participant has access).
(j) Deferrals. To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Board, in its sole discretion, may determine that the delivery of Common Stock or the payment of cash, upon the exercise, vesting or settlement of all or a portion of any Award may be deferred and may establish programs and procedures for deferral elections to be made by Participants. Deferrals by Participants will be made in accordance with Section 409A of the Code. Consistent with Section 409A of the Code, the Board may provide for distributions while a Participant is still an employee or otherwise providing services to the Company. The Board is authorized to make deferrals of Awards and determine when, and in what annual percentages, Participants may receive payments, including lump sum payments, following the Participant’s termination of Continuous Service, and implement such other terms and conditions consistent with the provisions of the Plan and in accordance with applicable law.
(k) Compliance with Section 409A of the Code. Unless otherwise expressly provided for in an Award Agreement, the Plan and Award Agreements will be interpreted to the greatest extent possible in a manner that makes the Plan and the Awards granted hereunder exempt from Section 409A of the Code, and, to the extent not so exempt, in compliance with Section 409A of the Code. If the Board determines that any Award granted hereunder is not exempt from and is therefore subject to Section 409A of the Code, the Award Agreement evidencing such Award will incorporate the terms and conditions necessary to avoid the consequences specified in Section 409A(a)(1) of the Code, and to the extent an Award Agreement is silent on terms necessary for compliance, such terms are hereby incorporated by reference into the Award Agreement. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan (and unless the Award Agreement specifically provides otherwise), if the shares of Common Stock are publicly traded, and if a Participant is holding an Award (or has any other compensation or benefit under the Plan or otherwise) that constitutes “deferred compensation” under Section 409A of the Code and is a “specified employee” for purposes of Section 409A of the Code, no distribution or payment of any amount that is due because of a “separation from service” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code without regard to alternative definitions thereunder), whether under the Plan or otherwise, will be issued or paid before the date that is six months following the date of such Participant’s “separation from service” (as defined in Section 409A of the Code without regard to alternative definitions thereunder) or, if earlier, the date of the Participant’s death, unless such distribution or payment can be made in a manner that complies with Section 409A of the Code, and any amounts so deferred will be paid in a lump sum on the day after such six month period elapses, with the balance paid thereafter on the original schedule.
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(l) Clawback/Recovery. All Awards granted under the Plan will be subject to recoupment in accordance with any clawback policy that the Company is required to adopt pursuant to the listing standards of any national securities exchange or association on which the Company’s securities are listed or as is otherwise required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law, without regard to whether such policy is adopted before or after the grant of an Award. In addition, the Board may impose such other clawback, recovery or recoupment provisions as the Board determines necessary or appropriate, including, but not limited to, a reacquisition right in respect of previously acquired shares of Common Stock or other cash or property upon the occurrence of an event constituting Cause. No recovery of compensation under such a clawback policy will be an event giving rise to a right to resign for “good reason” or “constructive termination” (or similar term) under any agreement with the Company. For the avoidance of doubt, any such clawback policy referenced in this Section 8(l) may have effect with respect to Awards granted prior to the date on which such policy was adopted.
9. | Adjustments upon Changes in Common Stock; Other Corporate Events. |
(a) Capitalization Adjustments. In the event of a Capitalization Adjustment, an equitable substitution or proportionate adjustment shall be made, in each case as determined by the Board in its sole discretion, with respect to: (i) the class(es) and maximum number of securities subject to the Plan pursuant to Section 3(a), (ii) the class(es) and maximum number of securities by which the share reserve is to increase automatically each year pursuant to Section 3(a), (iii) the class(es) and maximum number of securities that may be issued pursuant to the exercise of Incentive Stock Options pursuant to Section 3(c), (iv) the class(es) and maximum number of securities that may be awarded to any Non-Employee Director pursuant to Section 3(d), (v) the class(es) and number of securities and price per share of stock subject to outstanding Stock Awards and (vi) the performance goals or measures applicable to any Award. The Board will make such adjustments, and its determination will be final, binding and conclusive.
(b) Dissolution. Except as otherwise provided in the Stock Award Agreement, in the event of a Dissolution of the Company, all outstanding Stock Awards (other than Stock Awards consisting of vested and outstanding shares of Common Stock not subject to a forfeiture condition or the Company’s right of repurchase) will terminate immediately prior to the completion of such Dissolution, and the shares of Common Stock subject to the Company’s repurchase rights or subject to a forfeiture condition may be repurchased or reacquired by the Company notwithstanding the fact that the holder of such Stock Award is providing Continuous Service; provided, however, that the Board may, in its sole discretion, cause some or all Stock Awards to become fully vested, exercisable and/or no longer subject to repurchase or forfeiture (to the extent such Stock Awards have not previously expired or terminated) before the Dissolution is completed but contingent on its completion.
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(c) Transaction. The following provisions shall apply to Stock Awards in the event of a Transaction unless otherwise provided in the instrument evidencing the Stock Award or any other written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant or unless otherwise expressly provided by the Board at the time of grant of a Stock Award. In the event of a Transaction, notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, the Board may take one or more of the following actions with respect to Stock Awards, contingent upon the closing or completion of the Transaction:
(i) arrange for the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or the surviving or acquiring corporation’s parent company) to assume or continue the Stock Award or to substitute a similar stock award for the Stock Award (including, but not limited to, an award to acquire the same consideration paid to the stockholders of the Company pursuant to the Transaction);
(ii) arrange for the assignment of any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company in respect of Common Stock issued pursuant to the Stock Award to the surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or the surviving or acquiring corporation’s parent company);
(iii) accelerate the vesting, in whole or in part, of the Stock Award (and, if applicable, the time at which the Stock Award may be exercised) to a date prior to the effective time of such Transaction as the Board shall determine (or, if the Board shall not determine such a date, to the date that is five days prior to the effective date of the Transaction), with such Stock Award terminating if not exercised (if applicable) at or prior to the effective time of the Transaction; provided, however, that the Board may require each Participant to complete and deliver to the Company a notice of exercise before the effective date of a Transaction, which exercise is contingent upon the effectiveness of such Transaction;
(iv) arrange for the lapse, in whole or in part, of any reacquisition or repurchase rights held by the Company with respect to the Stock Award;
(v) cancel or arrange for the cancellation of the Stock Award, to the extent not vested or not exercised prior to the effective time of the Transaction, in exchange for such cash consideration, if any, as the Board, in its sole discretion, may consider appropriate; and
(vi) make a payment, in such form as may be determined by the Board equal to the excess, if any, of (A) the value of the property the Participant would have received upon the vesting, settlement or exercise of the Stock Award immediately prior to the effective time of the Transaction, over (B) any exercise price payable by such holder in connection with such exercise. For clarity, this payment may be zero ($0) if the value of the property is equal to or less than the exercise price. Payments under this provision may be delayed to the same extent that payment of consideration to the holders of the Company’s Common Stock in connection with the Transaction is delayed as a result of escrows, earn outs, holdbacks or any other contingencies.
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The Board need not take the same action or actions with respect to all Stock Awards or portions thereof or with respect to all Participants. The Board may take different actions with respect to the vested and unvested portions of a Stock Award.
(d) Change in Control. A Stock Award may be subject to additional acceleration of vesting and exercisability upon or after a Change in Control as may be provided in the Stock Award Agreement for such Stock Award or as may be provided in any other written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant.
10. | Plan Term; Earlier Termination or Suspension of the Plan. |
The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. No grants of Awards may be made hereunder after the tenth anniversary of the Effective Date and no grants of Incentive Stock Options may be made hereunder after the tenth anniversary of the date the Plan is approved by the Board. No Awards may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.
11. | Effective Date. |
The Plan will become effective on the Effective Date.
12. | Choice of Law. |
The laws of the State of Delaware will govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Plan, without regard to that state’s conflict of laws rules.
13. | Section 280G; Parachute Payments. |
(a) Treatment of Payments. Notwithstanding anything in the Plan to the contrary, in the event that any payment or benefit received or to be received by a Participant (whether pursuant to the terms of this Plan or any other plan, arrangement or agreement) (all such payments and benefits, the “Total Payments”) would fail to be deductible under Section 280G of the Code, or otherwise would be subject (in whole or part) to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”) then the payments or benefits to be received by the Participant that are subject to Section 280G of the Code shall be reduced to the extent necessary so that no portion of the Total Payments is subject to the Excise Tax but only if the net amount of such Total Payments, as so reduced (and after subtracting the net amount of federal, state and local income taxes on such reduced Total Payments), is greater than or equal to the net amount of such Total Payments without such reduction (but after subtracting the net amount of federal, state and local income taxes on such Total Payments and the amount of Excise Tax to which the Participant would be subject in respect of such unreduced Total Payments).
(b) Ordering of Reduction. In the case of a reduction in the Total Payments pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Plan, the Total Payments will be reduced in the following order: (i) payments that are payable in cash that are valued at full value under Treasury Regulation Section 1.280G-1, Q&A 24(a) will be reduced (if necessary, to zero), with amounts that are payable last reduced first; (ii) payments and benefits due in respect of any equity valued at full value under Treasury Regulation Section 1.280G-1, Q&A 24(a), with the highest values reduced first (as such values are determined under Treasury Regulation Section 1.280G-1, Q&A 24) will next be reduced; (iii) payments that are payable in cash that are valued at less than full value under Treasury Regulation Section 1.280G-1, Q&A 24, with amounts that are payable last reduced first, will next be reduced; (iv) payments and benefits due in respect of any equity valued at less than full value under Treasury Regulation Section 1.280G-1, Q&A 24, with the highest values reduced first (as such values are determined under Treasury Regulation Section 1.280G-1, Q&A 24) will next be reduced; and (v) all other non-cash benefits not otherwise described in clauses (ii) or (iv) will be next reduced pro-rata.
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(c) Certain Determinations. For purposes of determining whether and the extent to which the Total Payments will be subject to the Excise Tax: (i) no portion of the Total Payments the receipt or enjoyment of which a Participant shall have waived at such time and in such manner as not to constitute a “payment” within the meaning of Section 280G(b) of the Code will be taken into account; (ii) no portion of the Total Payments will be taken into account which, in the opinion of tax counsel (“Tax Counsel”) and a nationally recognized accounting firm (the “Accounting Firm”), in each case as selected by the Company prior to a Change in Control, does not constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(2) of the Code (including by reason of Section 280G(b)(4)(A) of the Code) and, in calculating the Excise Tax, no portion of such Total Payments will be taken into account which, in the opinion of Tax Counsel, constitutes reasonable compensation for services actually rendered, within the meaning of Section 280G(b)(4)(B) of the Code, in excess of the “base amount” (as set forth in Section 280G(b)(3) of the Code) that is allocable to such reasonable compensation; and (iii) the value of any non-cash benefit or any deferred payment or benefit included in the Total Payments will be determined by the Accounting Firm in accordance with the principles of Sections 280G(d)(3) and (4) of the Code.
(d) Additional Payments. If a Participant receives reduced payments and benefits by reason of this Section 13 and it is established pursuant to a determination of a court of competent jurisdiction or pursuant to an Internal Revenue Service proceeding, that the Participant could have received a greater amount without resulting in any Excise Tax, then the Company shall thereafter pay the Participant the aggregate additional amount which could have been paid without resulting in any Excise Tax as soon as reasonably practicable.
14. | Notice. |
Unless otherwise provided in a Participant’s Award Agreement, all notices, requests, demands, claims and other communications by the Participant with respect to the Plan or any Award shall be in writing (including electronically) and shall be deemed given if delivered by certified or registered mail (first class postage prepaid), guaranteed overnight delivery or email transmission, to the following address (or to such other addresses which the Company shall designate in writing to the Participant from time to time):
Squarespace, Inc.
225 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Attention: Legal Department
Email: legal@squarespace.com
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15. | Definitions. As used in the Plan, the following definitions will apply to the capitalized terms indicated below: |
(a) “Affiliate” means, at the time of determination, any “parent” or “subsidiary” of the Company as such terms are defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. The Board will have the authority to determine the time or times at which “parent” or “subsidiary” status is determined within the foregoing definition.
(b) “Award” means a Stock Award or a Performance Cash Award.
(c) “Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a Participant evidencing the terms and conditions of an Award.
(d) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(e) “Capital Stock” means each and every class of common stock of the Company, regardless of the number of votes per share.
(f) “Capitalization Adjustment” means any change that is made in, or other events that occur with respect to, the Common Stock subject to the Plan or subject to any Stock Award after the Effective Date without the receipt of consideration by the Company through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, large nonrecurring cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split, liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or any similar equity restructuring transaction, as that term is used in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (or any successor thereto). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the conversion of any convertible securities of the Company will not be treated as a Capitalization Adjustment.
(g) “Cause” shall have the meaning set forth in an individual agreement between the Company and the Participant; provided if no such agreement or definition exists, “Cause” means, with respect to a Participant, (i) the Participant’s unauthorized use or disclosure of the Company’s confidential information or trade secrets; (ii) the Participant’s material breach of any agreement between Participant and the Company, including, without limitation, the breach of any applicable non-competition or non-solicitation obligations; (iii) the Participant’s material failure to comply with the Company’s written policies or rules; (iv) the Participant’s commission of, or plea of “guilty” or “no contest” to, a felony or any crime involving fraud or moral turpitude under the laws of the United States, any State or other jurisdiction; or (v) the Participant’s gross negligence or willful misconduct.
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(h) “Change in Control” means the occurrence, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:
(i) any Exchange Act Person becomes the Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities other than by virtue of a merger, consolidation or similar transaction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a Change in Control will not be deemed to occur (A) on account of the acquisition of securities of the Company directly from the Company, (B) on account of the acquisition of securities of the Company by an investor, any affiliate thereof or any other Exchange Act Person that acquires the Company’s securities in a transaction or series of related transactions the primary purpose of which is to obtain financing for the Company through the issuance of equity securities, (C) on account of the acquisition of securities of the Company by any individual who is, on the Effective Date, either an executive officer or a Director (either, an “Investor”) and/or any entity in which an Investor has a direct or indirect interest (whether in the form of voting rights or participation in profits or capital contributions) of more than 50% (collectively, the “Entities”) or on account of the Entities continuing to hold shares that come to represent more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities as a result of the conversion of any class of the Company’s securities into another class of the Company’s securities having a different number of votes per share pursuant to the conversion provisions set forth in the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation; or (D) solely because the level of Ownership held by any Exchange Act Person (the “Subject Person”) exceeds the designated percentage threshold of the outstanding voting securities as a result of a repurchase or other acquisition of voting securities by the Company reducing the number of shares outstanding, provided that if a Change in Control would occur (but for the operation of this sentence) as a result of the acquisition of voting securities by the Company, and after such share acquisition, the Subject Person becomes the Owner of any additional voting securities that, assuming the repurchase or other acquisition had not occurred, increases the percentage of the then outstanding voting securities Owned by the Subject Person over the designated percentage threshold, then a Change in Control will be deemed to occur;
(ii) there is consummated a merger, consolidation or similar transaction involving (directly or indirectly) the Company and, immediately after the consummation of such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, the stockholders of the Company immediately prior thereto do not Own, directly or indirectly, either (A) outstanding voting securities representing more than 50% of the combined outstanding voting power of the surviving Entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction or (B) more than 50% of the combined outstanding voting power of the parent of the surviving Entity in such merger, consolidation or similar transaction, in each case in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such transaction; provided, however, that a merger, consolidation or similar transaction will not constitute a Change in Control under this prong of the definition if the outstanding voting securities representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the surviving Entity or its parent are owned by the Entities;
(iii) there is consummated a sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, other than a sale, lease, license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries to an Entity, more than 50% of the combined voting power of the voting securities of which are Owned by stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of the outstanding voting securities of the Company immediately prior to such sale, lease, license or other disposition; provided, however, that a sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all or substantially all of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries will not constitute a Change in Control under this prong of the definition if the outstanding voting securities representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the acquiring Entity or its parent are owned by the Entities;
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(iv) the stockholders of the Company approve or the Board approves a plan of complete dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or a complete dissolution or liquidation of the Company will otherwise occur, except for a liquidation into a parent corporation; or
(v) individuals who, on the date the Plan is adopted by the Board, are members of the Board (the “Incumbent Board”) cease for any reason to constitute at least a majority of the members of the Board; provided, however, that if the appointment or election (or nomination for election) of any new Board member was approved or recommended by a majority vote of the members of the Incumbent Board then still in office, such new member will, for purposes of this Plan, be considered as a member of the Incumbent Board.
Notwithstanding the foregoing definition or any other provision of the Plan, the term Change in Control will not include a sale of assets, merger or other transaction effected exclusively for the purpose of changing the domicile of the Company and the definition of Change in Control (or any analogous term) in an individual written agreement between the Company or any Affiliate and the Participant will supersede the foregoing definition with respect to Awards subject to such agreement; provided, however, that if no definition of Change in Control or any analogous term is set forth in such an individual written agreement, the foregoing definition will apply.
(i) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including any applicable regulations and guidance thereunder.
(j) “Committee” means a committee of one or more Directors to whom authority has been delegated by the Board in accordance with Section 2(c).
(k) “Common Stock” means, as of the Effective Date, the Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share.
(l) “Company” means Squarespace, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
(m) “Consultant” means any individual other than an Employee or Director who is engaged directly or indirectly by the Company or any of its Affiliates to render services to the Company..
(n) “Continuous Service” means that the Participant’s service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Director or Consultant, is not interrupted or terminated. Any determination of an interruption or termination of Continuous Service will be made by the Company in its sole discretion, in accordance with the Company’s applicable policies.
(o) “Corporate Transaction” means the consummation, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:
(i) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all, as determined by the Board, in its sole discretion, of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries;
(ii) a sale or other disposition of more than 50% of the outstanding securities of the Company;
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(iii) a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is not the surviving corporation; or
(iv) a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is the surviving corporation but the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately preceding the merger, consolidation or similar transaction are converted or exchanged by virtue of the merger, consolidation or similar transaction into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise.
(p) “Director” means a member of the Board.
(q) “Disability” shall have the meaning set forth in an individual agreement between the Company and the Participant; provided if no such agreement or definition exists, “Disability” means, with respect to a Participant, the inability of such Participant to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or that has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months, as provided in Sections 22(e)(3) and 409A(a)(2)(c)(i) of the Code, and will be determined by the Board on the basis of such medical evidence as the Board deems warranted under the circumstances.
(r) “Dissolution” means when the Company, after having executed a certificate of dissolution with the State of Delaware (or other applicable state), has completely wound up its affairs. Conversion of the Company into a Limited Liability Company (or any other pass-through entity) will not be considered a “Dissolution” for purposes of the Plan.
(s) “Effective Date” means the date immediately preceding the Registration Date subject to prior stockholder approval in accordance with applicable state law, the Company’s bylaws and certificate of incorporation, and applicable stock exchange rules.
(t) “Employee” means any person employed by the Company or an Affiliate. However, service solely as a Director, or payment of a fee for such services, will not cause a Director to be considered an “Employee” for purposes of the Plan.
(u) “Entity” means a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity.
(v) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(w) “Exchange Act Person” means any natural person, Entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act), except that “Exchange Act Person” will not include (i) the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) any employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company or any trustee or other fiduciary holding securities under an employee benefit plan of the Company or any Subsidiary of the Company, (iii) an underwriter temporarily holding securities pursuant to a registered public offering of such securities, (iv) an Entity Owned, directly or indirectly, by the stockholders of the Company in substantially the same proportions as their Ownership of stock of the Company; or (v) any natural person, Entity or “group” (within the meaning of Section 13(d) or 14(d) of the Exchange Act) that, as of the Effective Date, is the Owner, directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than 50% of the combined voting power of the Company’s then outstanding securities.
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(x) “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of the Common Stock determined as follows:
(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange or traded on any established market, the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock will be, unless otherwise determined by the Board, the closing sales price for such stock as quoted on such exchange or market (or the exchange or market with the greatest volume of trading in the Common Stock) on the date of determination.
(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Board, if there is no closing sales price for the Common Stock on the date of determination, then the Fair Market Value will be the closing selling price on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.
(iii) In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value will be determined by the Board in good faith and in a manner that complies with Sections 409A and 422 of the Code.
(y) “Incentive Stock Option” means an option granted pursuant to Section 5 of the Plan that is intended to be, and qualifies as, an “incentive stock option” within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code.
(z) “Non-Employee Director” means a Director who either (i) is not a current employee or officer of the Company or an Affiliate, does not receive compensation, either directly or indirectly, from the Company or an Affiliate for services rendered as a consultant or in any capacity other than as a Director (except for an amount as to which disclosure would not be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated pursuant to the Securities Act (“Regulation S-K”)), does not possess an interest in any other transaction for which disclosure would be required under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K, and is not engaged in a business relationship for which disclosure would be required pursuant to Item 404(b) of Regulation S-K; or (ii) is otherwise considered a “non-employee director” for purposes of Rule 16b-3.
(aa) “Nonstatutory Stock Option” means any Option granted pursuant to Section 5 of the Plan that does not qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.
(bb) “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
(cc) “Option” means an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Stock Option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to the Plan.
(dd) “Option Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and an Optionholder evidencing the terms and conditions of an Option grant. Each Option Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
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(ee) “Optionholder” means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.
(ff) “Other Stock Award” means an award based in whole or in part by reference to the Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(d).
(gg) “Other Stock Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of an Other Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of an Other Stock Award grant. Each Other Stock Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
(hh) “Own,” “Owned,” “Owner,” “Ownership” means a person or Entity will be deemed to “Own,” to have “Owned,” to be the “Owner” of, or to have acquired “Ownership” of securities if such person or Entity, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting, with respect to such securities.
(ii) “Participant” means a person to whom an Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Stock Award.
(jj) “Performance Cash Award” means an award of cash granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(c)(ii).
(kk) “Performance Criteria” means one or more criteria that the Board will select for purposes of establishing the Performance Goals for a Performance Period. The Performance Criteria that will be used to establish such Performance Goals may be based on any one of, or combination of, the following as determined by the Board: (1) earnings (including earnings per share and net earnings); (2) earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation; (3) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization; (4) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and legal settlements; (5) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, legal settlements and other income (expense); (6) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, legal settlements, other income (expense) and stock-based compensation; (7) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, legal settlements, other income (expense), stock-based compensation and changes in deferred revenue; (8) total stockholder return; (9) return on equity or average stockholder’s equity; (10) return on assets, investment, or capital employed; (11) stock price; (12) margin (including gross margin); (13) income (before or after taxes); (14) operating income; (15) operating income after taxes; (16) pre-tax profit; (17) operating cash flow; (18) sales or revenue targets; (19) increases in revenue or product revenue; (20) expenses and cost reduction goals; (21) improvement in or attainment of working capital levels; (22) economic value added (or an equivalent metric); (23) market share; (24) cash flow; (25) cash flow per share; (26) share price performance; (27) debt reduction; (28) implementation or completion of projects or processes; (29) stockholders’ equity; (30) capital expenditures; (31) debt levels; (32) operating profit or net operating profit; (33) workforce diversity; (34) growth of net income or operating income; (35) billings; (36) bookings; (37) employee retention; (38) user satisfaction; (39) the number of users, including unique users; (40) budget management; (41) partner satisfaction; (42) entry into or completion of strategic partnerships or transactions (including in-licensing and out-licensing of intellectual property); and (43) other measures of performance selected by the Board.
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(ll) “Performance Goals” means, for a Performance Period, one or more goals established by the Board for the Performance Period based upon the Performance Criteria. Performance Goals may be based on a Company-wide basis, with respect to one or more business units, divisions, Affiliates, or business segments, and in either absolute terms or relative to the performance of one or more comparable companies or the performance of one or more relevant indices. The Board will make adjustments in the method of calculating the attainment of Performance Goals for a Performance Period as it determines to be necessary or appropriate in its sole discretion, including without limitation: (1) to exclude restructuring and/or other nonrecurring charges; (2) to exclude exchange rate effects; (3) to exclude the effects of changes to generally accepted accounting principles; (4) to exclude the effects of any statutory adjustments to corporate tax rates; (5) to exclude the effects of any items that are unusual in nature or occur infrequently as determined under generally accepted accounting principles; (6) to exclude the dilutive effects of acquisitions or joint ventures; (7) to assume that any business divested by the Company achieved performance objectives at targeted levels during the balance of a Performance Period following such divestiture; (8) to exclude the effect of any change in the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company by reason of any stock dividend or split, stock repurchase, reorganization, recapitalization, merger, consolidation, spin-off, combination or exchange of shares or other similar corporate change, or any distributions to common stockholders other than regular cash dividends; (9) to exclude the effects of stock based compensation and the award of bonuses under the Company’s bonus plans; (10) to exclude costs incurred in connection with potential acquisitions or divestitures that are required to be expensed under generally accepted accounting principles; (11) to exclude the goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges that are required to be recorded under generally accepted accounting principles; and (12) to exclude the effect of any other unusual, non-recurring gain or loss or other extraordinary item. In addition, the Board retains the discretion to reduce or eliminate the compensation or economic benefit due upon attainment of Performance Goals and to define the manner of calculating the Performance Criteria it selects to use for such Performance Period. Partial achievement of the specified criteria may result in the payment or vesting corresponding to the degree of achievement as specified in the Stock Award Agreement or the written terms of a Performance Cash Award.
(mm) “Performance Period” means the period of time selected by the Board over which the attainment of one or more Performance Goals will be measured for the purpose of determining a Participant’s right to and the payment of a Stock Award or a Performance Cash Award. Performance Periods may be of varying and overlapping duration, at the sole discretion of the Board.
(nn) “Performance Stock Award” means a Stock Award granted under the terms and conditions of Section 6(c)(i).
(oo) “Plan” means this Squarespace, Inc. 2021 Equity Incentive Plan.
(pp) “Registration Date” means the date upon which the registration statement on Form S-1 that is filed by the Company is declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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(qq) “Restricted Stock Award” means an award of shares of Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(a).
(rr) “Restricted Stock Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Restricted Stock Award evidencing the terms and conditions of a Restricted Stock Award grant. Each Restricted Stock Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
(ss) “Restricted Stock Unit Award” means a right to receive shares of Common Stock which is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 6(b).
(tt) “Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Restricted Stock Unit Award evidencing the terms and conditions of a Restricted Stock Unit Award grant. Each Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
(uu) “Rule 16b-3” means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect from time to time.
(vv) “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(ww) “Stock Appreciation Right” or “SAR” means a right to receive the appreciation on Common Stock that is granted pursuant to the terms and conditions of Section 5.
(xx) “Stock Appreciation Right Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Stock Appreciation Right evidencing the terms and conditions of a Stock Appreciation Right grant. Each Stock Appreciation Right Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
(yy) “Stock Award” means any right to receive Common Stock granted under the Plan, including an Incentive Stock Option, a Nonstatutory Stock Option, a Restricted Stock Award, a Restricted Stock Unit Award, a Stock Appreciation Right, a Performance Stock Award or any Other Stock Award.
(zz) “Stock Award Agreement” means a written agreement between the Company and a Participant evidencing the terms and conditions of a Stock Award grant. Each Stock Award Agreement will be subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.
(aaa) “Subsidiary” means, with respect to the Company, (i) any corporation of which more than 50% of the outstanding capital stock having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors of such corporation (irrespective of whether, at the time, stock of any other class or classes of such corporation will have or might have voting power by reason of the happening of any contingency) is at the time, directly or indirectly, Owned by the Company, and (ii) any partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company has a direct or indirect interest (whether in the form of voting or participation in profits or capital contribution) of more than 50%.
(bbb) “Ten Percent Stockholder” means a person who Owns (or is deemed to Own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Affiliate.
(ccc) “Transaction” means a Corporate Transaction or a Change in Control.
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Exhibit 99.2
SQUARESPACE, INC.
2021 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN
ADOPTED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: MARCH 25, 2021
APPROVED BY THE STOCKHOLDERS: MAY 3, 2021
1. | GENERAL; PURPOSE. |
(a) The Plan provides a means by which Eligible Employees of the Company and certain designated Related Corporations may be given an opportunity to purchase shares of Common Stock. The Plan permits the Company to grant a series of Purchase Rights to Eligible Employees under an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
(b) The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to retain the services of such Employees, to secure and retain the services of new Employees and to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and its Related Corporations.
2. | ADMINISTRATION. |
(a) The Board will administer the Plan unless and until the Board delegates administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees, as provided in Section 2(c).
(b) The Board will have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:
(i) To determine how and when Purchase Rights will be granted and the provisions of each Offering (which need not be identical).
(ii) To designate from time to time which Related Corporations of the Company will be eligible to participate in the Plan.
(iii) To construe and interpret the Plan and Purchase Rights, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for administration of the Plan. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan, in a manner and to the extent it deems necessary or expedient to make the Plan fully effective.
(iv) To settle all controversies regarding the Plan and Purchase Rights granted under the Plan.
(v) To suspend or terminate the Plan at any time as provided in Section 12.
(vi) To amend the Plan at any time as provided in Section 12.
(vii) Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as it deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company and its Related Corporations and to carry out the intent that the Plan be treated as an Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
(viii) To adopt such procedures and sub-plans as are necessary or appropriate to permit participation in the Plan by Employees who are foreign nationals or employed outside the United States.
(c) The Board may delegate some or all of the administration of the Plan to a Committee or Committees. If administration is delegated to a Committee, the Committee will have, in connection with the administration of the Plan, the powers theretofore possessed by the Board that have been delegated to the Committee, including the power to delegate to a subcommittee any of the administrative powers the Committee is authorized to exercise (and references to the Board in this Plan and in any applicable Offering Document will thereafter be to the Committee or subcommittee), subject, however, to such resolutions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as may be adopted from time to time by the Board. The Board may retain the authority to concurrently administer the Plan with the Committee and may, at any time, revest in the Board some or all of the powers previously delegated. Whether or not the Board has delegated administration of the Plan to a Committee, the Board will have the final power to determine all questions of policy and expediency that may arise in the administration of the Plan.
(d) All determinations, interpretations and constructions made by the Board in good faith will not be subject to review by any person and will be final, binding and conclusive on all persons.
3. | SHARES OF COMMON STOCK SUBJECT TO THE PLAN. |
(a) Subject to the provisions of Section 11(a) relating to Capitalization Adjustments, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued under the Plan shall be [______] shares of Common Stock, as increased on January 1 of each fiscal year of the Company beginning on January 1, 2022 by a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the lesser of (i) 1% of the aggregate number of shares of Capital Stock outstanding on December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) 1,375,000 shares of Common Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may act prior to January 1 of a given year to provide that there will be no January 1 increase in the share reserve for such calendar year or that the increase in the share reserve for such calendar year will be a lesser number of shares of Common Stock than would otherwise occur pursuant to the preceding sentence.
(b) If any Purchase Right granted under the Plan terminates without having been exercised in full, the shares of Common Stock not purchased under such Purchase Right will again become available for issuance under the Plan.
(c) The stock issuable under the Plan will be shares of authorized but unissued or reacquired Common Stock, including shares repurchased by the Company on the open market or otherwise.
4. | GRANT OF PURCHASE RIGHTS; OFFERING. |
(a) The Board may from time to time grant or provide for the grant of Purchase Rights to Eligible Employees under an Offering (consisting of one or more Purchase Periods) on an Offering Date or Offering Dates selected by the Board. Each Offering will be in such form and will contain such terms and conditions as the Board will deem appropriate, and will comply with the requirement of Section 423(b)(5) of the Code that all Employees granted Purchase Rights will have the same rights and privileges. The terms and conditions of an Offering shall be incorporated by reference into the Plan and treated as part of the Plan. The provisions of separate Offerings need not be identical, but each Offering will include (through incorporation of the provisions of this Plan by reference in the document comprising the Offering or otherwise) the period during which the Offering will be effective, which period will not exceed 27 months beginning with the Offering Date, and the substance of the provisions contained in Sections 5 through 8, inclusive.
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(b) If a Participant has more than one Purchase Right outstanding under the Plan, unless the Participant otherwise indicates in forms delivered to the Company: (i) each form will apply to all of the Participant’s Purchase Rights under the Plan, and (ii) a Purchase Right with a lower exercise price (or an earlier-granted Purchase Right, if different Purchase Rights have identical exercise prices) will be exercised to the fullest possible extent before a Purchase Right with a higher exercise price (or a later-granted Purchase Right if different Purchase Rights have identical exercise prices) will be exercised.
(c) The Board will have the discretion to structure an Offering so that if the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the first Trading Day of a new Purchase Period within that Offering is less than or equal to the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Offering Date for that Offering, then (i) that Offering will terminate immediately as of that first Trading Day, and (ii) the Participants in such terminated Offering will be automatically enrolled in a new Offering beginning on the first Trading Day of such new Purchase Period.
5. | ELIGIBILITY. |
(a) Purchase Rights may be granted only to Employees of the Company or, as the Board may designate in accordance with Section 2(b), to Employees of a Related Corporation. Except as provided in Section 5(b), an Employee will not be eligible to be granted Purchase Rights unless, on the Offering Date, the Employee has been in the employ of the Company or the Related Corporation, as the case may be, for such continuous period preceding such Offering Date as the Board may require, but in no event will the required period of continuous employment be equal to or greater than two years. In addition, the Board may provide that no Employee will be eligible to be granted Purchase Rights under the Plan unless, on the Offering Date, such Employee’s customary employment with the Company or the Related Corporation is more than 20 hours per week and more than five months per calendar year or such other criteria as the Board may determine consistent with Section 423 of the Code.
(b) The Board may provide that each person who, during the course of an Offering, first becomes an Eligible Employee will, on a date or dates specified in the Offering which coincides with the day on which such person becomes an Eligible Employee or which occurs thereafter, receive a Purchase Right under that Offering, which Purchase Right will thereafter be deemed to be a part of that Offering. Such Purchase Right will have the same characteristics as any Purchase Rights originally granted under that Offering, as described herein, except that:
(i) the date on which such Purchase Right is granted will be the “Offering Date” of such Purchase Right for all purposes, including determination of the exercise price of such Purchase Right;
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(ii) the period of the Offering with respect to such Purchase Right will begin on its Offering Date and end coincident with the end of such Offering; and
(iii) the Board may provide that if such person first becomes an Eligible Employee within a specified period of time before the end of the Offering, he or she will not receive any Purchase Right under that Offering.
(c) No Employee will be eligible for the grant of any Purchase Rights if, immediately after any such Purchase Rights are granted, such Employee owns stock possessing five percent or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of stock of the Company or of any Related Corporation. For purposes of this Section 5(c), the rules of Section 424(d) of the Code will apply in determining the stock ownership of any Employee, and stock which such Employee may purchase under all outstanding Purchase Rights and options will be treated as stock owned by such Employee.
(d) As specified by Section 423(b)(8) of the Code, an Eligible Employee may be granted Purchase Rights only if such Purchase Rights, together with any other rights granted under all Employee Stock Purchase Plans of the Company and any Related Corporations, do not permit such Eligible Employee’s rights to purchase stock of the Company or any Related Corporation to accrue at a rate which exceeds $25,000 of Fair Market Value of such stock (determined at the time such rights are granted, and which, with respect to the Plan, will be determined as of their respective Offering Dates) for each calendar year in which such rights are outstanding at any time.
(e) Officers of the Company and any designated Related Corporation, if they are otherwise Eligible Employees, will be eligible to participate in Offerings under the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may provide in an Offering that Employees who are highly compensated Employees within the meaning of Section 423(b)(4)(D) of the Code will not be eligible to participate.
6. | PURCHASE RIGHTS; PURCHASE PRICE. |
(a) On each Offering Date, each Eligible Employee, pursuant to an Offering made under the Plan, will be granted a Purchase Right to purchase up to that number of shares of Common Stock purchasable either with a percentage or with a maximum dollar amount, as designated by the Board, but in either case not exceeding 15% of such Employee’s earnings (as defined by the Board in each Offering) during the period that begins on the Offering Date (or such later date as the Board determines for a particular Offering) and ends on the date stated in the Offering, which date will be no later than the end of the Offering.
(b) The Board will establish one or more Purchase Dates during an Offering on which Purchase Rights granted for that Offering will be exercised and shares of Common Stock will be purchased in accordance with such Offering.
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(c) In connection with each Offering made under the Plan, the Board may specify (i) a maximum number of shares of Common Stock that may be purchased by any Participant on any Purchase Date during such Offering, (ii) a maximum aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be purchased by all Participants pursuant to such Offering and/or (iii) a maximum aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be purchased by all Participants on any Purchase Date under the Offering. If the aggregate purchase of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of Purchase Rights granted under the Offering would exceed any such maximum aggregate number, then, in the absence of any Board action otherwise, a pro rata (based on each Participant’s accumulated Contributions) allocation of the shares of Common Stock available will be made in as nearly a uniform manner as will be practicable and equitable.
(d) The purchase price of shares of Common Stock acquired pursuant to Purchase Rights will be determined by the Board with respect to each Offering and will not be less than the lesser of:
(i) an amount equal to 85% of the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock on the Offering Date; or
(ii) an amount equal to 85% of the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock on the applicable Purchase Date.
7. | PARTICIPATION; WITHDRAWAL; TERMINATION. |
(a) An Eligible Employee may elect to authorize payroll deductions as the means of making Contributions by completing and delivering to the Company, within the time specified in the Offering, an enrollment form provided by the Company. The enrollment form will specify the amount of Contributions not to exceed the maximum amount specified by the Board. Each Participant’s Contributions will be credited to a bookkeeping account for such Participant under the Plan and will be deposited with the general funds of the Company except where applicable law requires that Contributions be deposited with a third party. If permitted in the Offering, a Participant may begin such Contributions with the first payroll occurring on or after the Offering Date (or, in the case of a payroll date that occurs after the end of the prior Offering but before the Offering Date of the next new Offering, Contributions from such payroll will be included in the new Offering). If permitted in the Offering, a Participant may thereafter reduce (including to zero) or increase the Participant’s Contributions. If specifically provided in the Offering, in addition to making Contributions by payroll deductions, a Participant may make Contributions through the payment by cash or check prior to a Purchase Date.
(b) During an Offering, a Participant may cease making Contributions and withdraw from the Offering by delivering to the Company a withdrawal form provided by the Company. The Company may impose a deadline before a Purchase Date for withdrawing. Upon such withdrawal, such Participant’s Purchase Right in that Offering will immediately terminate and the Company will distribute to such Participant all of the Participant’s accumulated but unused Contributions and such Participant’s Purchase Right in that Offering shall thereupon terminate. A Participant’s withdrawal from that Offering will have no effect upon the Participant’s eligibility to participate in any other Offerings under the Plan, but such Participant will be required to deliver a new enrollment form to participate in subsequent Offerings.
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(c) Purchase Rights granted pursuant to any Offering under the Plan will terminate immediately if the Participant either (i) is no longer an Employee (subject to any post-employment participation period required by law) or (ii) is otherwise no longer eligible to participate. The Company will distribute to such individual all of the individual’s accumulated but unused Contributions.
(d) During a Participant’s lifetime, Purchase Rights will be exercisable only by such Participant. Purchase Rights are not transferable by a Participant, except by will, by the laws of descent and distribution, or, if permitted by the Company, by a beneficiary designation as described in Section 10.
(e) Unless otherwise specified in the Offering, the Company will have no obligation to pay interest on Contributions.
8. | EXERCISE OF PURCHASE RIGHTS. |
(a) On each Purchase Date, each Participant’s accumulated Contributions will be applied to the purchase of shares of Common Stock, up to the maximum number of shares of Common Stock permitted by the Plan and the applicable Offering, at the purchase price specified in the Offering. No fractional shares will be issued unless specifically provided for in the Offering.
(b) Unless otherwise provided in the Offering, if any amount of accumulated Contributions remains in a Participant’s account after the purchase of shares of Common Stock and such remaining amount is less than the amount required to purchase one share of Common Stock on the final Purchase Date of an Offering, then such remaining amount will be held in such Participant’s account for the purchase of shares of Common Stock under the next Offering under the Plan, unless such Participant withdraws from or is not eligible to participate in such next Offering, in which case such amount will be distributed to such Participant after the final Purchase Date without interest. If the amount of Contributions remaining in a Participant’s account after the purchase of shares of Common Stock is at least equal to the amount required to purchase one (1) whole share of Common Stock on the final Purchase Date of an Offering, then such remaining amount will be distributed in full to such Participant after the final Purchase Date of such Offering without interest.
(c) No Purchase Rights may be exercised to any extent unless the shares of Common Stock to be issued upon such exercise under the Plan are covered by an effective registration statement pursuant to the Securities Act and the Plan is in material compliance with all applicable federal, state, foreign and other securities and other laws applicable to the Plan. If on a Purchase Date the shares of Common Stock are not so registered or the Plan is not in such compliance, no Purchase Rights will be exercised on such Purchase Date, and the Purchase Date will be delayed until the shares of Common Stock are subject to such an effective registration statement and the Plan is in material compliance, except that the Purchase Date will in no event be more than six months from the Offering Date. If, on the Purchase Date, as delayed to the maximum extent permissible, the shares of Common Stock are not registered and the Plan is not in material compliance with all applicable laws, no Purchase Rights will be exercised and all accumulated but unused Contributions will be distributed to the Participants without interest.
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9. | COVENANTS OF THE COMPANY. |
The Company will seek to obtain from each federal, state, foreign or other regulatory commission or agency having jurisdiction over the Plan such authority as may be required to grant Purchase Rights and issue and sell shares of Common Stock thereunder. If, after commercially reasonable efforts, the Company is unable to obtain the authority that counsel for the Company deems necessary for the grant of Purchase Rights or the lawful issuance and sale of Common Stock under the Plan, and at a commercially reasonable cost, the Company will be relieved from any liability for failure to grant Purchase Rights and/or to issue and sell Common Stock upon exercise of such Purchase Rights.
10. | DESIGNATION OF BENEFICIARY. |
(a) The Company may, but is not obligated to, permit a Participant to submit a form designating a beneficiary who will receive any shares of Common Stock and/or Contributions from the Participant’s account under the Plan if the Participant dies before such shares and/or Contributions are delivered to the Participant. The Company may, but is not obligated to, permit the Participant to change such designation of beneficiary. Any such designation and/or change must be on a form approved by the Company.
(b) If a Participant dies, and in the absence of a valid beneficiary designation, the Company will deliver any shares of Common Stock and/or Contributions to the executor or administrator of the estate of the Participant. If no executor or administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of the Company), the Company, in its sole discretion, may deliver such shares of Common Stock and/or Contributions to the Participant’s spouse, dependents or relatives, or if no spouse, dependent or relative is known to the Company, then to such other person as the Company may designate.
11. | ADJUSTMENTS UPON CHANGES IN COMMON STOCK; CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS. |
(a) In the event of a Capitalization Adjustment, an equitable substitution or proportionate adjustment shall be made, in each case as determined by the Board in its sole discretion, with respect to: (i) the class(es) and maximum number of securities subject to the Plan pursuant to Section 3(a), (ii) the class(es) and maximum number of securities by which the share reserve is to increase automatically each year pursuant to Section 3(a), (iii) the class(es) and number of securities subject to, and the purchase price applicable to outstanding Offerings and Purchase Rights, and (iv) the class(es) and number of securities that are the subject of the purchase limits under each ongoing Offering. The Board will make such adjustments, and its determination will be final, binding and conclusive.
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(b) In the event of a Corporate Transaction, then: (i) any surviving corporation or acquiring corporation (or the surviving or acquiring corporation’s parent company) may assume or continue outstanding Purchase Rights or may substitute similar rights (including a right to acquire the same consideration paid to the stockholders in the Corporate Transaction) for outstanding Purchase Rights, or (ii) if any surviving or acquiring corporation (or its parent company) does not assume or continue such Purchase Rights or does not substitute similar rights for such Purchase Rights, then the Participants’ accumulated Contributions will be used to purchase shares of Common Stock within ten business days prior to the Corporate Transaction under the outstanding Purchase Rights, and the Purchase Rights will terminate immediately after such purchase.
12. | AMENDMENT, TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE PLAN. |
(a) The Board may amend the Plan at any time in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable; provided that, stockholder approval will be required for any amendment of the Plan for which stockholder approval is required by applicable law or listing requirements.
(b) The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. No Purchase Rights may be granted under the Plan while the Plan is suspended or after it is terminated.
(c) Any benefits, privileges, entitlements and obligations under any outstanding Purchase Rights granted before an amendment, suspension or termination of the Plan will not be materially impaired by any such amendment, suspension or termination except (i) with the consent of the person to whom such Purchase Rights were granted, (ii) as necessary to comply with any laws, listing requirements, or governmental regulations (including, without limitation, the provisions of Section 423 of the Code and the regulations and other interpretive guidance issued thereunder relating to Employee Stock Purchase Plans), including, without limitation, any such regulations or other guidance that may be issued or amended after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board, or (iii) as necessary to obtain or maintain favorable tax, listing, or regulatory treatment.
Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or any Offering Document to the contrary, the Board will be entitled to: (i) establish the exchange ratio applicable to amounts withheld in a currency other than U.S. dollars; (ii) permit Contributions in excess of the amount designated by a Participant in order to adjust for mistakes in the Company’s processing of properly completed Contribution elections; (iii) establish reasonable waiting and adjustment periods and/or accounting and crediting procedures to ensure that amounts applied toward the purchase of Common Stock for each Participant properly correspond with amounts withheld from the Participant’s Contributions; (iv) amend any outstanding Purchase Rights or clarify any ambiguities regarding the terms of any Offering to enable the Purchase Rights to qualify under and/or comply with Section 423 of the Code; and (v) establish other limitations or procedures as the Board determines in its sole discretion advisable that are consistent with the Plan. The actions of the Board pursuant to this paragraph will not be considered to alter or impair any Purchase Rights granted under an Offering as they are part of the initial terms of each Offering and the Purchase Rights granted under each Offering.
13. | EFFECTIVE DATE OF PLAN. |
The Plan will become effective immediately prior to and contingent upon the Registration Date, and, unless terminated earlier pursuant to Section 12(b), shall have a term of ten (10) years. No Purchase Rights will be exercised unless and until the Plan has been approved by the stockholders of the Company, which approval must be within 12 months before or after the date the Plan is adopted (or if required under Section 12(a) above, materially amended) by the Board.
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14. | MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. |
(a) Proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock pursuant to Purchase Rights will constitute general funds of the Company.
(b) A Participant will not be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, shares of Common Stock subject to Purchase Rights unless and until the Participant’s shares of Common Stock acquired upon exercise of Purchase Rights are recorded in the books of the Company.
(c) Each Participant shall give the Company prompt written notice of any disposition or other transfer of any shares of Common Stock, acquired pursuant to the exercise of an option granted under the Section 423 of the Code, if such disposition or transfer is made (i) within two years after the applicable Offering Date or (ii) within one year after the Purchase Date. The Company may direct that any certificates evidencing shares acquired pursuant to the Plan refer to such requirement.
(d) The Plan and Offering do not constitute an employment contract. Nothing in the Plan or in the Offering will in any way alter the at will nature of a Participant’s employment or be deemed to create in any way whatsoever any obligation on the part of any Participant to continue in the employ of the Company or a Related Corporation, or on the part of the Company or a Related Corporation to continue the employment of a Participant.
(e) The laws of the State of Delaware will govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of the Plan, without regard to that state’s conflict of laws rules.
(f) Unless otherwise provided in a Participant’s Award Agreement, all notices, requests, demands, claims and other communications by the Participant with respect to the Plan or any Award shall be in writing (including electronically) and shall be deemed given if delivered by certified or registered mail (first class postage prepaid), guaranteed overnight delivery or email transmission, to the following address (or to such other addresses which the Company shall designate in writing to the Participant from time to time):
Squarespace, Inc.
225 Varick Street, 12th Floor
New York, NY 10014
Attention: Legal Department
Email: legal@squarespace.com
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15. | DEFINITIONS. |
As used in the Plan, the following definitions will apply to the capitalized terms indicated below:
(a) “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(b) “Capitalization Adjustment” means any change that is made in, or other events that occur with respect to, the Common Stock subject to the Plan or subject to any Purchase Right after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board without the receipt of consideration by the Company through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, large nonrecurring cash dividend, stock split, liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or other similar equity restructuring transaction, as that term is used in Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (or any successor thereto). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the conversion of any convertible securities of the Company will not be treated as a Capitalization Adjustment.
(c) “Capital Stock” means each and every class of common stock of the Company, regardless of the number of votes per share.
(d) “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, including any applicable regulations and guidance thereunder.
(e) “Committee” means a committee of one or more members of the Board to whom authority has been delegated by the Board in accordance with Section 2(c).
(f) “Common Stock” means, as of the Registration Date, the Class A common stock of the Company.
(g) “Company” means Squarespace, Inc., a Delaware corporation.
(h) “Contributions” means the payroll deductions and other additional payments specifically provided for in the Offering that a Participant contributes to fund the exercise of a Purchase Right. A Participant may make additional payments into his or her account if specifically provided for in the Offering, and then only if the Participant has not already had the maximum permitted amount withheld during the Offering through payroll deductions.
(i) “Corporate Transaction” means the consummation, in a single transaction or in a series of related transactions, of any one or more of the following events:
(i) a sale or other disposition of all or substantially all, as determined by the Board in its sole discretion, of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries;
(ii) a sale or other disposition of more than 50% of the outstanding securities of the Company;
(iii) a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is not the surviving corporation; or
(iv) a merger, consolidation or similar transaction following which the Company is the surviving corporation but the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately preceding the merger, consolidation or similar transaction are converted or exchanged by virtue of the merger, consolidation or similar transaction into other property, whether in the form of securities, cash or otherwise.
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(j) “Director” means a member of the Board.
(k) “Eligible Employee” means an Employee who meets the requirements set forth in the document(s) governing the Offering for eligibility to participate in the Offering; provided that such Employee also meets the requirements for eligibility to participate set forth in the Plan.
(l) “Employee” means any person, including an Officer or Director, who is “employed” for purposes of Section 423(b)(4) of the Code by the Company or a Related Corporation. However, service solely as a Director, or payment of a fee for such services, will not cause a Director to be considered an “Employee” for purposes of the Plan.
(m) “Employee Stock Purchase Plan” means a plan that grants Purchase Rights intended to be options issued under an “employee stock purchase plan,” as that term is defined in Section 423(b) of the Code.
(n) “Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(o) “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of the Common Stock determined as follows:
(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange or traded on any established market, the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock will be, unless otherwise determined by the Board, the closing sales price for such stock as quoted on such exchange or market (or the exchange or market with the greatest volume of trading in the Common Stock) on the date of determination, as reported in a source the Board deems reliable.
(ii) Unless otherwise provided by the Board, if there is no closing sales price for the Common Stock on the date of determination, then the Fair Market Value will be the closing selling price on the last preceding date for which such quotation exists.
(iii) In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value will be determined by the Board in good faith in compliance with applicable laws and in a manner that complies with Section 409A of the Code.
(p) “Offering” means the grant to Eligible Employees of Purchase Rights, with the exercise of those Purchase Rights automatically occurring at the end of one or more Purchase Periods. The terms and conditions of an Offering will generally be set forth in the “Offering Document” approved by the Board for that Offering.
(q) “Offering Date” means a date selected by the Board for an Offering to commence.
(r) “Officer” means a person who is an officer of the Company or a Related Corporation within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
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(s) “Participant” means an Eligible Employee who holds an outstanding Purchase Right.
(t) “Plan” means this Squarespace, Inc. 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
(u) “Purchase Date” means one or more dates during an Offering selected by the Board on which Purchase Rights will be exercised and on which purchases of shares of Common Stock will be carried out in accordance with such Offering.
(v) “Purchase Period” means a period of time specified within an Offering, generally beginning on the Offering Date or on the first Trading Day following a Purchase Date, and ending on a Purchase Date. An Offering may consist of one or more Purchase Periods.
(w) “Purchase Right” means an option to purchase shares of Common Stock granted pursuant to the Plan.
(x) “Registration Date” means the date upon which the registration statement on Form S-1 that is filed by the Company is declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
(y) “Related Corporation” means any “parent corporation” or “subsidiary corporation” of the Company whether now or subsequently established, as those terms are defined in Sections 424(e) and (f), respectively, of the Code.
(z) “Securities Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(aa) “Subsidiary” means, with respect to the Company, (i) any corporation of which more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding capital stock having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors of such corporation (irrespective of whether, at the time, stock of any other class or classes of such corporation will have or might have voting power by reason of the happening of any contingency) is at the time, directly or indirectly, Owned by the Company, and (ii) any partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which the Company has a direct or indirect interest (whether in the form of voting or participation in profits or capital contribution) of more than fifty percent (50%). For purposes of the foregoing clause (i), the Company will be deemed to “Own” or have “Owned” such securities if the Company, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or to direct the voting, with respect to such securities.
(bb) “Trading Day” means any day on which the exchange(s) or market(s) on which shares of Common Stock are listed, including, but not limited to, the NYSE, Nasdaq Global Select Market, the Nasdaq Global Market, the Nasdaq Capital Market or any successors thereto, is open for trading.
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