Table of Contents

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 22, 2013

Registration No. 333-191552

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

AMENDMENT NO. 2

TO

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

 

Twitter, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   7370   20-8913779
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)  

(Primary Standard Industrial

Classification Code Number)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

 

1355 Market Street, Suite 900

San Francisco, California 94103

(415) 222-9670

 

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of Registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

 

Richard Costolo

Chief Executive Officer

Twitter, Inc.

1355 Market Street, Suite 900

San Francisco, California 94103

(415) 222-9670

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

 

 

 

    Copies to:    

Steven E. Bochner, Esq.

Katharine A. Martin, Esq.

Rezwan D. Pavri, Esq.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

650 Page Mill Road

Palo Alto, California 94304

(650) 493-9300

 

Vijaya Gadde, Esq.

Sean Edgett, Esq.

Twitter, Inc.

1355 Market Street, Suite 900

San Francisco, California 94103

(415) 222-9670

 

Alan F. Denenberg, Esq.

Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP

1600 El Camino Real

Menlo Park, California 94025

(650) 752-2000

 

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public : As soon as practicable after this registration statement becomes effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act, check the following box:   ¨

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.   ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer   ¨    Accelerated filer   ¨
Non-accelerated filer   x   (Do not check if a smaller reporting company)    Smaller reporting company   ¨

 

 

The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

 


Table of Contents

The information in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. These securities may not be sold until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

Subject To Completion. Dated October 22, 2013.

             Shares

 

 

LOGO

 

Twitter, Inc.

Common Stock

 

 

This is an initial public offering of shares of common stock of Twitter, Inc.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the common stock. It is currently estimated that the initial public offering price per share will be between $         and $        . We intend to list the common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TWTR”.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, may elect to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements for future filings.

See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 16 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of the common stock.

 

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

 

 

     Per Share      Total  

Initial public offering price

   $                            $                        

Underwriting discount

   $         $     

Proceeds, before expenses, to Twitter

   $         $     

To the extent that the underwriters sell more than              shares of common stock, the underwriters have the option to purchase up to an additional              shares from Twitter at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount.

 

 

The underwriters expect to deliver the shares against payment in New York, New York on                     , 2013.

 

Goldman, Sachs & Co.   Morgan Stanley   J.P. Morgan

 

BofA Merrill Lynch    Deutsche Bank Securities

 

 

Allen & Company LLC    CODE Advisors

 

 

Prospectus dated                 , 2013


Table of Contents

LOGO

 

Public. Real-Time. Conversational. Distributed. 200,000,000+ MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS 500,000,000+ TWEETS PER DAY


Table of Contents

LOGO

 

Public Twitter is open to the world. Dawn Zimmer @dawnzimmernj Just advised the national guard has arrived in Hoboken. More to come. 8:08 PM - 30 Oct 12 American Red Cross American Red Cross @RedCross In Hoboken, we have 20 vehicles and 6 box trucks w boxed lunches, ready-to-eat meals, water, 7 mental health workers (11.1.12) #Sandy 11:35 AM - 1 Nov 12 Mike Bloomberg @MikeBloomberg NYC Tap Water is absolutely safe to drink #SandyNYC #Recovery 11:40 AM - 1 Nov 12 Real-Time News breaks on Twitter. Jānis Krūms @jkrums twitpic.com/135xa - There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy. 12:36 PM - 15 Jan 09


Table of Contents

LOGO

 

Conversational Users express themselves on Twitter. Mario Batali @Mariobatali use San Marzano tomatoes, cook garlic less? #heymb RT@amarah31:i ama good cook, but my red sauce tastes bitter. What could be the reason? GAVIN ROSSDALE @Gavin.. @Mariobatali @amarah31 could be the basil-too much too long Mario Batali @Mariobatali behind this handsome rocker facade lies a brilliant cook!! RT @GavinRossdale: @Mariobatali @ amarah31 could be the basil-too much too long” Distributed Tweets go everywhere. Barack Obama @BarackObama Four more years. pictwitter.com/baJE6Vom 11:16 PM - 6 Nov 12 Today Show Barack Obama @BarackObama “Four more years” TAKE 1 TOP TWEETS OF 2012 German newspaper Barack Obama @BarackObama Four more years. pictwitter.com/baJE6Vom Drei Wôrter, ein Rekord


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prospectus

 

     Page  

Prospectus Summary

     1   

Risk Factors

     16   

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

     49   

Industry Data and Company Metrics

     50   

Use of Proceeds

     52   

Dividend Policy

     52   

Capitalization

     53   

Dilution

     55   

Selected Consolidated Financial and Other Data

     58   

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     60   

Letter from @twitter

     95   

Business

     96   

Management

     122   

Executive Compensation

     130   

Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions

     144   

Principal Stockholders

     149   

Description of Capital Stock

     153   

Shares Eligible for Future Sale

     159   

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences to Non-U.S. Holders of Our Common Stock

     162   

Underwriting

     166   

Legal Matters

     171   

Experts

     171   

Where You Can Find Additional Information

     171   

Index to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-1   

 

 

Through and including                     , 2013 (the 25th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers effecting transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to a dealer’s obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as an underwriter and with respect to an unsold allotment or subscription.

 

 

We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectuses we have prepared. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this prospectus is current only as of its date.


Table of Contents

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information that is presented in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms “Twitter,” “the company,” “we,” “us” and “our” in this prospectus refer to Twitter, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

TWITTER, INC.

Twitter is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. By developing a fundamentally new way for people to create, distribute and discover content, we have democratized content creation and distribution, enabling any voice to echo around the world instantly and unfiltered.

Our platform is unique in its simplicity: Tweets are limited to 140 characters of text. This constraint makes it easy for anyone to quickly create, distribute and discover content that is consistent across our platform and optimized for mobile devices. As a result, Tweets drive a high velocity of information exchange that makes Twitter uniquely “live.” We aim to become an indispensable daily companion to live human experiences.

People are at the heart of Twitter. We have already achieved significant global scale, and we continue to grow. We have more than 230 million monthly active users, or MAUs, and more than 100 million daily active users, spanning nearly every country. Our users include millions of people from around the world, as well as influential individuals and organizations, such as world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands. Our users create approximately 500 million Tweets every day.

Twitter is a public, real-time platform where any user can create a Tweet and any user can follow other users. We do not impose restrictions on whom a user can follow, which greatly enhances the breadth and depth of available content and allows users to discover the content they care about most. Additionally, users can be followed by thousands or millions of other users without requiring a reciprocal relationship, enhancing the ability of our users to reach a broad audience. The public nature of our platform allows us and others to extend the reach of Twitter content beyond our properties. Media outlets distribute Tweets beyond our properties to complement their content by making it more timely, relevant and comprehensive. Tweets have appeared on over one million third-party websites, and in the third quarter of 2013 there were approximately 48 billion online impressions of Tweets off of our properties.

Twitter provides a compelling and efficient way for people to stay informed about their interests, discover what is happening in their world right now and interact directly with each other. We enable the timely creation and distribution of ideas and information among people and organizations at a local and global scale. Our platform allows users to browse through Tweets quickly and explore content more deeply through links, photos, media and other applications that can be attached to each Tweet. As a result, when events happen in the world, whether planned, like sporting events and television shows, or unplanned, like natural disasters and political revolutions, the digital experience of those events happens in real time on Twitter. People can communicate with each other during these events as they occur, creating powerful shared experiences.

 

 

1


Table of Contents

We are inspired by how Twitter has been used around the world. President Obama used our platform to first declare victory publicly in the 2012 U.S. presidential election, with a Tweet that was viewed approximately 25 million times on our platform and widely distributed offline in print and broadcast media. A local resident in Abbottabad, Pakistan unknowingly reported the raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound on Twitter hours before traditional media and news outlets began to report on the event. During the earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan, people came to Twitter to understand the extent of the disaster, find loved ones and follow the nuclear crisis that ensued. For individuals and organizations seeking timely distribution of content, Twitter moves beyond traditional broadcast mediums by assembling connected audiences. Twitter brings people together in shared experiences allowing them to discover and consume content and just as easily add their own voice in the moment.

Our platform partners and advertisers enhance the value we create for our users.

 

  Ÿ  

Platform Partners.     Millions of platform partners, which include publishers, media outlets and developers, have integrated with Twitter, adding value to our user experience by contributing content to our platform, broadly distributing content from our platform across their properties and using Twitter content and tools to enhance their websites and applications. Many of the world’s most trusted media outlets, including the BBC, CNN and Times of India, regularly use Twitter as a platform for content distribution.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertisers.     Advertisers use our Promoted Products, the majority of which are pay-for-performance, to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and complement and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns. We enable our advertisers to target an audience based on a variety of factors, including a user’s Interest Graph. The Interest Graph maps, among other things, interests based on users followed and actions taken on our platform, such as Tweets created and engagement with Tweets. We believe a user’s Interest Graph produces a clear and real-time signal of a user’s interests, greatly enhancing the relevance of the ads we can display for users and enhancing our targeting capabilities for advertisers.

Although we do not generate revenue directly from users or platform partners, we benefit from network effects where more activity on Twitter results in the creation and distribution of more content, which attracts more users, platform partners and advertisers, resulting in a virtuous cycle of value creation.

Mobile has become the primary driver of our business. Our mobile products are critical to the value we create for our users, and they enable our users to create, distribute and discover content in the moment and on-the-go. The 140 character constraint of a Tweet emanates from our origins as an SMS-based messaging system, and we leverage this simplicity to develop products that seamlessly bridge our user experience across all devices. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, 76% of our average MAUs accessed Twitter from a mobile device, including mobile phones and tablets, and over 70% of our advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices. We expect that the proportion of active users on, and advertising revenue generated from, mobile devices, will continue to grow in the near term.

We have experienced rapid growth in our revenue in recent periods. From 2011 to 2012, revenue increased by 198% to $316.9 million, net loss decreased by 38% to $79.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased by 149% to $21.2 million. From the nine months ended September 30, 2012 to the nine months ended September 30, 2013, revenue increased by 106% to $422.2 million, net loss increased by 89% to $133.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased by $27.1 million to $30.7 million. For information on how we define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA, and a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA, see the section titled “—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

 

 

2


Table of Contents

We have also experienced significant growth in our user base, as measured by MAUs, and user engagement, as measured by timeline views.

 

LOGO    LOGO

For information on how we define and calculate the number of MAUs and the number of timeline views and factors that can affect these metrics, see the sections titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics” and “Industry Data and Company Metrics.”

The Evolution of Content Creation, Distribution and Discovery

The Internet and digitization have allowed for virtually all content to be made available online, but the vast array of content has made it difficult for people to find what is important or relevant to them. Over time, technologies have been developed to address this challenge:

Web Browsers .    In the early to mid-1990s, browsers, including Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, presented content on the Internet in a visually appealing manner and allowed people to navigate to specific websites, but the content experience was generally not personalized or tailored to a person’s interests and information was often difficult to find.

Web Portals .    In the mid to late-1990s, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN and other web portals aggregated and categorized popular content and other communication features to help people discover relevant information on the Internet. These portals, while convenient, and with some ability to personalize, offer access to a limited amount of content.

Search Engines .    In the early-2000s, Google and other search engines began providing a way to search a vast amount of content, but search results are limited by the quality of the search algorithm and the amount of content in the search index. In addition, given the lag between live events and the creation and indexing of digital content, search engine results may lack real-time information. Also, search engines generally do not surface content that a person has not requested, but may find interesting.

Social Networks .    In the mid-2000s, social networks, such as Facebook, emerged as a new way to connect with friends and family online, but they are generally closed, private networks that do not include content from outside a person’s friends, family and mutual connections. Consequently, the depth and breadth of content available to people is generally limited. Additionally, content from most social networks is not broadly available off their networks, such as on other websites, applications or traditional media outlets like television, radio and print.

 

 

3


Table of Contents

Twitter Continues the Evolution

Twitter continues the evolution of content creation, distribution and discovery by combining the following four elements at scale to create a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. We believe Twitter can be the content creation, distribution and discovery platform for the Internet and evolving mobile ecosystem.

 

  Ÿ  

Public .    Twitter is open to the world. Content on Twitter is broadly accessible to our users and unregistered visitors. All users can create Tweets and follow other users. In addition, because the public nature of Twitter allows content to travel virally on and off our properties to other websites and media, such as television and print, people can benefit from Twitter content even if they are not Twitter users or following the user that originally tweeted.

 

  Ÿ  

Real-Time .    News breaks on Twitter. The combination of our tools, technology and format enables our users to quickly create and distribute content globally in real time with 140 keystrokes or the flash of a photo, and the click of a button. The ease with which our users can create content combined with our broad reach results in users often receiving content faster than other forms of media.

 

  Ÿ  

Conversational .    Twitter is where users come to express themselves and interact with the world. Our users can interact on Twitter directly with other users, including people from around the world, as well as influential individuals and organizations. Importantly, these interactions can occur in public view, thereby creating an opportunity for all users to follow and participate in conversations on Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Distributed .    Tweets go everywhere. The simple format of a Tweet, the public nature of content on Twitter and the ease of distribution off our properties allow media outlets to display Tweets on their online and offline properties, thereby extending the reach of Tweets beyond our properties. A 2013 study conducted by Arbitron Inc. and Edison Research found that 44% of Americans hear about Tweets through media channels other than Twitter almost every day.

Our Value Proposition to Users

People are at the heart of Twitter. We have more than 230 million MAUs from around the world. People come to Twitter for many reasons, and we believe that two of the most significant are the breadth of Twitter content and our broad reach. Our users consume content and engage in conversations that interest them by discovering and following the people and organizations they find most compelling.

Our platform provides our users with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Sharing Content with the World.     Users leverage our platform to express themselves publicly to the world, share with their friends and family and participate in conversations. The public, real-time nature and tremendous global reach of our platform make it the content distribution platform of choice for many of the world’s most influential individuals and organizations, as well as millions of people and small businesses.

 

  Ÿ  

Discovering Unique and Relevant Content.     Twitter’s over 230 million MAUs, spanning nearly every country, provide great breadth and depth of content across a broad range of topics, including literature, politics, finance, music, movies, comedy, sports and news.

 

  Ÿ  

Breaking News and Engaging in Live Events.     Users come to Twitter to discover what is happening in the world right now directly from other Twitter users. On Twitter, users tweet about live events instantly, whether it is celebrities tweeting to their fans, journalists breaking news or people providing eyewitness accounts of events as they unfold. Many individuals and

 

 

4


Table of Contents
 

organizations choose to break news first on Twitter because of the unique reach and speed of distribution on our platform. As a result, Twitter is a primary source of information and complements traditional media as a second screen, enhancing the overall experience of an event by allowing users to share the experience with other users in real time. We believe this makes Twitter the social soundtrack to life in the moment.

 

  Ÿ  

Participating in Conversations .    Through Twitter, users not only communicate with friends and family, but they also participate in conversations with other people from around the world, in ways that would not otherwise be possible. In addition to participating in conversations, users can simply follow conversations on Twitter or express interest in the conversation by retweeting or favoriting.

Our Value Proposition to Platform Partners

The value we create for our users is enhanced by our platform partners, which include publishers, media outlets and developers. These platform partners have integrated with Twitter through an application programming interface, or API, that we provide which allows them to contribute their content to our platform, distribute Twitter content across their properties and use Twitter content and tools to enhance their websites and applications. We provide a set of development tools, APIs and embeddable widgets that allow our partners to seamlessly integrate with our platform.

We provide our platform partners with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Distribution Channel .    Platform partners use Twitter as a complementary distribution channel to expand their reach and engage with their audiences. Publishers and media outlets contribute content created for other media channels to Twitter and tweet content specifically created for Twitter. We provide platform partners with a set of widgets that they can embed on their websites and an API for their mobile applications to enable Twitter users to tweet content directly from those properties. As our users engage with this content on Twitter, they can be directed back to our partners’ websites and applications.

 

  Ÿ  

Complementary Real-Time and Relevant Content.     Twitter enables platform partners to embed or display relevant Tweets on their online and offline properties to enhance the experience for their users. Additionally, by enhancing the activity related to their programming or event on Twitter, media outlets can drive tune-in and awareness of their original content, leveraging Twitter’s strength as a second screen for television programming. For example, during Super Bowl XLVII, over 24 million Tweets regarding the Super Bowl were sent during the game alone and 45% of television ads shown during the Super Bowl used a hashtag to invite viewers to engage in conversation about those television ads on Twitter .

 

  Ÿ  

Canvas for Enhanced Content with Twitter Cards .     Platform partners use Twitter Cards to embed images, video and interactive content directly into a Tweet. Twitter Cards allow platform partners to create richer content that all users can interact with and distribute.

 

  Ÿ  

Building with Twitter Content .    Platform partners leverage Tweets to enhance the experience for their users. Developers incorporate Twitter content and use Twitter tools to build a broad range of applications. Media partners incorporate Twitter content to enrich their programming and increase viewer engagement by providing real-time Tweets that express public opinion and incorporate results from viewer polls on Twitter.

 

 

5


Table of Contents

Our Value Proposition to Advertisers

We provide compelling value to our advertisers by delivering the ability to reach a large global audience through our unique set of advertising services, the ability to target ads based on our deep understanding of our users and the opportunity to generate significant earned media. Advertisers can use Twitter to communicate directly with their followers for free, but many choose to purchase our advertising services to reach a broader audience and further promote their brands, products and services.

Our platform provides our advertisers with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Unique Ad Formats Native to the User Experience.     Our Promoted Products, which are Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends, provide advertisers with an opportunity to reach our users without disrupting or detracting from the user experience on our platform.

 

  Ÿ  

Targeting .    Our pay-for-performance Promoted Products enable advertisers to reach users based on many factors. Importantly, because our asymmetric follow model does not require mutual follower relationships, people can follow the users that they find most interesting. These follow relationships are then combined with other factors, such as the actions that users take on our platform, including the Tweets they engage with and what they tweet about, to form a user’s Interest Graph. We believe a user’s Interest Graph produces a clear and real-time signal of a user’s interests, greatly enhancing our targeting capability.

 

  Ÿ  

Earned Media and Viral Global Reach.     The public and widely distributed nature of our platform enables Tweets to spread virally, potentially reaching all of our users and people around the world. Our users retweet, reply to or start conversations about interesting Tweets, whether those Tweets are Promoted Tweets or organic Tweets by advertisers. An advertiser only gets charged when a user engages with a Promoted Tweet that was placed in a user’s timeline because of its promotion. By creating highly compelling and engaging ads, our advertisers can benefit from users retweeting their content across our platform at no incremental cost.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertising in the Moment.     Twitter’s real-time nature allows our advertisers to capitalize on live events, existing conversations and trending topics. By using our Promoted Products, advertisers can create a relevant ad in real time that is shaped by these events, conversations and topics.

 

  Ÿ  

Pay-for-Performance and Attractive Return on Investment.     Our advertisers pay for Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts on a pay-for-performance basis. Our advertisers only pay us when a user engages with their ad, such as when a user clicks on a link in a Promoted Tweet, expands a Promoted Tweet, replies to or favorites a Promoted Tweet, retweets a Promoted Tweet for the first time, follows a Promoted Account or follows the account that tweets a Promoted Tweet. The pay-for-performance structure aligns our interests in delivering relevant and engaging ads to our users with those of our advertisers.

 

  Ÿ  

Extension of Offline Advertising Campaigns.     Twitter advertising complements offline advertising campaigns, such as television ads. Integrating hashtags allows advertisers to extend the reach of an offline ad by driving significant earned media and continued conversation on Twitter.

 

 

6


Table of Contents

Our Value Proposition to Data Partners

We offer data licenses that allow our data partners to access, search and analyze historical and real-time data on our platform. Since the first Tweet, our users have created over 350 billion Tweets spanning nearly every country. Our data partners use this data to generate and monetize data analytics, from which data partners can identify user sentiment, influence and other trends. For example, one of our data partners applies its algorithms to Twitter data to create and sell products to its customers that identify activity trends across Twitter which may be relevant to its customers’ investment portfolios.

Growth Strategy

We have aligned our growth strategy around the three primary constituents of our platform: users, platform partners and advertisers.

 

  Ÿ  

Users .    We believe that there is a significant opportunity to expand our user base. Industry sources estimate that as of 2012 there were 2.4 billion Internet users and 1.2 billion smartphone users, of which only 230 million are MAUs of Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Geographic Expansion .    We plan to develop a broad set of partnerships globally to increase relevant local content on our platform and make Twitter more accessible in new and emerging markets.

 

  Ÿ  

Mobile Applications.     We plan to continue to develop and improve our mobile applications to drive user adoption of these applications.

 

  Ÿ  

Product Development.     We plan to continue to build and acquire new technologies to develop and improve our products and services and make our platform more valuable and accessible to people around the world. We also plan to continue to focus on making Twitter simple and easy to use, particularly for new users.

 

  Ÿ  

Platform Partners.     We believe growth in our platform partners is complementary to our user growth strategy and the overall expansion of our platform.

 

  Ÿ  

Expand the Twitter Platform to Integrate More Content.     We plan to continue to build and acquire new technologies to enable our platform partners to distribute content of all forms.

 

  Ÿ  

Partner with Traditional Media .    We plan to continue to leverage our media relationships to drive more content distribution on our platform and create more value for our users and advertisers.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertisers.     We believe we can increase the value of our platform for our advertisers by enhancing our advertising services and making our platform more accessible.

 

  Ÿ  

Targeting.     We plan to continue to improve the targeting capabilities of our advertising services.

 

  Ÿ  

Opening our Platform to Additional Advertisers.     We believe that advertisers outside of the United States represent a substantial opportunity and we plan to invest to increase our advertising revenue from international advertisers, including by launching our self-serve advertising platform in selected international markets.

 

  Ÿ  

New Advertising Formats.     We intend to develop new and unique ad formats for our advertisers. For example, we recently introduced our lead generation and application download Twitter Cards and Twitter Amplify, which allows advertisers to embed ads into real-time video content.

 

 

7


Table of Contents

Risks Associated with Our Business

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following this prospectus summary. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

  Ÿ  

If we fail to grow our user base, or if user engagement or the number of paid engagements with our pay-for-performance Promoted Products, which we refer to as ad engagements, on our platform decline, our revenue, business and operating results may be harmed;

 

  Ÿ  

If our users do not continue to contribute content or their contributions are not valuable to other users, we may experience a decline in the number of users accessing our products and services, which could result in the loss of advertisers and revenue;

 

  Ÿ  

We generate the substantial majority of our revenue from advertising, and the loss of advertising revenue could harm our business;

 

  Ÿ  

If we are unable to compete effectively for users and advertiser spend, our business and operating results could be harmed;

 

  Ÿ  

Our operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter, which makes them difficult to predict;

 

  Ÿ  

User growth and engagement depend upon effective interoperation with operating systems, networks, devices, web browsers and standards that we do not control;

 

  Ÿ  

If we fail to expand effectively in international markets, our revenue and our business will be harmed;

 

  Ÿ  

We anticipate that we will expend substantial funds in connection with the tax liabilities that arise upon the initial settlement of restricted stock units, or RSUs, in connection with this offering, and the manner in which we fund that expenditure may have an adverse effect on our financial condition; and

 

  Ÿ  

Existing executive officers, directors and holders of 5% or more of our common stock will collectively beneficially own     % of our common stock and continue to have substantial control over us after this offering, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Channels for Disclosure of Information

Investors, the media and others should note that, following the completion of this offering, we intend to announce material information to the public through filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, our corporate blog at blog.twitter.com, the investor relations page on our website, press releases, public conference calls and webcasts. We also intend to announce information regarding us and our business, operating results, financial condition and other matters through Tweets on the following Twitter accounts: @dickc, @twitter and @twitterIR.

The information that is tweeted by the foregoing Twitter accounts could be deemed to be material information. As such, we encourage investors, the media and others to follow the Twitter accounts listed above and to review the information tweeted by such accounts.

Any updates to the list of Twitter accounts through which we will announce information will be posted on the investor relations page on our website.

 

 

8


Table of Contents

Corporate Information

Twitter, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in April 2007. Our principal executive offices are located at 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, California 94103, and our telephone number is (415) 222-9670. Our website address is www.twitter.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute part of this prospectus and inclusions of our website address in this prospectus are inactive textual references only.

“Twitter,” the Twitter bird logo, “Tweet,” “Retweet” and our other registered or common law trademarks, service marks or trade names appearing in this prospectus are the property of Twitter, Inc. Other trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus are the property of their respective owners.

 

 

9


Table of Contents

THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by us

  

            shares

Common stock to be outstanding after this offering

  

            shares

Option to purchase additional shares of common stock from us

  

            shares

Use of proceeds

  

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $         (or approximately $         if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us is exercised in full), based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our capitalization and financial flexibility, create a public market for our common stock and enable access to the public equity markets for us and our stockholders. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures. We also may use a portion of the net proceeds to satisfy our anticipated tax withholding and remittance obligations related to the settlement of our outstanding RSUs. Additionally, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire businesses, products, services or technologies. However, except for our proposed acquisition of MoPub Inc., or MoPub, in exchange for shares of our common stock, we do not have agreements or commitments for any material acquisitions at this time. See the section titled “Use of Proceeds” for additional information.

Concentration of Ownership

   Upon completion of this offering, our executive officers, directors and holders of 5% or more of our common stock will beneficially own, in the aggregate, approximately     % of our outstanding shares of common stock.

Proposed NYSE trading symbol

  

“TWTR”

 

 

10


Table of Contents

The number of shares of our common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on 474,696,816 shares of our common stock (including preferred stock on an as-converted basis) outstanding as of September 30, 2013, and excludes:

 

  Ÿ  

42,708,824 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, with a weighted-average exercise price of $1.84 per share;

 

  Ÿ  

85,657,603 shares of our common stock subject to RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013;

 

  Ÿ  

116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $0.34 per share;

 

  Ÿ  

up to 14,791,464 shares of our common stock issuable upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub, which includes shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our common stock that will be assumed and converted from options to purchase shares of MoPub common stock upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub; and

 

  Ÿ  

80,300,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering, consisting of:

 

  Ÿ  

68,300,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, or our 2013 Plan; and

 

  Ÿ  

12,000,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or our ESPP.

Our 2013 Plan and ESPP each provide for annual automatic increases in the number of shares reserved thereunder and our 2013 Plan also provides for increases to the number of shares that may be granted thereunder based on shares under our 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, or our 2007 Plan, that expire, are forfeited or otherwise repurchased by us, as more fully described in the section titled “Executive Compensation—Employee Benefit and Stock Plans.”

Except as otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus assumes:

 

  Ÿ  

the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of 333,099,000 shares of our common stock, the conversion of which will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering;

 

  Ÿ  

the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in Delaware and the adoption of our amended and restated bylaws, each of which will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering; and

 

  Ÿ  

no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase up to an additional             shares of our common stock from us.

 

 

11


Table of Contents

SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OTHER DATA

The following tables summarize our consolidated financial and other data. We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statement of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 and our balance sheet data as of September 30, 2013 from our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements and reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for a fair statement of the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future and the results in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year or any other period. The following summary consolidated financial and other data should be read in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  
     (In thousands, except per share data)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

          

Revenue

   $ 28,278      $ 106,313      $ 316,933      $ 204,686      $ 422,215   

Costs and expenses (1)

          

Cost of revenue

     43,168        61,803        128,768        91,850        154,067   

Research and development

     29,348        80,176        119,004        78,664        199,144   

Sales and marketing

     6,289        25,988        86,551        57,767        138,911   

General and administrative

     16,952        65,757        59,693        44,712        56,248   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

     95,757        233,724        394,016        272,993        548,370   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (67,479     (127,411     (77,083     (68,307     (126,155

Interest income (expense), net

     55        (805     (2,486     (1,656     (4,473

Other income (expense), net

     (117     (1,530     399        926        (1,730
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

     (67,541     (129,746     (79,170     (69,037     (132,358

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

     (217     (1,444     229        1,657        1,494   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

            35,816                        
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

   $ (67,324   $ (164,118   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

          

Basic and diluted

     75,992        102,544        117,401        116,119        131,196   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

          

Basic and diluted

   $ (0.89   $ (1.60   $ (0.68   $ (0.61   $ (1.02
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders (unaudited): (2)

          

Basic and diluted

       $ (0.18     $ (0.28
      

 

 

     

 

 

 

Other Financial Information: (3)

          

Adjusted EBITDA

   $ (51,184   $ (42,835   $ 21,164      $ 3,593      $ 30,685   

Non-GAAP net loss

   $ (54,066   $ (65,533   $ (35,191   $ (34,920   $ (44,104

 

 

12


Table of Contents

 

(1)  

Costs and expenses include stock-based compensation expense as follows:

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010      2011      2012      2012      2013  
     (In thousands)  

Cost of revenue

   $ 200       $ 1,820       $ 800       $ 618       $ 5,015   

Research and development

     3,409         33,559         12,622         9,013         53,377   

Sales and marketing

     249         1,553         1,346         985         10,356   

General and administrative

     2,073         23,452         10,973         9,779         10,422   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stock-based compensation

   $ 5,931       $ 60,384       $ 25,741       $ 20,395       $ 79,170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(2)  

See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders.

(3)  

See the section titled “—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional information and a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA and net loss to non-GAAP net loss.

 

 

     As of September 30, 2013  
     Actual     Pro Forma (1)      Pro Forma
as  Adjusted (2)(3)
 
     (In thousands)  

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

       

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 155,704      $ 155,704       $                

Short-term investments

     165,371        165,371      

Working capital

     331,997        331,997      

Property and equipment, net

     284,024        284,024      

Total assets

     992,803        992,803      

Total liabilities

     298,928        287,758      

Class A junior preferred stock

     37,106             

Convertible preferred stock

     835,430             

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

     (178,661     705,045      

 

(1)  

The pro forma column in the balance sheet data table above reflects (a) the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of 333,099,000 shares of our common stock, which conversion will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering, as if such conversion had occurred on September 30, 2013, (b) the resulting reclassification of the restricted Class A junior preferred stock and preferred stock warrant liability from other long-term liabilities to additional paid-in capital and (c) stock-based compensation expense of $385.2 million, associated with Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition was satisfied as of September 30, 2013, and which we expect to record upon completion of this offering, as further described in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Stock-Based Compensation.”

(2)  

The pro forma as adjusted column in the balance sheet data table above gives effect to (a) the pro forma adjustments set forth above, (b) the sale and issuance by us of             shares of our common stock in this offering, based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us and (c) the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in Delaware.

(3)  

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the amount of our cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets and total stockholders’ equity by $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. An increase or decrease of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, the amount of our cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets and total stockholders’ equity by $        , assuming an initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, we consider certain financial measures that are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, including Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss.

 

 

13


Table of Contents

These non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP and are not necessarily comparable to similarly-titled measures presented by other companies.

Adjusted EBITDA

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net loss adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization expense, interest and other expenses and provision (benefit) for income taxes.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated:

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  
     (In thousands)  

Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA

          

Net loss

   $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852

Stock-based compensation expense

     5,931        60,384        25,741        20,395        79,170   

Depreciation and amortization expense

     10,364        24,192        72,506        51,505        77,670   

Interest and other expense

     62        2,335        2,087        730        6,203   

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

     (217     (1,444     229        1,657        1,494   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

   $ (51,184   $ (42,835   $ 21,164      $ 3,593      $ 30,685   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP Net Loss

We define non-GAAP net loss as net loss adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, amortization of acquired intangible assets and the income tax effects related to acquisitions.

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to non-GAAP net loss for each of the periods indicated:

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  
     (In thousands)  

Reconciliation of Net Loss to Non-GAAP Net Loss

          

Net loss

   $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852

Stock-based compensation expense

     5,931        60,384        25,741        20,395        79,170   

Amortization of acquired intangible assets

     7,506        4,697        18,687        14,889        10,961   

Income tax effects related to acquisitions

     (179     (2,312     (220     490        (383
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP net loss

   $ (54,066   $ (65,533   $ (35,191   $ (34,920   $ (44,104
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

We use the non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss in evaluating our operating results and for financial and operational decision-making purposes. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss help identify underlying trends in our business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the expenses that we exclude in Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss. We believe that Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss provide useful information about our operating results, enhance the overall understanding of our past performance and future prospects and allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by our management in its financial and operational decision-making. We use these measures to establish budgets and operational goals for managing our business and evaluating our performance. We are presenting the non-GAAP measures of Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP net loss to assist investors in seeing our operating results through the eyes of

 

 

14


Table of Contents

management, and because we believe that these measures provide an additional tool for investors to use in comparing our core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in our industry.

These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP. There are a number of limitations related to the use of these non-GAAP financial measures rather than net loss, which is the nearest GAAP equivalent of these financial measures. Some of these limitations are:

 

  Ÿ  

These non-GAAP financial measures exclude certain recurring, non-cash charges such as stock-based compensation expense and amortization of acquired intangible assets;

 

  Ÿ  

Stock-based compensation expense, which is not reflected in these non-GAAP financial measures, has been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, a significant recurring expense in our business and an important part of our compensation strategy;

 

  Ÿ  

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect tax payments that reduce cash available to us;

 

  Ÿ  

Adjusted EBITDA excludes depreciation and amortization expense and, although these are non-cash charges, the property and equipment being depreciated and amortized may have to be replaced in the future; and

 

  Ÿ  

The expenses that we exclude in our calculation of these non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the expenses, if any, that our peer companies may exclude from similarly-titled non-GAAP measures when they report their results of operations.

We have attempted to compensate for these limitations by providing the nearest GAAP equivalents of these non-GAAP financial measures and describing these GAAP equivalents under the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations.”

 

 

15


Table of Contents

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information in this prospectus, including “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes, before making a decision to invest in our common stock. The risks and uncertainties described below may not be the only ones we face. If any of the risks actually occur, our business, financial condition, operating results and prospects could be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry

If we fail to grow our user base, or if user engagement or ad engagement on our platform decline, our revenue, business and operating results may be harmed.

The size of our user base and our users’ level of engagement are critical to our success. We had 231.7 million average MAUs in the three months ended September 30, 2013, which was a 39% increase from 167.1 million average MAUs in the three months ended September 30, 2012. Our financial performance has been and will continue to be significantly determined by our success in growing the number of users and increasing their overall level of engagement on our platform as well as the number of ad engagements. We anticipate that our user growth rate will slow over time as the size of our user base increases. For example, in general, a higher proportion of Internet users in the United States uses Twitter than Internet users in other countries and, in the future, we expect our user growth rate in certain international markets, such as Argentina, France, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, to continue to be higher than our user growth rate in the United States. To the extent our user growth rate slows, our success will become increasingly dependent on our ability to increase levels of user engagement and ad engagement on Twitter. We generate a substantial majority of our revenue based upon engagement by our users with the ads that we display. If people do not perceive our products and services to be useful, reliable and trustworthy, we may not be able to attract users or increase the frequency of their engagement with our platform and the ads that we display. A number of consumer-oriented websites that achieved early popularity have since seen their user bases or levels of engagement decline, in some cases precipitously. There is no guarantee that we will not experience a similar erosion of our user base or engagement levels. A number of factors could potentially negatively affect user growth and engagement, including if:

 

  Ÿ  

users engage with other products, services or activities as an alternative to ours;

 

  Ÿ  

influential users, such as world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands or certain age demographics conclude that an alternative product or service is more relevant;

 

  Ÿ  

we are unable to convince potential new users of the value and usefulness of our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

there is a decrease in the perceived quality of the content generated by our users;

 

  Ÿ  

we fail to introduce new and improved products or services or if we introduce new or improved products or services that are not favorably received or that negatively affect user engagement;

 

  Ÿ  

technical or other problems prevent us from delivering our products or services in a rapid and reliable manner or otherwise affect the user experience;

 

  Ÿ  

we are unable to present users with content that is interesting, useful and relevant to them;

 

16


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

users believe that their experience is diminished as a result of the decisions we make with respect to the frequency, relevance and prominence of ads that we display;

 

  Ÿ  

there are user concerns related to privacy and communication, safety, security or other factors;

 

  Ÿ  

we are unable to combat spam or other hostile or inappropriate usage on our platform;

 

  Ÿ  

there are adverse changes in our products or services that are mandated by, or that we elect to make to address, legislation, regulatory authorities or litigation, including settlements or consent decrees;

 

  Ÿ  

we fail to provide adequate customer service to users; or

 

  Ÿ  

we do not maintain our brand image or our reputation is damaged.

If we are unable to increase our user growth or engagement, or if they decline, this could result in our products and services being less attractive to potential new users, as well as advertisers, which would have a material and adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

If our users do not continue to contribute content or their contributions are not valuable to other users, we may experience a decline in the number of users accessing our products and services and user engagement, which could result in the loss of advertisers and revenue.

Our success depends on our ability to provide users of our products and services with valuable content, which in turn depends on the content contributed by our users. We believe that one of our competitive advantages is the quality, quantity and real-time nature of the content on Twitter, and that access to unique or real-time content is one of the main reasons users visit Twitter. Our ability to expand into new international markets depends on the availability of relevant local content in those markets. We seek to foster a broad and engaged user community, and we encourage world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands to use our products and services to express their views to broad audiences. We also encourage media outlets to use our products and services to distribute their content. If users, including influential users, do not continue to contribute content to Twitter, and we are unable to provide users with valuable and timely content, our user base and user engagement may decline. Additionally, if we are not able to address user concerns regarding the safety and security of our products and services or if we are unable to successfully prevent abusive or other hostile behavior on our platform, the size of our user base and user engagement may decline. We rely on the sale of advertising services for the substantial majority of our revenue. If we experience a decline in the number of users or a decline in user engagement, including as a result of the loss of world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands who generate content on Twitter, advertisers may not view our products and services as attractive for their marketing expenditures, and may reduce their spending with us which would harm our business and operating results.

We generate the substantial majority of our revenue from advertising. The loss of advertising revenue could harm our business.

The substantial majority of our revenue is currently generated from third parties advertising on Twitter. We generated 85% and 89% of our revenue from advertising in 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively. We generate substantially all of our advertising revenue through the sale of our three Promoted Products: Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends. As is common in the industry, our advertisers do not have long-term advertising commitments with us. In addition, many of our advertisers purchase our advertising services through one of several large advertising agency holding companies. Advertising agencies and potential new advertisers may view our Promoted Products as experimental and unproven, and we may need to devote additional time and resources to educate them about our products and services. Advertisers

 

17


Table of Contents

also may choose to reach users through our free products and services, instead of our Promoted Products. Advertisers will not continue to do business with us, or they will reduce the prices they are willing to pay to advertise with us, if we do not deliver ads in an effective manner, or if they do not believe that their investment in advertising with us will generate a competitive return relative to alternatives, including online, mobile and traditional advertising platforms. Our advertising revenue could be adversely affected by a number of other factors, including:

 

  Ÿ  

decreases in user engagement with Twitter and with the ads on our platform;

 

  Ÿ  

if we are unable to demonstrate the value of our Promoted Products to advertisers and advertising agencies or if we are unable to measure the value of our Promoted Products in a manner which advertisers and advertising agencies find useful;

 

  Ÿ  

if our Promoted Products are not cost effective or valuable for certain types of advertisers or if we are unable to develop cost effective or valuable advertising services for different types of advertisers;

 

  Ÿ  

if we are unable to convince advertisers and brands to invest resources in learning to use our products and services and maintaining a brand presence on Twitter;

 

  Ÿ  

product or service changes we may make that change the frequency or relative prominence of ads displayed on Twitter or that detrimentally impact revenue in the near term with the goal of achieving long term benefits;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to increase advertiser demand and inventory;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to increase the relevance of ads shown to users;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to help advertisers effectively target ads, including as a result of the fact that we do not collect extensive private personally identifiable information directly from our users and that we do not have real-time geographic information for all of our users;

 

  Ÿ  

continuing decreases in the cost per ad engagement;

 

  Ÿ  

loss of advertising market share to our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

the degree to which users access Twitter content through applications that do not contain our ads;

 

  Ÿ  

if we enter into revenue sharing arrangements or other partnerships with third parties;

 

  Ÿ  

our new advertising strategies, such as television targeting and real-time video clips embedded in Tweets, do not gain traction;

 

  Ÿ  

the impact of new technologies that could block or obscure the display of our ads;

 

  Ÿ  

adverse legal developments relating to advertising or measurement tools related to the effectiveness of advertising, including legislative and regulatory developments, and developments in litigation;

 

  Ÿ  

adverse media reports or other negative publicity involving us or other companies in our industry;

 

  Ÿ  

our inability to create new products and services that sustain or increase the value of our advertising services to both our advertisers and our users;

 

  Ÿ  

the impact of fraudulent clicks or spam on our Promoted Products and our users;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in the way our advertising is priced; and

 

  Ÿ  

the impact of macroeconomic conditions and conditions in the advertising industry in general.

The occurrence of any of these or other factors could result in a reduction in demand for our ads, which may reduce the prices we receive for our ads, either of which would negatively affect our revenue and operating results.

 

18


Table of Contents

If we are unable to compete effectively for users and advertiser spend, our business and operating results could be harmed.

Competition for users of our products and services is intense. Although we have developed a new global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time, we face strong competition in our business. We compete against many companies to attract and engage users, including companies which have greater financial resources and substantially larger user bases, such as Facebook (including Instagram), Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Yahoo!, which offer a variety of Internet and mobile device-based products, services and content. For example, Facebook operates a social networking site with significantly more users than Twitter and has been introducing features similar to those of Twitter. In addition, Google may use its strong position in one or more markets to gain a competitive advantage over us in areas in which we operate, including by integrating competing features into products or services they control. As a result, our competitors may acquire and engage users at the expense of the growth or engagement of our user base, which would negatively affect our business. We also compete against smaller companies, such as Sina Weibo, LINE and Kakao, each of which is based in Asia.

We believe that our ability to compete effectively for users depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including:

 

  Ÿ  

the popularity, usefulness, ease of use, performance and reliability of our products and services compared to those of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

the amount, quality and timeliness of content generated by our users;

 

  Ÿ  

the timing and market acceptance of our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

the continued adoption of our products and services internationally;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability, and the ability of our competitors, to develop new products and services and enhancements to existing products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

the frequency and relative prominence of the ads displayed by us or our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to establish and maintain relationships with platform partners that integrate with our platform;

 

  Ÿ  

changes mandated by, or that we elect to make to address, legislation, regulatory authorities or litigation, including settlements and consent decrees, some of which may have a disproportionate effect on us;

 

  Ÿ  

the application of antitrust laws both in the United States and internationally;

 

  Ÿ  

government action regulating competition;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to attract, retain and motivate talented employees, particularly engineers, designers and product managers;

 

  Ÿ  

acquisitions or consolidation within our industry, which may result in more formidable competitors; and

 

  Ÿ  

our reputation and the brand strength relative to our competitors.

We also face significant competition for advertiser spend. The substantial majority of our revenue is currently generated through ads on Twitter, and we compete against online and mobile businesses, including those referenced above, and traditional media outlets, such as television, radio and print, for advertising budgets. In order to grow our revenue and improve our operating results, we must increase our share of spending on advertising relative to our competitors, many of which are larger companies that offer more traditional and widely accepted advertising products. In addition, some of our larger competitors have substantially broader product or service offerings and leverage their relationships based on other products or services to gain additional share of advertising budgets.

 

19


Table of Contents

We believe that our ability to compete effectively for advertiser spend depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including:

 

  Ÿ  

the size and composition of our user base relative to those of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

our ad targeting capabilities, and those of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

the timing and market acceptance of our advertising services, and those of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

our marketing and selling efforts, and those of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

the pricing for our Promoted Products relative to the advertising products and services of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

the return our advertisers receive from our advertising services, and those of our competitors; and

 

  Ÿ  

our reputation and the strength of our brand relative to our competitors.

In recent years, there have been significant acquisitions and consolidation by and among our actual and potential competitors. We anticipate this trend of consolidation will continue, which will present heightened competitive challenges for our business. Acquisitions by our competitors may result in reduced functionality of our products and services. For example, following Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, Facebook disabled Instagram’s photo integration with Twitter such that Instagram photos are no longer viewable within Tweets and users are now re-directed to Instagram to view Instagram photos through a link within a Tweet. As a result, our users may be less likely to click on links to Instagram photos in Tweets, and Instagram users may be less likely to tweet or remain active users of Twitter. Any similar elimination of integration with Twitter in the future, whether by Facebook or others, may adversely impact our business and operating results.

Consolidation may also enable our larger competitors to offer bundled or integrated products that feature alternatives to our platform. Reduced functionality of our products and services, or our competitors’ ability to offer bundled or integrated products that compete directly with us, may cause our user growth, user engagement and ad engagement to decline and advertisers to reduce their spend with us.

If we are not able to compete effectively for users and advertiser spend our business and operating results would be materially and adversely affected.

Our operating results may fluctuate from quarter to quarter, which makes them difficult to predict.

Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated in the past and will fluctuate in the future. As a result, our past quarterly operating results are not necessarily indicators of future performance. Our operating results in any given quarter can be influenced by numerous factors, many of which we are unable to predict or are outside of our control, including:

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to grow our user base and user engagement;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to attract and retain advertisers;

 

  Ÿ  

the occurrence of planned significant events, such as the Super Bowl, or unplanned significant events, such as natural disasters and political revolutions;

 

  Ÿ  

fluctuations in spending by our advertisers, including as a result of seasonality and extraordinary news events, or other factors;

 

  Ÿ  

the number of ad engagements by users;

 

  Ÿ  

the pricing of our ads and other products and services;

 

20


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

the development and introduction of new products or services or changes in features of existing products or services;

 

  Ÿ  

the impact of competitors or competitive products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to maintain or increase revenue;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to maintain or improve gross margins and operating margins;

 

  Ÿ  

increases in research and development, marketing and sales and other operating expenses that we may incur to grow and expand our operations and to remain competitive;

 

  Ÿ  

stock-based compensation expense, including in the year we complete this offering;

 

  Ÿ  

costs related to the acquisition of businesses, talent, technologies or intellectual property, including potentially significant amortization costs;

 

  Ÿ  

system failures resulting in the inaccessibility of our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

breaches of security or privacy, and the costs associated with remediating any such breaches;

 

  Ÿ  

adverse litigation judgments, settlements or other litigation-related costs, and the fees associated with investigating and defending claims;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in the legislative or regulatory environment, including with respect to security, privacy or enforcement by government regulators, including fines, orders or consent decrees;

 

  Ÿ  

fluctuations in currency exchange rates and changes in the proportion of our revenue and expenses denominated in foreign currencies;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles; and

 

  Ÿ  

changes in global business or macroeconomic conditions.

Given our limited operating history and the rapidly evolving markets in which we compete, our historical operating results may not be useful to you in predicting our future operating results. We believe our rapid growth may understate the potential seasonality of our business. As our revenue growth rate slows, we expect that the seasonality in our business may become more pronounced and may in the future cause our operating results to fluctuate. For example, advertising spending is traditionally seasonally strong in the fourth quarter of each year and we believe that this seasonality affects our quarterly results, which generally reflect higher sequential advertising revenue growth from the third to fourth quarter compared to sequential advertising revenue growth from the fourth quarter to the subsequent first quarter. In addition, global economic concerns continue to create uncertainty and unpredictability and add risk to our future outlook. An economic downturn in any particular region in which we do business or globally could result in reductions in advertising revenue, as our advertisers reduce their advertising budgets, and other adverse effects that could harm our operating results.

User growth and engagement depend upon effective interoperation with operating systems, networks, devices, web browsers and standards that we do not control.

We make our products and services available across a variety of operating systems and through websites. We are dependent on the interoperability of our products and services with popular devices, desktop and mobile operating systems and web browsers that we do not control, such as Mac OS, Windows, Android, iOS, Chrome and Firefox. Any changes in such systems, devices or web browsers that degrade the functionality of our products and services or give preferential treatment to competitive products or services could adversely affect usage of our products and services. Further, if the number of platforms for which we develop our product expands, it will result in an increase in our operating expenses. In order to deliver high quality products and services, it is important that our products and

 

21


Table of Contents

services work well with a range of operating systems, networks, devices, web browsers and standards that we do not control. In addition, because a majority of our users access our products and services through mobile devices, we are particularly dependent on the interoperability of our products and services with mobile devices and operating systems. We may not be successful in developing relationships with key participants in the mobile industry or in developing products or services that operate effectively with these operating systems, networks, devices, web browsers and standards. In the event that it is difficult for our users to access and use our products and services, particularly on their mobile devices, our user growth and engagement could be harmed, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

If we fail to expand effectively in international markets, our revenue and our business will be harmed.

We may not be able to monetize our products and services internationally as effectively as in the United States as a result of competition, advertiser demand, differences in the digital advertising market and digital advertising conventions, as well as differences in the way that users in different countries access or utilize our products and services. Differences in the competitive landscape in international markets may impact our ability to monetize our products and services. For example, in South Korea we face intense competition from a messaging service offered by Kakao, which offers some of the same communication features as Twitter. The existence of a well-established competitor in an international market may adversely affect our ability to increase our user base, attract advertisers and monetize our products in such market. We may also experience differences in advertiser demand in international markets. For example, during times of political upheaval, advertisers may choose not to advertise on Twitter. Certain international markets are also not as familiar with digital advertising in general, or in new forms of digital advertising such as our Promoted Products. Further, we face challenges in providing certain advertising products, features or analytics in certain international markets, such as the European Union, due to government regulation. Our products and services may also be used differently abroad than in the United States. In particular, in certain international markets where Internet access is not as rapid or reliable as in the United States, users tend not to take advantage of certain features of our products and services, such as rich media included in Tweets. Additionally, in certain emerging markets, such as India, many users access our products and services through feature phones with limited functionality, rather than through smartphones, our website or desktop applications. This limits our ability to deliver certain features to those users and may limit the ability of advertisers to deliver compelling advertisements to users in these markets which may result in reduced ad engagements which would adversely affect our business and operating results.

If our revenue from our international operations, and particularly from operations in the countries and regions on which we have focused our spending, does not exceed the expense of establishing and maintaining these operations, our business and operating results will suffer. In addition, our user base may expand more rapidly in international regions where we are less successful in monetizing our products and services. As our user base continues to expand internationally, we will need to increase revenue from the activity generated by our international users in order to grow our business. For example, users outside the United States constituted 77% of our average MAUs in the three months ended September 30, 2013, but our international revenue, as determined based on the billing location of our advertisers, was only 26% of our consolidated revenue in the three months ended September 30, 2013. Our inability to successfully expand internationally could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

22


Table of Contents

We have a limited operating history in a new and unproven market for our platform, which makes it difficult to evaluate our future prospects and may increase the risk that we will not be successful.

We have developed a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time, and the market for our products and services is relatively new and may not develop as expected, if at all. People who are not our users may not understand the value of our products and services and new users may initially find our product confusing. There may be a perception that our products and services are only useful to users who tweet, or to influential users with large audiences. Convincing potential new users of the value of our products and services is critical to increasing our user base and to the success of our business.

We have a limited operating history, and only began to generate revenue in 2009 and we started to sell our Promoted Products in 2010, which makes it difficult to effectively assess our future prospects or forecast our future results. You should consider our business and prospects in light of the risks and challenges we encounter or may encounter in this developing and rapidly evolving market. These risks and challenges include our ability to, among other things:

 

  Ÿ  

increase our number of users and user engagement;

 

  Ÿ  

successfully expand our business, especially internationally;

 

  Ÿ  

develop a reliable, scalable, secure, high-performance technology infrastructure that can efficiently handle increased usage globally;

 

  Ÿ  

convince advertisers of the benefits of our Promoted Products compared to alternative forms of advertising;

 

  Ÿ  

develop and deploy new features, products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

successfully compete with other companies, some of which have substantially greater resources and market power than us, that are currently in, or may in the future enter, our industry, or duplicate the features of our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

attract, retain and motivate talented employees, particularly engineers, designers and product managers;

 

  Ÿ  

process, store, protect and use personal data in compliance with governmental regulations, contractual obligations and other obligations related to privacy and security;

 

  Ÿ  

continue to earn and preserve our users’ trust, including with respect to their private personal information; and

 

  Ÿ  

defend ourselves against litigation, regulatory, intellectual property, privacy or other claims.

If we fail to educate potential users and potential advertisers about the value of our products and services, if the market for our platform does not develop as we expect or if we fail to address the needs of this market, our business will be harmed. We may not be able to successfully address these risks and challenges or others. Failure to adequately address these risks and challenges could harm our business and cause our operating results to suffer.

We have incurred significant operating losses in the past, and we may not be able to achieve or subsequently maintain profitability.

Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses, and, as of September 30, 2013, we had an accumulated deficit of $483.2 million. Although our revenue has grown rapidly, increasing from $28.3 million in 2010 to $316.9 million in 2012, we expect that our revenue growth rate

 

23


Table of Contents

will slow in the future as a result of a variety of factors, including the gradual slow down in the growth rate of our user base. We believe that our future revenue growth will depend on, among other factors, our ability to attract new users, increase user engagement and ad engagement, increase our brand awareness, compete effectively, maximize our sales efforts, demonstrate a positive return on investment for advertisers, successfully develop new products and services and expand internationally. Accordingly, you should not rely on the revenue growth of any prior quarterly or annual period as an indication of our future performance. We also expect our costs to increase in future periods as we continue to expend substantial financial resources on:

 

  Ÿ  

our technology infrastructure;

 

  Ÿ  

research and development for our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

sales and marketing;

 

  Ÿ  

domestic and international expansion efforts;

 

  Ÿ  

attracting and retaining talented employees;

 

  Ÿ  

strategic opportunities, including commercial relationships and acquisitions; and

 

  Ÿ  

general administration, including personnel costs and legal and accounting expenses related to being a public company.

These investments may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business.

In addition, we have granted stock options and RSUs to our employees. RSUs granted to domestic employees before February 2013 and all RSUs granted to international employees, or the Pre-2013 RSUs, vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for a majority of the Pre-2013 RSUs is satisfied over a period of four years. The performance condition will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control. As of September 30, 2013, no stock-based compensation expense had been recognized for the Pre-2013 RSUs because a qualifying event as described above was not probable. In the quarter in which this offering is completed, we will begin recording stock-based compensation expense based on the grant-date fair value of the Pre-2013 RSUs using the accelerated attribution method, net of estimated forfeitures. If this offering had been completed on September 30, 2013, we would have recorded $385.2 million of cumulative stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs on that date, and an additional $199.6 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs, net of estimated forfeitures, would be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately three years. In addition to stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs, as of September 30, 2013, we had unrecognized stock-based compensation expense of approximately $698.3 million related to other outstanding equity awards, after giving effect to estimated forfeitures, which we expect to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately four years. Following the completion of this offering, the stock-based compensation expense related to Pre-2013 RSUs and other outstanding equity awards will have a significant negative impact on our ability to achieve profitability on a GAAP basis in 2013 and 2014.

If we are unable to generate adequate revenue growth and to manage our expenses, we may continue to incur significant losses in the future and may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.

 

24


Table of Contents

Our business depends on continued and unimpeded access to our products and services on the Internet by our users and advertisers. If we or our users experience disruptions in Internet service or if Internet service providers are able to block, degrade or charge for access to our products and services, we could incur additional expenses and the loss of users and advertisers.

We depend on the ability of our users and advertisers to access the Internet. Currently, this access is provided by companies that have significant market power in the broadband and Internet access marketplace, including incumbent telephone companies, cable companies, mobile communications companies, government-owned service providers, device manufacturers and operating system providers, any of whom could take actions that degrade, disrupt or increase the cost of user access to our products or services, which would, in turn, negatively impact our business. For example, access to Twitter is blocked in China. The adoption of any laws or regulations that adversely affect the growth, popularity or use of the Internet, including laws or practices limiting Internet neutrality, could decrease the demand for, or the usage of, our products and services, increase our cost of doing business and adversely affect our operating results. We also rely on other companies to maintain reliable network systems that provide adequate speed, data capacity and security to us and our users. As the Internet continues to experience growth in the number of users, frequency of use and amount of data transmitted, the Internet infrastructure that we and our users rely on may be unable to support the demands placed upon it. The failure of the Internet infrastructure that we or our users rely on, even for a short period of time, could undermine our operations and harm our operating results.

Our new products, services and initiatives and changes to existing products, services and initiatives could fail to attract users and advertisers or generate revenue.

Our ability to increase the size and engagement of our user base, attract advertisers and generate revenue will depend in part on our ability to create successful new products and services, both independently and in conjunction with third parties. We may introduce significant changes to our existing products and services or develop and introduce new and unproven products and services, including technologies with which we have little or no prior development or operating experience. For example, in 2013, we introduced Vine, a mobile application that enables users to create and distribute videos that are up to six seconds in length, and #Music, a mobile application that helps users discover new music and artists based on Twitter data. If new or enhanced products or services fail to engage users and advertisers, we may fail to attract or retain users or to generate sufficient revenue or operating profit to justify our investments, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected. In addition, we have launched and expect to continue to launch strategic initiatives, such as the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating, that do not directly generate revenue but which we believe will enhance our attractiveness to users and advertisers. In the future, we may invest in new products, services and initiatives to generate revenue, but there is no guarantee these approaches will be successful. We may not be successful in future efforts to generate revenue from our new products or services. If our strategic initiatives do not enhance our ability to monetize our existing products and services or enable us to develop new approaches to monetization, we may not be able to maintain or grow our revenue or recover any associated development costs and our operating results could be adversely affected.

Spam could diminish the user experience on our platform, which could damage our reputation and deter our current and potential users from using our products and services.

“Spam” on Twitter refers to a range of abusive activities that are prohibited by our terms of service and is generally defined as unsolicited, repeated actions that negatively impact other users with the general goal of drawing user attention to a given account, site, product or idea. This includes posting large numbers of unsolicited mentions of a user, duplicate Tweets, misleading links (e.g., to malware or click-jacking pages) or other false or misleading content, and aggressively following and un-following accounts, adding users to lists, sending invitations, retweeting and favoriting Tweets to

 

25


Table of Contents

inappropriately attract attention. Our terms of service also prohibit the creation of serial or bulk accounts, both manually or using automation, for disruptive or abusive purposes, such as to tweet spam or to artificially inflate the popularity of users seeking to promote themselves on Twitter. Although we continue to invest resources to reduce spam on Twitter, we expect spammers will continue to seek ways to act inappropriately on our platform. In addition, we expect that increases in the number of users on our platform will result in increased efforts by spammers to misuse our platform. We continuously combat spam, including by suspending or terminating accounts we believe to be spammers and launching algorithmic changes focused on curbing abusive activities. Our actions to combat spam require the diversion of significant time and focus of our engineering team from improving our products and services. If spam increases on Twitter, this could hurt our reputation for delivering relevant content or reduce user growth and user engagement and result in continuing operational cost to us.

If we fail to effectively manage our growth, our business and operating results could be harmed.

We continue to experience rapid growth in our headcount and operations, which will continue to place significant demands on our management, operational and financial infrastructure. As of September 30, 2013, we had over 2,300 employees, an increase of over 2,200 employees since January 1, 2010. We intend to continue to make substantial investments to expand our operations, research and development, sales and marketing and general and administrative organizations, as well as our international operations. We face significant competition for employees, particularly engineers, designers and product managers, from other Internet and high-growth companies, which include both publicly-traded and privately-held companies, and we may not be able to hire new employees quickly enough to meet our needs. To attract highly skilled personnel, we have had to offer, and believe we will need to continue to offer, highly competitive compensation packages. In addition, as we have grown, we have significantly expanded our operating lease commitments. As we continue to grow, we are subject to the risks of over-hiring, over-compensating our employees and over-expanding our operating infrastructure, and to the challenges of integrating, developing and motivating a rapidly growing employee base in various countries around the world. In addition, we may not be able to innovate or execute as quickly as a smaller, more efficient organization. If we fail to effectively manage our hiring needs and successfully integrate our new hires, our efficiency and ability to meet our forecasts and our employee morale, productivity and retention could suffer, and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

Providing our products and services to our users is costly and we expect our expenses to continue to increase in the future as we broaden our user base and increase user engagement, as users increase the amount of content they contribute, and as we develop and implement new features, products and services that require more infrastructure, such as our mobile video product, Vine. In addition, our operating expenses, such as our research and development expenses and sales and marketing expenses, have grown rapidly as we have expanded our business. Historically, our costs have increased each year due to these factors and we expect to continue to incur increasing costs to support our anticipated future growth. We expect to continue to invest in our infrastructure in order to enable us to provide our products and services rapidly and reliably to users around the world, including in countries where we do not expect significant near-term monetization. Continued growth could also strain our ability to maintain reliable service levels for our users and advertisers, develop and improve our operational, financial, legal and management controls, and enhance our reporting systems and procedures. As a public company we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. Our expenses may grow faster than our revenue, and our expenses may be greater than we anticipate. Managing our growth will require significant expenditures and allocation of valuable management resources. If we fail to achieve the necessary level of efficiency in our organization as it grows, our business, operating results and financial condition would be harmed.

 

26


Table of Contents

Our business and operating results may be harmed by a disruption in our service, or by our failure to timely and effectively scale and adapt our existing technology and infrastructure.

One of the reasons people come to Twitter is for real-time information. We have experienced, and may in the future experience, service disruptions, outages and other performance problems due to a variety of factors, including infrastructure changes, human or software errors, hardware failure, capacity constraints due to an overwhelming number of people accessing our products and services simultaneously, computer viruses and denial of service or fraud or security attacks. Although we are investing significantly to improve the capacity, capability and reliability of our infrastructure, we are not currently serving traffic equally through our co-located data centers that support our platform. Accordingly, in the event of a significant issue at the data center supporting most of our network traffic, some of our products and services may become inaccessible to the public or the public may experience difficulties accessing our products and services. For example, in July 2012, due to the failure of two parallel systems at nearly the same time in one of our data centers, Twitter became inaccessible for approximately two hours. Any disruption or failure in our infrastructure could hinder our ability to handle existing or increased traffic on our platform, which could significantly harm our business.

As the number of our users increases and our users generate more content, including photos and videos hosted by Twitter, we may be required to expand and adapt our technology and infrastructure to continue to reliably store, serve and analyze this content. It may become increasingly difficult to maintain and improve the performance of our products and services, especially during peak usage times, as our products and services become more complex and our user traffic increases. In addition, because we lease our data center facilities, we cannot be assured that we will be able to expand our data center infrastructure to meet user demand in a timely manner, or on favorable economic terms. If our users are unable to access Twitter or we are not able to make information available rapidly on Twitter, users may seek other channels to obtain the information, and may not return to Twitter or use Twitter as often in the future, or at all. This would negatively impact our ability to attract users and advertisers and increase engagement of our users. We expect to continue to make significant investments to maintain and improve the capacity, capability and reliability of our infrastructure. To the extent that we do not effectively address capacity constraints, upgrade our systems as needed and continually develop our technology and infrastructure to accommodate actual and anticipated changes in technology, our business and operating results may be harmed.

Action by governments to restrict access to our products and services or censor Twitter content could harm our business and operating results.

Governments have sought, and may in the future seek, to censor content available through our products and services, restrict access to our products and services from their country entirely or impose other restrictions that may affect the accessibility of our products and services for an extended period of time or indefinitely. For example, domestic Internet service providers in China have blocked access to Twitter, and other countries, including Iran, Libya, Pakistan and Syria, have intermittently restricted access to Twitter, and we believe that access to Twitter has been blocked in these countries primarily for political reasons. In addition, governments in other countries may seek to restrict access to our products and services if they consider us to be in violation of their laws. In the event that access to our products and services is restricted, in whole or in part, in one or more countries or our competitors are able to successfully penetrate geographic markets that we cannot access, our ability to retain or increase our user base and user engagement may be adversely affected, and our operating results may be harmed.

 

27


Table of Contents

If we are unable to maintain and promote our brand, our business and operating results may be harmed.

We believe that maintaining and promoting our brand is critical to expanding our base of users and advertisers. Maintaining and promoting our brand will depend largely on our ability to continue to provide useful, reliable and innovative products and services, which we may not do successfully. We may introduce new features, products, services or terms of service that users, platform partners or advertisers do not like, which may negatively affect our brand. Additionally, the actions of platform partners may affect our brand if users do not have a positive experience using third-party applications or websites integrated with Twitter or that make use of Twitter content. Our brand may also be negatively affected by the actions of users that are hostile or inappropriate to other people, by users impersonating other people, by users identified as spam, by users introducing excessive amounts of spam on our platform or by third parties obtaining control over users’ accounts. For example, in April 2013, attackers obtained the credentials to the Twitter account of the Associated Press news service through a “phishing” attack targeting Associated Press employees. The attackers posted an erroneous Tweet from the Associated Press account reporting that there had been explosions at the White House, triggering a stock market decline, and focusing media attention on our brand and security efforts. Maintaining and enhancing our brand may require us to make substantial investments and these investments may not achieve the desired goals. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brand or if we incur excessive expenses in this effort, our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

Negative publicity could adversely affect our business and operating results.

We receive a high degree of media coverage around the world. Negative publicity about our company, including about our product quality and reliability, changes to our products and services, privacy and security practices, litigation, regulatory activity, the actions of our users or user experience with our products and services, even if inaccurate, could adversely affect our reputation and the confidence in and the use of our products and services. For example, service outages on Twitter typically result in widespread media reports. Such negative publicity could also have an adverse effect on the size, engagement and loyalty of our user base and result in decreased revenue, which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our future performance depends in part on support from platform partners and data partners.

We believe user engagement with our products and services depends in part on the availability of applications and content generated by platform partners. Beginning in 2012, we launched Twitter Cards, which allow platform partners to ensure that whenever they or any user tweets from their websites or applications, the Tweet will automatically include rich content like a photo, a video, a sound clip, an article summary or information about a product, and make it instantly accessible to any other user on Twitter. Twitter Cards allow platform partners to create lightweight interactive applications to promote their content or their products. The availability and development of these applications and content depends on platform partners’ perceptions and analysis of the relative benefits of developing applications and content for our products and services. If platform partners focus their efforts on other platforms, the availability and quality of applications and content for our products and services may suffer. There is no assurance that platform partners will continue to develop and maintain applications and content for our products and services. If platform partners cease to develop and maintain applications and content for our products and services, user engagement may decline. In addition, we generate revenue from licensing our historical and real-time data to third parties. If any of these relationships are terminated or not renewed, or if we are unable to enter into similar relationships in the future, our operating results could be adversely affected.

 

28


Table of Contents

We focus on product innovation and user engagement rather than short-term operating results.

We encourage employees to quickly develop and help us launch new and innovative features. We focus on improving the user experience for our products and services and on developing new and improved products and services for the advertisers on our platform. We prioritize innovation and the experience for users and advertisers on our platform over short-term operating results. We frequently make product and service decisions that may reduce our short-term operating results if we believe that the decisions are consistent with our goals to improve the user experience and performance for advertisers, which we believe will improve our operating results over the long term. These decisions may not be consistent with the short-term expectations of investors and may not produce the long-term benefits that we expect, in which case our user growth and user engagement, our relationships with advertisers and our business and operating results could be harmed. In addition, our focus on the user experience may negatively impact our relationships with our existing or prospective advertisers. This could result in a loss of advertisers, which could harm our revenue and operating results.

Our international operations are subject to increased challenges and risks.

We have offices around the world and our products and services are available in multiple languages. We expect to continue to expand our international operations in the future by opening offices in new jurisdictions and expanding our offerings in new languages. However, we have limited operating history outside the United States, and our ability to manage our business and conduct our operations internationally requires considerable management attention and resources and is subject to the particular challenges of supporting a rapidly growing business in an environment of multiple languages, cultures, customs, legal and regulatory systems, alternative dispute systems and commercial markets. International expansion has required and will continue to require us to invest significant funds and other resources. Operating internationally subjects us to new risks and may increase risks that we currently face, including risks associated with:

 

  Ÿ  

recruiting and retaining talented and capable employees in foreign countries and maintaining our company culture across all of our offices;

 

  Ÿ  

providing our products and services and operating across a significant distance, in different languages and among different cultures, including the potential need to modify our products, services, content and features to ensure that they are culturally relevant in different countries;

 

  Ÿ  

increased competition from local websites, mobile applications and services that provide real-time communications, such as Sina Weibo in China, LINE in Japan and Kakao in South Korea, which have expanded and may continue to expand their geographic footprint;

 

  Ÿ  

differing and potentially lower levels of user growth, user engagement and ad engagement in new and emerging geographies;

 

  Ÿ  

different levels of advertiser demand;

 

  Ÿ  

greater difficulty in monetizing our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

compliance with applicable foreign laws and regulations, including laws and regulations with respect to privacy, consumer protection, spam and content, and the risk of penalties to our users and individual members of management if our practices are deemed to be out of compliance;

 

  Ÿ  

longer payment cycles in some countries;

 

  Ÿ  

credit risk and higher levels of payment fraud;

 

  Ÿ  

operating in jurisdictions that do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the United States;

 

29


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

compliance with anti-bribery laws including, without limitation, compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the U.K. Bribery Act, including by our business partners;

 

  Ÿ  

currency exchange rate fluctuations;

 

  Ÿ  

foreign exchange controls that might require significant lead time in setting up operations in certain geographic territories and might prevent us from repatriating cash earned outside the United States;

 

  Ÿ  

political and economic instability in some countries;

 

  Ÿ  

double taxation of our international earnings and potentially adverse tax consequences due to changes in the tax laws of the United States or the foreign jurisdictions in which we operate; and

 

  Ÿ  

higher costs of doing business internationally, including increased accounting, travel, infrastructure and legal compliance costs.

If we are unable to manage the complexity of our global operations successfully, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our products and services may contain undetected software errors, which could harm our business and operating results.

Our products and services incorporate complex software and we encourage employees to quickly develop and help us launch new and innovative features. Our software has contained, and may now or in the future contain, errors, bugs or vulnerabilities. For example, we experienced a service outage in June 2012 during which Twitter service was inaccessible for approximately two hours as a result of a cascading software bug in one of our infrastructure components. Some errors in our software code may only be discovered after the product or service has been released. Any errors, bugs or vulnerabilities discovered in our code after release could result in damage to our reputation, loss of users, loss of platform partners, loss of advertisers or advertising revenue or liability for damages, any of which could adversely affect our business and operating results.

Our business is subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in claims, changes to our business practices, monetary penalties, increased cost of operations or declines in user growth, user engagement or ad engagement, or otherwise harm our business.

We are subject to a variety of laws and regulations in the United States and abroad that involve matters central to our business, including privacy, rights of publicity, data protection, content regulation, intellectual property, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection and taxation. Many of these laws and regulations are still evolving and being tested in courts and could be interpreted or applied in ways that could harm our business, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industry in which we operate. The introduction of new products or services may subject us to additional laws and regulations. In addition, foreign data protection, privacy, consumer protection, content regulation and other laws and regulations are often more restrictive than those in the United States. In particular, the European Union and its member states traditionally have taken broader views as to types of data that are subject to privacy and data protection, and have imposed greater legal obligations on companies in this regard. A number of proposals are pending before federal, state and foreign legislative and regulatory bodies that could significantly affect our business. For example, regulation relating to the 1995 European Union Data Protection Directive is currently being considered by European legislative bodies that may include more stringent operational requirements for entities processing personal information and significant penalties for non-compliance. Similarly, there have been a number of recent

 

30


Table of Contents

legislative proposals in the United States, at both the federal and state level, that would impose new obligations in areas such as privacy and liability for copyright infringement by third parties. The U.S. government, including the Federal Trade Commission, or the FTC, and the Department of Commerce, has announced that it is reviewing the need for greater regulation for the collection of information concerning user behavior on the Internet, including regulation aimed at restricting certain online tracking and targeted advertising practices. Additionally, recent amendments to U.S. patent laws may affect the ability of companies, including us, to protect their innovations and defend against claims of patent infringement. We currently allow use of our platform without the collection of extensive personal information, such as age. We may experience additional pressure to expand our collection of personal information in order to comply with new and additional regulatory demands or we may independently decide to do so. Having additional personal information may subject us to additional regulation. Further, it is difficult to predict how existing laws and regulations will be applied to our business and the new laws and regulations to which we may become subject, and it is possible that they may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices. These existing and proposed laws and regulations can be costly to comply with and can delay or impede the development of new products and services, result in negative publicity, significantly increase our operating costs, require significant time and attention of management and technical personnel and subject us to inquiries or investigations, claims or other remedies, including fines or demands that we modify or cease existing business practices.

Regulatory investigations and settlements could cause us to incur additional expenses or change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business.

We have been subject to regulatory investigations in the past, and expect to continue to be subject to regulatory scrutiny as our business grows and awareness of our brand increases. In March 2011, to resolve an investigation into various incidents, we entered into a settlement agreement with the FTC that, among other things, requires us to establish an information security program designed to protect non-public consumer information and also requires that we obtain biennial independent security assessments. The obligations under the settlement agreement remain in effect until the latter of March 2, 2031, or the date 20 years after the date, if any, on which the U.S. government or the FTC files a complaint in federal court alleging any violation of the order. We expect to continue to be the subject of regulatory inquiries, investigations and audits in the future by the FTC and other regulators around the world.

It is possible that a regulatory inquiry, investigation or audit might result in changes to our policies or practices, and may cause us to incur substantial costs or could result in reputational harm, prevent us from offering certain products, services, features or functionalities, cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business. Violation of existing or future regulatory orders, settlements or consent decrees could subject us to substantial monetary fines and other penalties that could negatively affect our financial condition and operating results.

Even though Twitter is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation, user trust regarding privacy is important to the growth of users and the increase in user engagement on our platform, and privacy concerns relating to our products and services could damage our reputation and deter current and potential users and advertisers from using Twitter.

From time to time, concerns have been expressed by governments, regulators and others about whether our products, services or practices compromise the privacy of users and others. Concerns about, governmental or regulatory actions involving our practices with regard to the collection, use, disclosure or security of personal information or other privacy-related matters, even if unfounded, could damage our reputation, cause us to lose users and advertisers and adversely affect our operating results. While we strive to comply with applicable data protection laws and regulations, as well as our

 

31


Table of Contents

own posted privacy policies and other obligations we may have with respect to privacy and data protection, the failure or perceived failure to comply may result, and in some cases has resulted, in inquiries and other proceedings or actions against us by governments, regulators or others, as well as negative publicity and damage to our reputation and brand, each of which could cause us to lose users and advertisers, which could have an adverse effect on our business.

Any systems failure or compromise of our security that results in the unauthorized access to or release of our users’ or advertisers’ data could significantly limit the adoption of our products and services, as well as harm our reputation and brand and, therefore, our business. We expect to continue to expend significant resources to protect against security breaches. The risk that these types of events could seriously harm our business is likely to increase as we expand the number of products and services we offer, increase the size of our user base and operate in more countries.

Governments and regulators around the world are considering a number of legislative and regulatory proposals concerning data protection. In addition, the interpretation and application of consumer and data protection laws or regulations in the United States, Europe and elsewhere are often uncertain and in flux, and in some cases, laws or regulations in one country may be inconsistent with, or contrary to, those of another country. It is possible that these laws and regulations may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent with our practices. If so, in addition to the possibility of fines, this could result in an order requiring that we change our practices, which could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results. Complying with new laws and regulations could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a manner materially adverse to our business.

If our security measures are breached, or if our products and services are subject to attacks that degrade or deny the ability of users to access our products and services, our products and services may be perceived as not being secure, users and advertisers may curtail or stop using our products and services and our business and operating results could be harmed.

Our products and services involve the storage and transmission of users’ and advertisers’ information, and security breaches expose us to a risk of loss of this information, litigation and potential liability. We experience cyber-attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis, and as a result, unauthorized parties have obtained, and may in the future obtain, access to our data or our users’ or advertisers’ data. For example, in February 2013, we disclosed that sophisticated unknown third parties had attacked our systems and may have had access to limited information for approximately 250,000 users. Our security measures may also be breached due to employee error, malfeasance or otherwise. Additionally, outside parties may attempt to fraudulently induce employees, users or advertisers to disclose sensitive information in order to gain access to our data or our users’ or advertisers’ data or accounts, or may otherwise obtain access to such data or accounts. Since our users and advertisers may use their Twitter accounts to establish and maintain online identities, unauthorized communications from Twitter accounts that have been compromised may damage their reputations and brands as well as ours. Any such breach or unauthorized access could result in significant legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation and a loss of confidence in the security of our products and services that could have an adverse effect on our business and operating results. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized access, disable or degrade service or sabotage systems change frequently and often are not recognized until launched against a target, we may be unable to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate preventative measures. If an actual or perceived breach of our security occurs, the market perception of the effectiveness of our security measures could be harmed, we could lose users and advertisers and we may incur significant legal and financial exposure, including legal claims and regulatory fines and penalties. Any of these actions could have a material and adverse effect on our business, reputation and operating results.

 

32


Table of Contents

We may face lawsuits or incur liability as a result of content published or made available through our products and services.

We have faced and will continue to face claims relating to content that is published or made available through our products and services or third party products or services. In particular, the nature of our business exposes us to claims related to defamation, intellectual property rights, rights of publicity and privacy, illegal content, content regulation and personal injury torts. The law relating to the liability of providers of online products or services for activities of their users remains somewhat unsettled, both within the United States and internationally. This risk may be enhanced in certain jurisdictions outside the United States where we may be less protected under local laws than we are in the United States. In addition, the public nature of communications on our network exposes us to risks arising from the creation of impersonation accounts intended to be attributed to our users or advertisers. We could incur significant costs investigating and defending these claims. If we incur costs or liability as a result of these events occurring, our business, financial condition and operating results could be adversely affected.

Our intellectual property rights are valuable, and any inability to protect them could reduce the value of our products, services and brand.

Our trade secrets, trademarks, copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights are important assets for us. We rely on, and expect to continue to rely on, a combination of confidentiality and license agreements with our employees, consultants and third parties with whom we have relationships, as well as trademark, trade dress, domain name, copyright, trade secret and patent laws, to protect our brand and other intellectual property rights. However, various events outside of our control pose a threat to our intellectual property rights, as well as to our products, services and technologies. For example, we may fail to obtain effective intellectual property protection, or effective intellectual property protection may not be available in every country in which our products and services are available. Also, the efforts we have taken to protect our intellectual property rights may not be sufficient or effective, and any of our intellectual property rights may be challenged, which could result in them being narrowed in scope or declared invalid or unenforceable. There can be no assurance our intellectual property rights will be sufficient to protect against others offering products or services that are substantially similar to ours and compete with our business.

We rely on non-patented proprietary information and technology, such as trade secrets, confidential information, know-how and technical information. While in certain cases we have agreements in place with employees and third parties that place restrictions on the use and disclosure of this intellectual property, these agreements may be breached, or this intellectual property may otherwise be disclosed or become known to our competitors, which could cause us to lose any competitive advantage resulting from this intellectual property.

We are pursuing registration of trademarks and domain names in the United States and in certain jurisdictions outside of the United States. Effective protection of trademarks and domain names is expensive and difficult to maintain, both in terms of application and registration costs as well as the costs of defending and enforcing those rights. We may be required to protect our rights in an increasing number of countries, a process that is expensive and may not be successful or which we may not pursue in every country in which our products and services are distributed or made available.

We are party to numerous agreements that grant licenses to third parties to use our intellectual property, including our trademarks. For example, many third parties distribute their content through Twitter, or embed Twitter content in their applications or on their websites, and make use of our trademarks in connection with their services. If the licensees of our trademarks are not using our trademarks properly, it may limit our ability to protect our trademarks and could ultimately result in our

 

33


Table of Contents

trademarks being declared invalid or unenforceable. We have a policy designed to assist third parties in the proper use of our brand, trademarks and other assets, and we have an internal team dedicated to enforcing our policy and protecting our brand. Our brand protection team routinely receives and reviews reports of improper and unauthorized use of the Twitter brand, trademarks or assets and issues takedown notices or initiates discussions with the third parties to correct the issues. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to protect against the unauthorized use of our brand, trademarks or other assets. If we fail to maintain and enforce our trademark rights, the value of our brand could be diminished. There is also a risk that one or more of our trademarks could become generic, which could result in them being declared invalid or unenforceable. For example, there is a risk that the word “Tweet” could become so commonly used that it becomes synonymous with any short comment posted publicly on the Internet, and if this happens, we could lose protection of this trademark.

We also seek to obtain patent protection for some of our technology and as of September 30, 2013, we had 9 issued U.S. patents and approximately 95 patent applications on file in the United States and abroad, although there can be no assurance that these applications will be ultimately issued as patents. We may be unable to obtain patent or trademark protection for our technologies and brands, and our existing patents and trademarks, and any patents or trademarks that may be issued in the future, may not provide us with competitive advantages or distinguish our products and services from those of our competitors. In addition, any patents and trademarks may be contested, circumvented, or found unenforceable or invalid, and we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing, diluting or otherwise violating them. Effective protection of patent rights is expensive and difficult to maintain, both in terms of application and maintenance costs, as well as the costs of defending and enforcing those rights.

Our Innovator’s Patent Agreement, or IPA, also limits our ability to prevent infringement of our patents. In May 2013, we implemented the IPA, which we enter into with our employees and consultants, including our founders. The IPA, which applies to our current and future patents, allows us to assert our patents defensively. The IPA also allows us to assert our patents offensively with the permission of the inventors of the applicable patent. Under the IPA, an assertion of claims is considered for a defensive purpose if the claims are asserted: (i) against an entity that has filed, maintained, threatened or voluntarily participated in a patent infringement lawsuit against us or any of our users, affiliates, customers, suppliers or distributors; (ii) against an entity that has used its patents offensively against any other party in the past ten years, so long as the entity has not instituted the patent infringement lawsuit defensively in response to a patent litigation threat against the entity; or (iii) otherwise to deter a patent litigation threat against us or our users, affiliates, customers, suppliers or distributors. In addition, the IPA provides that the above limitations apply to any future owner or exclusive licensee of any of our patents, which could limit our ability to sell or license our patents to third parties. While we may be able to claim protection of our intellectual property under other rights, such as trade secrets or contractual obligations with our employees not to disclose or use confidential information, we may be unable to assert our patent rights against third parties that we believe are infringing our patents, even if such third parties are developing products and services that compete with our products and services. For example, in the event that an inventor of one of our patents leaves us for another company and uses our patented technology to compete with us, we would not be able to assert that patent against such other company unless the assertion of the patent right is for a defensive purpose. In such event, we may be limited in our ability to assert a patent right against another company, and instead would need to rely on trade secret protection or the contractual obligation of the inventor to us not to disclose or use our confidential information. In addition, the terms of the IPA could affect our ability to monetize our intellectual property portfolio.

Significant impairments of our intellectual property rights, and limitations on our ability to assert our intellectual property rights against others, could harm our business and our ability to compete. Also, obtaining, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights is costly and time consuming. Any increase in the unauthorized use of our intellectual property could make it more expensive to do business and harm our operating results.

 

34


Table of Contents

We are currently, and expect to be in the future, party to intellectual property rights claims that are expensive and time consuming to defend, and, if resolved adversely, could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition or operating results.

Companies in the Internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation or other violations of intellectual property or other rights. Many companies in these industries, including many of our competitors, have substantially larger patent and intellectual property portfolios than we do, which could make us a target for litigation as we may not be able to assert counterclaims against parties that sue us for patent, or other intellectual property infringement. In addition, various “non-practicing entities” that own patents and other intellectual property rights often attempt to aggressively assert claims in order to extract value from technology companies. Further, from time to time we may introduce new products and services, including in areas where we currently do not have an offering, which could increase our exposure to patent and other intellectual property claims from competitors and non-practicing entities. In addition, although our standard terms and conditions for our Promoted Products and public APIs do not provide advertisers and platform partners with indemnification for intellectual property claims against them, some of our agreements with advertisers, platform partners and data partners require us to indemnify them for certain intellectual property claims against them, which could require us to incur considerable costs in defending such claims, and may require us to pay significant damages in the event of an adverse ruling. Such advertisers, platform partners and data partners may also discontinue use of our products, services and technologies as a result of injunctions or otherwise, which could result in loss of revenue and adversely impact our business.

We presently are involved in a number of intellectual property lawsuits, and as we face increasing competition and gain an increasingly high profile, we expect the number of patent and other intellectual property claims against us to grow. There may be intellectual property or other rights held by others, including issued or pending patents, that cover significant aspects of our products and services, and we cannot be sure that we are not infringing or violating, and have not infringed or violated, any third-party intellectual property rights or that we will not be held to have done so or be accused of doing so in the future. Any claim or litigation alleging that we have infringed or otherwise violated intellectual property or other rights of third parties, with or without merit, and whether or not settled out of court or determined in our favor, could be time-consuming and costly to address and resolve, and could divert the time and attention of our management and technical personnel. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources than we do and are able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. The outcome of any litigation is inherently uncertain, and there can be no assurances that favorable final outcomes will be obtained in all cases. In addition, plaintiffs may seek, and we may become subject to, preliminary or provisional rulings in the course of any such litigation, including potential preliminary injunctions requiring us to cease some or all of our operations. We may decide to settle such lawsuits and disputes on terms that are unfavorable to us. Similarly, if any litigation to which we are a party is resolved adversely, we may be subject to an unfavorable judgment that may not be reversed upon appeal. The terms of such a settlement or judgment may require us to cease some or all of our operations or pay substantial amounts to the other party. In addition, we may have to seek a license to continue practices found to be in violation of a third party’s rights. If we are required, or choose to enter into royalty or licensing arrangements, such arrangements may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all, and may significantly increase our operating costs and expenses. As a result, we may also be required to develop or procure alternative non-infringing technology or discontinue use of the technology. The development or procurement of alternative non-infringing technology could require significant effort and expense or may not be feasible. An unfavorable resolution of the disputes and litigation referred to above could adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

35


Table of Contents

Many of our products and services contain open source software, and we license some of our software through open source projects, which may pose particular risks to our proprietary software, products, and services in a manner that could have a negative effect on our business.

We use open source software in our products and services and will use open source software in the future. In addition, we regularly contribute software source code to open source projects under open source licenses or release internal software projects under open source licenses, and anticipate doing so in the future. The terms of many open source licenses to which we are subject have not been interpreted by U.S. or foreign courts, and there is a risk that open source software licenses could be construed in a manner that imposes unanticipated conditions or restrictions on our ability to provide or distribute our products or services. Additionally, we may from time to time face claims from third parties claiming ownership of, or demanding release of, the open source software or derivative works that we developed using such software, which could include our proprietary source code, or otherwise seeking to enforce the terms of the applicable open source license. These claims could result in litigation and could require us to make our software source code freely available, purchase a costly license or cease offering the implicated products or services unless and until we can re-engineer them to avoid infringement. This re-engineering process could require significant additional research and development resources, and we may not be able to complete it successfully. In addition to risks related to license requirements, use of certain open source software can lead to greater risks than use of third-party commercial software, as open source licensors generally do not provide warranties or controls on the origin of software. Additionally, because any software source code we contribute to open source projects is publicly available, our ability to protect our intellectual property rights with respect to such software source code may be limited or lost entirely, and we are unable to prevent our competitors or others from using such contributed software source code. Any of these risks could be difficult to eliminate or manage, and, if not addressed, could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

We may expend substantial funds in connection with the tax liabilities that arise upon the initial settlement of RSUs in connection with this offering, and the manner in which we fund that expenditure may have an adverse effect on our financial condition.

We may expend substantial funds to satisfy tax withholding and remittance obligations when we settle a portion of our RSUs granted prior to the date of this prospectus. Pre-2013 RSUs vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for the majority of the Pre-2013 RSUs is satisfied over a period of four years. The performance condition in connection with our Pre-2013 RSUs will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control. On the settlement dates for the Pre-2013 RSUs, we may choose to allow our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock received upon the vesting and settlement of Pre-2013 RSUs in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards, or we may withhold shares and remit income taxes on behalf of the holders of the Pre-2013 RSUs at the applicable minimum statutory rates, which we refer to as a net settlement. We expect the applicable minimum statutory rates to be approximately 40% on average, and the income taxes due would be based on the then-current value of the underlying shares of our common stock. Based on the number of Pre-2013 RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013 for which the service condition had been satisfied on that date, and assuming (i) the performance condition had been satisfied on that date and (ii) that the price of our common stock at the time of settlement was equal to $        , which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, we estimate that this tax obligation on the initial settlement date would be approximately $         in the aggregate. The amount of this obligation could be higher or lower, depending on the price of shares of our common stock on the initial settlement date for

 

36


Table of Contents

the Pre-2013 RSUs. To settle these Pre-2013 RSUs on the initial settlement date, assuming a 40% tax withholding rate, if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards rather than allowing our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of Pre-2013 RSUs, we would expect to deliver an aggregate of approximately              shares of our common stock to Pre-2013 RSU holders and withhold an aggregate of approximately              shares of our common stock. In connection with these net settlements, we would withhold and remit the tax liabilities on behalf of the Pre-2013 RSU holders to the relevant tax authorities in cash.

If we choose to undertake a net settlement of our Pre-2013 RSUs, then in order to fund the tax withholding and remittance obligations on behalf of our Pre-2013 RSU holders, we would expect to use a substantial portion of our cash and cash equivalent balances, or, alternatively, we may choose to borrow funds or a combination of cash and borrowed funds to satisfy these obligations.

We may require additional capital to support our operations or the growth of our business, and we cannot be certain that this capital will be available on reasonable terms when required, or at all.

From time to time, we may need additional financing to operate or grow our business. Our ability to obtain additional financing, if and when required, will depend on investor and lender demand, our operating performance, the condition of the capital markets and other factors, and we cannot assure you that additional financing will be available to us on favorable terms when required, or at all. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-linked or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to the rights of our common stock, and our existing stockholders may experience dilution. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us when we require it, our ability to continue to support the operation or growth of our business could be significantly impaired and our operating results may be harmed.

We rely on assumptions and estimates to calculate certain of our key metrics, and real or perceived inaccuracies in such metrics may harm our reputation and negatively affect our business.

The numbers of our active users and timeline views are calculated using internal company data that has not been independently verified. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable calculations for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage and user engagement across our large user base around the world. For example, there are a number of false or spam accounts in existence on our platform. We currently estimate that false or spam accounts represent less than 5% of our MAUs. However, this estimate is based on an internal review of a sample of accounts and we apply significant judgment in making this determination. As such, our estimation of false or spam accounts may not accurately represent the actual number of such accounts, and the actual number of false or spam accounts could be higher than we have currently estimated. We are continually seeking to improve our ability to estimate the total number of spam accounts and eliminate them from the calculation of our active users, but we otherwise treat multiple accounts held by a single person or organization as multiple users for purposes of calculating our active users because we permit people and organizations to have more than one account. Additionally, some accounts used by organizations are used by many people within the organization. As such, the calculations of our active users may not accurately reflect the actual number of people or organizations using our platform.

Our metrics are also affected by mobile applications that automatically contact our servers for regular updates with no user action involved, and this activity can cause our system to count the user associated with such a device as an active user on the day such contact occurs. The calculations of MAUs presented in this prospectus may be affected by this activity. The impact of this automatic activity

 

37


Table of Contents

on our metrics varies by geography because mobile application usage varies in different regions of the world. In addition, our data regarding user geographic location is based on the IP address associated with the account when a user initially registered the account on Twitter. The IP address may not always accurately reflect a user’s actual location at the time of user engagement on our platform.

We present and discuss timeline views in the nine months ended September 30, 2012, but we did not track all of the timeline views on our mobile applications during the three months ended March 31, 2012. We have included in this prospectus estimates for actual timeline views in the three months ended March 31, 2012 for the mobile applications we did not track. In addition, we have estimated a small percentage of the timeline views in the three months ended September 30, 2013 to account for certain timeline views that were logged incorrectly during the quarter as a result of a product update. We believe these estimates to be reasonable, but actual numbers could differ from our estimates. Further, timeline views in the nine months ended September 30, 2012 exclude an immaterial number of timeline views in our mobile applications, certain of which were not fully tracked until June 2012.

We regularly review and may adjust our processes for calculating our internal metrics to improve their accuracy. Our measures of user growth and user engagement may differ from estimates published by third parties or from similarly-titled metrics of our competitors due to differences in methodology. If advertisers, platform partners or investors do not perceive our user metrics to be accurate representations of our user base or user engagement, or if we discover material inaccuracies in our user metrics, our reputation may be harmed and advertisers and platform partners may be less willing to allocate their budgets or resources to our products and services, which could negatively affect our business and operating results.

We depend on highly skilled personnel to grow and operate our business, and if we are unable to hire, retain and motivate our personnel, we may not be able to grow effectively.

Our future success will depend upon our continued ability to identify, hire, develop, motivate and retain highly skilled personnel, including senior management, engineers, designers and product managers. Our ability to execute efficiently is dependent upon contributions from our employees, in particular our senior management team. We do not have employment agreements other than offer letters with any member of our senior management or other key employee, and we do not maintain key person life insurance for any employee. In addition, from time to time, there may be changes in our senior management team that may be disruptive to our business. If our senior management team, including any new hires that we may make, fails to work together effectively and to execute our plans and strategies on a timely basis, our business could be harmed.

Our growth strategy also depends on our ability to expand and retain our organization with highly skilled personnel. Identifying, recruiting, training and integrating qualified individuals will require significant time, expense and attention. In addition to hiring new employees, we must continue to focus on retaining our best employees. Many of our employees may be able to receive significant proceeds from sales of our equity in the public markets after this offering, which may reduce their motivation to continue to work for us. Competition for highly skilled personnel is intense, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our headquarters is located. We may need to invest significant amounts of cash and equity to attract and retain new employees and we may never realize returns on these investments. If we are not able to effectively add and retain employees, our ability to achieve our strategic objectives will be adversely impacted, and our business will be harmed.

Our corporate culture has contributed to our success, and if we cannot maintain this culture as we grow, we could lose the innovation, creativity and teamwork fostered by our culture, and our business may be harmed.

We believe that our culture has been and will continue to be a key contributor to our success. From January 1, 2010 to September 30, 2013, we increased the size of our workforce by more than

 

38


Table of Contents

2,200 employees, and we expect to continue to hire aggressively as we expand. If we do not continue to develop our corporate culture or maintain our core values as we grow and evolve, we may be unable to foster the innovation, creativity and teamwork we believe we need to support our growth. Moreover, liquidity available to our employee securityholders following this offering could lead to disparities of wealth among our employees, which could adversely impact relations among employees and our culture in general. Our transition from a private company to a public company may result in a change to our corporate culture, which could harm our business.

We rely in part on application marketplaces and Internet search engines to drive traffic to our products and services, and if we fail to appear high up in the search results or rankings, traffic to our platform could decline and our business and operating results could be adversely affected.

We rely on application marketplaces, such as Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play, to drive downloads of our mobile applications. In the future, Apple, Google or other operators of application marketplaces may make changes to their marketplaces which make access to our products and services more difficult. We also depend in part on Internet search engines, such as Google, Bing and Yahoo!, to drive traffic to our website. For example, when a user types an inquiry into a search engine, we rely on a high organic search result ranking of our webpages in these search results to refer the user to our website. However, our ability to maintain high organic search result rankings is not within our control. Our competitors’ search engine optimization, or SEO, efforts may result in their websites receiving a higher search result page ranking than ours, or Internet search engines could revise their methodologies in a way that would adversely affect our search result rankings. For example, Google has integrated its social networking offerings, including Google+, with certain of its products, including search, which has negatively impacted the organic search ranking of our webpages. If Internet search engines modify their search algorithms in ways that are detrimental to us, or if our competitors’ SEO efforts are more successful than ours, the growth in our user base could slow. Our website has experienced fluctuations in search result rankings in the past, and we anticipate similar fluctuations in the future. Any reduction in the number of users directed to our mobile applications or website through application marketplaces and search engines could harm our business and operating results.

More people are using devices other than personal computers to access the Internet and new platforms to produce and consume content, and we need to continue to promote the adoption of our mobile applications, and our business and operating results may be harmed if we are unable to do so.

The number of people who access the Internet through devices other than personal computers, including mobile phones, smartphones, handheld computers such as net books and tablets, video game consoles and television set-top devices, has increased dramatically in the past few years. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, over 70% of our advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices. Since we generate a majority of our advertising revenue through users on mobile devices, we must continue to drive adoption of our mobile applications. In addition, mobile users frequently change or upgrade their mobile devices. Our business and operating results may be harmed if our users do not install our mobile application when they change or upgrade their mobile device. Although we generate the majority of our advertising revenue from ad engagements on mobile devices, certain of our products and services, including Promoted Trends and Promoted Accounts, receive less prominence on our mobile applications than they do on our desktop applications. This has in the past reduced, and may in the future continue to reduce, the amount of revenue we are able to generate from these products and services as users increasingly access our products and services through mobile and alternative devices. In addition, as new devices and platforms are continually being released, users may consume content in a manner that is more difficult to monetize. It is difficult to predict the problems we may encounter in adapting our products and services and developing competitive new products and services that are compatible with new devices or platforms. If we are

 

39


Table of Contents

unable to develop products and services that are compatible with new devices and platforms, or if we are unable to drive continued adoption of our mobile applications, our business and operating results may be harmed.

Future acquisitions and investments could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition and operating results.

Our success will depend, in part, on our ability to expand our products and services, and grow our business in response to changing technologies, user and advertiser demands, and competitive pressures. In some circumstances, we may determine to do so through the acquisition of complementary businesses and technologies rather than through internal development, including, for example, our recent acquisitions of Vine Labs, Inc., a mobile application that enables users to create and distribute videos that are up to six seconds in length, and Bluefin Labs, Inc., a social television analytics company that provides data products to brand advertisers, agencies and television networks. We also recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MoPub, a mobile-focused advertising exchange, which we currently expect to close in November 2013. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming and costly, and we may not be able to successfully complete identified acquisitions. The risks we face in connection with acquisitions include:

 

  Ÿ  

diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to addressing acquisition integration challenges;

 

  Ÿ  

coordination of research and development and sales and marketing functions;

 

  Ÿ  

retention of key employees from the acquired company;

 

  Ÿ  

cultural challenges associated with integrating employees from the acquired company into our organization;

 

  Ÿ  

integration of the acquired company’s accounting, management information, human resources and other administrative systems;

 

  Ÿ  

the need to implement or improve controls, procedures, and policies at a business that prior to the acquisition may have lacked effective controls, procedures and policies;

 

  Ÿ  

liability for activities of the acquired company before the acquisition, including intellectual property infringement claims, violations of laws, commercial disputes, tax liabilities and other known and unknown liabilities;

 

  Ÿ  

unanticipated write-offs or charges; and

 

  Ÿ  

litigation or other claims in connection with the acquired company, including claims from terminated employees, users, former stockholders or other third parties.

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our past or future acquisitions and investments could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions or investments, cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities, and harm our business generally. Future acquisitions could also result in dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses, incremental operating expenses or the write-off of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition or operating results.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations could be impaired.

As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-

 

40


Table of Contents

Oxley Act, and the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time consuming and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms, and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to improve our internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and significant management oversight.

Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls or our internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls, or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement, could harm our operating results or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of management evaluations and independent registered public accounting firm audits of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

We are not currently required to comply with the SEC rules that implement Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and are therefore not required to make a formal assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting for that purpose. Upon becoming a public company, we will be required to provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting commencing with our second annual report on Form 10-K. Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to audit the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting until after we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. At such time, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating.

Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could have a material and adverse effect on our business and operating results, and cause a decline in the price of our common stock.

We are an emerging growth company, and any decision on our part to comply only with certain reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an emerging growth company, and, for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements

 

41


Table of Contents

applicable to other public companies but not to “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, not being required to have our independent registered public accounting firm audit our internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years following the completion of this offering. We will cease to be an emerging growth company upon the earliest of: (i) the end of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of this offering, (ii) the first fiscal year after our annual gross revenue are $1.0 billion or more, (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities or (iv) the end of any fiscal year in which the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million as of the end of the second quarter of that fiscal year. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result of any choices to reduce future disclosure, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the price of our common stock may be more volatile.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this accommodation allowing for delayed adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and, therefore, we will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

If currency exchange rates fluctuate substantially in the future, our operating results, which are reported in U.S. dollars, could be adversely affected.

As we continue to expand our international operations, we will become more exposed to the effects of fluctuations in currency exchange rates. We incur expenses for employee compensation and other operating expenses at our international locations in the local currency, and accept payment from advertisers or data partners in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Since we conduct business in currencies other than U.S. dollars but report our operating results in U.S. dollars, we face exposure to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Consequently, exchange rate fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and other currencies could have a material impact on our operating results.

Our business is subject to the risks of earthquakes, fire, power outages, floods and other catastrophic events, and to interruption by man-made problems such as terrorism.

A significant natural disaster, such as an earthquake, fire, flood or significant power outage could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results, and financial condition. Our headquarters and certain of our co-located data center facilities are located in the San Francisco Bay Area, a region known for seismic activity. Despite any precautions we may take, the occurrence of a natural disaster or other unanticipated problems at our data centers could result in lengthy interruptions in our services. In addition, acts of terrorism and other geo-political unrest could cause disruptions in our business. All of the aforementioned risks may be further increased if our disaster recovery plans prove to be inadequate. We have implemented a disaster recovery program, which allows us to move production to a back-up data center in the event of a catastrophe. Although this program is functional, we do not currently serve network traffic equally from each data center, so if our primary data center shuts down, there will be a period of time that our products or services, or certain of our products or services, will remain inaccessible to our users or our users may experience severe issues accessing our products and services.

 

42


Table of Contents

We do not carry business interruption insurance sufficient to compensate us for the potentially significant losses, including the potential harm to our business that may result from interruptions in our ability to provide our products and services.

We may have exposure to greater than anticipated tax liabilities, which could adversely impact our operating results.

Our income tax obligations are based in part on our corporate operating structure, including the manner in which we develop, value and use our intellectual property and the scope of our international operations. The tax laws applicable to our international business activities, including the laws of the United States and other jurisdictions, are subject to interpretation. The taxing authorities of the jurisdictions in which we operate may challenge our methodologies for valuing developed technology (or other intangible assets) or intercompany arrangements, which could increase our worldwide effective tax rate and harm our financial condition and operating results. We are subject to review and audit by U.S. federal and state and foreign tax authorities. Tax authorities may disagree with certain positions we have taken and any adverse outcome of such a review or audit could have a negative effect on our financial position and operating results. In addition, our future income taxes could be adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions that have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated in jurisdictions that have higher statutory tax rates, by changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or by changes in tax laws, regulations or accounting principles. Tax expenses, or disputes with tax authorities, could adversely impact our operating results.

If our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired, we may be required to record a significant charge to earnings.

Under GAAP, we review our intangible assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable. Goodwill is required to be tested for impairment at least annually. As of September 30, 2013, we had recorded a total of $183.1 million of goodwill and intangible assets related to our acquisitions. An adverse change in market conditions, particularly if such change has the effect of changing one of our critical assumptions or estimates, could result in a change to the estimation of fair value that could result in an impairment charge to our goodwill or intangible assets. Any such material charges may have a material negative impact on our operating results.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

As of December 31, 2012, we had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $298.8 million and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $216.7 million. Under Sections 382 and 383 of Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income and taxes may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” occurs if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by “5% shareholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar rules may apply under state tax laws. In the event that it is determined that we have in the past experienced an ownership change, or if we experience one or more ownership changes as a result of this offering or future transactions in our stock, then we may be limited in our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax assets to reduce taxes owed on the net taxable income that we earn. Any such limitations on the ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax assets could adversely impact our business, financial condition and operating results.

 

43


Table of Contents

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock and this Offering

Existing executive officers, directors and holders of 5% or more of our common stock will collectively beneficially own    % of our common stock and continue to have substantial control over us after this offering, which will limit your ability to influence the outcome of important transactions, including a change in control.

Our directors, executive officers and each of our stockholders who own 5% or more of our outstanding common stock and their affiliates, in the aggregate, will beneficially own approximately    % of the outstanding shares of our common stock after this offering, based on the number of shares outstanding as of September 30, 2013. As a result, these stockholders, if acting together, will be able to influence or control matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors and the approval of mergers, acquisitions or other extraordinary transactions. They may also have interests that differ from yours and may vote in a way with which you disagree and which may be adverse to your interests. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control of our company, could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company and might ultimately affect the market price of our common stock.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain or will contain provisions which could have the effect of rendering more difficult, delaying, or preventing an acquisition deemed undesirable by our board of directors. Among other things, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will include provisions:

 

  Ÿ  

creating a classified board of directors whose members serve staggered three-year terms;

 

  Ÿ  

authorizing “blank check” preferred stock, which could be issued by our board of directors without stockholder approval and may contain voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to our common stock;

 

  Ÿ  

limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;

 

  Ÿ  

limiting the ability of our stockholders to call and bring business before special meetings;

 

  Ÿ  

requiring advance notice of stockholder proposals for business to be conducted at meetings of our stockholders and for nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors; and

 

  Ÿ  

controlling the procedures for the conduct and scheduling of board of directors and stockholder meetings.

These provisions, alone or together, could delay or prevent hostile takeovers and changes in control or changes in our management.

As a Delaware corporation, we are also subject to provisions of Delaware law, including Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation law, which prevents certain stockholders holding more than 15% of our outstanding common stock from engaging in certain business combinations without approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our outstanding common stock not held by such 15% or greater stockholder.

Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control

 

44


Table of Contents

could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

An active trading market for our common stock may never develop or be sustained.

We intend to apply for the listing of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TWTR”. However, we cannot assure you that an active trading market for our common stock will develop on that exchange or elsewhere or, if developed, that any market will be sustained. Accordingly, we cannot assure you of the likelihood that an active trading market for our common stock will develop or be maintained, the liquidity of any trading market, your ability to sell your shares of our common stock when desired or the prices that you may obtain for your shares.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for shares of our common stock. The initial public offering price of our common stock will be determined through negotiation between us and the underwriters. This price will not necessarily reflect the price at which investors in the market will be willing to buy and sell shares of our common stock following this offering. In addition, the market price of our common stock following this offering is likely to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control.

The market price of our common stock following this offering may fluctuate substantially and may be higher or lower than the initial public offering price. The market price of our common stock following this offering will depend on a number of factors many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock since you might be unable to sell your shares at or above the price you paid in this offering. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the market price of our common stock include the following:

 

  Ÿ  

price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;

 

  Ÿ  

volatility in the market prices and trading volumes of technology stocks;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular;

 

  Ÿ  

sales of shares of our common stock by us or our stockholders;

 

  Ÿ  

failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;

 

  Ÿ  

the financial projections we may provide to the public, any changes in those projections or our failure to meet those projections;

 

  Ÿ  

announcements by us or our competitors of new products or services;

 

  Ÿ  

the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;

 

  Ÿ  

rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry;

 

  Ÿ  

actual or anticipated changes in our operating results or fluctuations in our operating results;

 

  Ÿ  

actual or anticipated developments in our business, our competitors’ businesses or the competitive landscape generally;

 

45


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

litigation involving us, our industry or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

developments or disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights;

 

  Ÿ  

announced or completed acquisitions of businesses or technologies by us or our competitors;

 

  Ÿ  

new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;

 

  Ÿ  

changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles;

 

  Ÿ  

any significant change in our management; and

 

  Ÿ  

general economic conditions and slow or negative growth of our markets.

In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

A total of         , or     %, of the outstanding shares of our common stock after this offering will be restricted from immediate resale, but may be sold on a stock exchange in the near future. The large number of shares eligible for public sale or subject to rights requiring us to register them for public sale could depress the market price of our common stock.

The market price of our common stock could decline as a result of sales of a large number of shares of our common stock in the market after this offering, and the perception that these sales could occur may also depress the market price of our common stock. Based on shares of our capital stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, we will have            shares of our common stock outstanding after this offering. Our executive officers, directors and the holders of substantially all of our capital stock and securities convertible into or exchangeable for our capital stock have entered into market standoff agreements with us or lock-up agreements with the underwriters under which they have agreed, subject to specific exceptions, not to sell any of our stock for 180 days following the date of this prospectus. As a result of these agreements and the provisions of our investors’ rights agreement described further in the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights,” and subject to the provisions of Rule 144 or Rule 701, shares of our common stock will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

beginning on the date of this prospectus, all            shares of our common stock sold in this offering will be immediately available for sale in the public market;

 

  Ÿ  

beginning as early as February 15, 2014, up to an aggregate of              shares of our common stock that are held by our employees who are not executive officers may be eligible for sale in the public market in order to satisfy the income tax obligations of such employees resulting from the vesting and settlement of a portion of the outstanding Pre-2013 RSUs (or up to an aggregate of              shares of our common stock held by our employees who are not executive officers if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards to satisfy a portion of such income tax obligations); and

 

  Ÿ  

beginning 181 days after the date of this prospectus, the remainder of the shares of our common stock will be eligible for sale in the public market from time to time thereafter, subject in some cases to the volume and other restrictions of Rule 144, as described below.

Upon completion of this offering, stockholders owning an aggregate of up to 386,952,743 shares will be entitled, under contracts providing for registration rights, to require us to register shares of our

 

46


Table of Contents

common stock owned by them for public sale in the United States. In addition, we intend to file a registration statement to register 208,211,427 shares reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans, subject to increase to include shares reserved for future issuance pursuant to options under an equity compensation plan that will be assumed upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub. Upon effectiveness of that registration statement, subject to the satisfaction of applicable exercise periods and expiration of the market standoff agreements and lock-up agreements referred to above, the shares of our common stock issued upon exercise of outstanding stock options or the vesting of RSUs will be available for immediate resale in the United States in the open market.

Sales of our common stock as restrictions end or pursuant to registration rights may make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. These sales also could cause the price of our common stock to fall and make it more difficult for you to sell shares of our common stock.

In making your investment decision, you should understand that we and the underwriters have not authorized any other party to provide you with information concerning us or this offering.

You should carefully evaluate all of the information in this prospectus. We have in the past received, and may continue to receive, a high degree of media coverage, including coverage that is not directly attributable to statements made by our officers and employees, that incorrectly reports on statements made by our officers or employees, or that is misleading as a result of omitting information provided by us, our officers or employees. We and the underwriters have not authorized any other party to provide you with information concerning us or this offering.

We may invest or spend the proceeds of this offering in ways with which you may not agree or in ways which may not yield a return.

The net proceeds from the sale of our shares of our common stock by us in this offering may be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures. We anticipate making capital expenditures in 2013 of approximately $215 million to $235 million, and we may use a portion of the net proceeds to fund our anticipated capital expenditures. We also may use a portion of the net proceeds to satisfy our anticipated tax withholding and remittance obligations related to the settlement of our outstanding RSUs. Additionally, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire businesses, products, services or technologies. However, we do not have agreements or commitments for any specific material acquisitions at this time. Our management will have considerable discretion in the application of the net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds are being used appropriately. Until the net proceeds are used, they may be placed in investments that do not produce significant income or that may lose value.

Purchasers in this offering will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the book value of their investment.

The assumed initial public offering price of $        per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, is substantially higher than the net tangible book value per share of our outstanding common stock immediately after this offering. Therefore, if you purchase our common stock in this offering, you will incur immediate dilution of $        in the net tangible book value per share from the price you paid. In addition, purchasers who bought shares from us in this offering will have contributed    % of the total consideration paid to us by our stockholders to purchase shares of our common stock, in exchange for acquiring approximately    % of the outstanding shares of our capital stock as of September 30, 2013 after giving effect to this offering. The vesting of RSUs and the exercise of outstanding stock options and a warrant will result in further dilution.

 

47


Table of Contents

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our common stock adversely, the price of our common stock and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that securities or industry analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who may cover us change their recommendation regarding our common stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, the price of our common stock would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause the price of our common stock or trading volume to decline.

We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

Prior to this offering, there has been limited trading of our common stock at prices that may be higher than what our common stock will trade at once it is listed.

Prior to this offering, our shares have not been listed on any stock exchange or other public trading market, but there has been some trading of our securities in private trades. These trades were speculative, and the trading price of our securities in these trades was privately negotiated. We cannot assure you that the price of our common stock will equal or exceed the price at which our securities have traded prior to this offering.

 

48


Table of Contents

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to attract and retain users and increase the level of engagement of our users;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to develop or acquire new products and services, improve our existing products and services and increase the value of our products and services;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to attract advertisers to our platform and increase the amount that advertisers spend with us;

 

  Ÿ  

our expectations regarding our user growth rate and the usage of our mobile applications;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to increase our revenue and our revenue growth rate;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to improve user monetization, including advertising revenue per timeline view;

 

  Ÿ  

our future financial performance, including trends in cost per ad engagement, revenue, cost of revenue, operating expenses and income taxes;

 

  Ÿ  

the effects of seasonal trends on our results of operations;

 

  Ÿ  

the sufficiency of our cash and cash equivalents and cash generated from operations to meet our working capital and capital expenditure requirements;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to timely and effectively scale and adapt our existing technology and network infrastructure;

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to successfully acquire and integrate companies and assets; and

 

  Ÿ  

our ability to successfully enter new markets and manage our international expansion.

We caution you that the foregoing list may not contain all of the forward-looking statements made in this prospectus.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus. We cannot assure you that the results, events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur, and actual results, events or circumstances could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements made in this prospectus relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this prospectus to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this prospectus or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make.

 

49


Table of Contents

INDUSTRY DATA AND COMPANY METRICS

This prospectus contains estimates and information concerning our industry, including market size and growth rates of the markets in which we participate, that are based on industry publications and reports. This information involves a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to these estimates. We have not independently verified the accuracy or completeness of the data contained in these industry publications and reports. The industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to variety of factors, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in these publications and reports.

We review a number of metrics, including MAUs, timeline views, timeline views per MAU and advertising revenue per timeline view, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans and make strategic decisions. See the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation—Key Metrics” for a discussion of how we calculate MAUs, timeline views, timeline views per MAU and advertising revenue per timeline view.

The numbers of active users and timeline views presented in this prospectus are based on internal company data. While these numbers are based on what we believe to be reasonable estimates for the applicable period of measurement, there are inherent challenges in measuring usage and user engagement across our large user base around the world. For example, there are a number of false or spam accounts in existence on our platform. We currently estimate that false or spam accounts represent less than 5% of our MAUs. However, this estimate is based on an internal review of a sample of accounts and we apply significant judgment in making this determination. As such, our estimation of false or spam accounts may not accurately represent the actual number of such accounts, and the actual number of false or spam accounts could be higher than we have currently estimated. We are continually seeking to improve our ability to estimate the total number of spam accounts and eliminate them from the calculation of our active users. For example, we made an improvement in our spam detection capabilities in the second quarter of 2013 and suspended a large number of accounts. Spam accounts that we have identified are not included in the active user numbers presented in this prospectus. We treat multiple accounts held by a single person or organization as multiple users for purposes of calculating our active users because we permit people and organizations to have more than one account. Additionally, some accounts used by organizations are used by many people within the organization. As such, the calculations of our active users may not accurately reflect the actual number of people or organizations using our platform.

Our metrics are also affected by applications that automatically contact our servers for regular updates with no user action involved, and this activity can cause our system to count the users associated with such applications as active users on the day or days such contact occurs. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, approximately eight percent of all active users used applications that have the capability to automatically contact our servers for regular updates. As such, the calculations of MAUs presented in this prospectus may be affected as a result of automated activity. We expect that the percentage of active users that use applications that have the capability to automatically contact our servers for regular updates will decline over time, particularly as usage of our mobile applications increases.

In addition, our data regarding user geographic location for purposes of reporting the geographic location of our MAUs is based on the IP address associated with the account when a user initially registered the account on Twitter. The IP address may not always accurately reflect a user’s actual location at the time of user engagement on our platform.

We present and discuss timeline views in the nine months ended September 30, 2012, but we did not track all of the timeline views on our mobile applications during the three months ended March 31,

 

50


Table of Contents

2012. We have included in this prospectus estimates for actual timeline views in the three months ended March 31, 2012 for the mobile applications we did not track. In addition, we have estimated a small percentage of the timeline views in the three months ended September 30, 2013 to account for certain timeline views that were logged incorrectly during the quarter as a result of a product update. We believe these estimates to be reasonable, but actual numbers could differ from our estimates. Further, timeline views in the nine months ended September 30, 2012 exclude an immaterial number of timeline views for our mobile applications, certain of which were not fully tracked until June 2012.

We regularly review and may adjust our processes for calculating our internal metrics to improve their accuracy. Our measures of user growth and user engagement may differ from estimates published by third parties or from similarly-titled metrics of our competitors due to differences in methodology.

 

51


Table of Contents

USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the sale of shares of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $        , based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us is exercised in full, we estimate that the net proceeds to us would be approximately $        , after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share would increase or decrease the net proceeds that we receive from this offering by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. Similarly, each increase or decrease of one million in the number of shares of our common stock offered by us would increase or decrease the net proceeds that we receive from this offering by approximately $        , assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us.

The principal purposes of this offering are to increase our capitalization and financial flexibility, create a public market for our common stock and enable access to the public equity markets for us and our stockholders.

We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general corporate purposes, including working capital, operating expenses and capital expenditures. We anticipate making capital expenditures in 2013 of approximately $215 million to $235 million, and we may use a portion of the net proceeds to fund our anticipated capital expenditures. We also may use a portion of the net proceeds to satisfy our anticipated tax withholding and remittance obligations related to the settlement of our outstanding Pre-2013 RSUs, or we may choose to allow our employees who are not executive officers holding such awards to sell shares of our common stock in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards. Based on the number of Pre-2013 RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013 for which the service condition had been satisfied on that date, and assuming (i) the performance condition had been satisfied on that date, (ii) we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of our Pre-2013 RSUs and (iii) that the price of our common stock at the time of settlement was equal to $        , which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, we estimate that this tax obligation on the initial settlement date would be approximately $         in the aggregate. The amount of this obligation could be higher or lower, depending on the price of shares of our common stock on the initial settlement date for the Pre-2013 RSUs. Additionally, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to acquire businesses, products, services or technologies. However, except for our proposed acquisition of MoPub in exchange for shares of our common stock, we do not have agreements or commitments for any material acquisitions at this time. We cannot specify with certainty the particular uses of the net proceeds that we will receive from this offering. Accordingly, we will have broad discretion in using these proceeds. Pending the use of proceeds from this offering as described above, we plan to invest the net proceeds that we receive in this offering in short-term and long-term interest-bearing obligations, including government and investment-grade debt securities and money market funds.

DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain any future earnings and do not expect to pay any dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to declare cash dividends will be made at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to applicable laws, and will depend on a number of factors, including our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, general business conditions and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.

 

52


Table of Contents

CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth cash and cash equivalents, as well as our capitalization, as of September 30, 2013 as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

on an actual basis;

 

  Ÿ  

on a pro forma basis, giving effect to (i) the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock into an aggregate of 333,099,000 shares of our common stock, which conversion will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering, as if such conversion had occurred on September 30, 2013, (ii) the resulting reclassification of the restricted Class A junior preferred stock of $8.8 million and preferred stock warrant liability of $2.4 million from other long-term liabilities to additional paid-in capital, (iii) stock-based compensation expense of $385.2 million associated with Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition was satisfied as of September 30, 2013, and which we expect to record upon completion of this offering, as described in footnote (1) below and (iv) the filing and effectiveness of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation in Delaware; and

 

  Ÿ  

on a pro forma as adjusted basis, giving effect to the pro forma adjustments set forth above and the sale and issuance by us of          shares of our common stock in this offering, based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

You should read this table together with our consolidated financial statements and related notes, and the sections titled “Selected Consolidated Financial and Other Data” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” that are included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

     As of September 30, 2013  
     Actual     Pro
Forma (1)
    Pro Forma
as
Adjusted (2)
 
     (In thousands, except share and
per share data)
 

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments

   $ 321,075      $ 321,075      $                        
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Restricted Class A junior preferred stock and preferred stock warrant liabilities included in other long term liabilities

     11,170            

Redeemable Class A junior preferred stock, par value $0.000005 per share: 15,000,000 shares authorized, 3,523,675 issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

     37,106            

Convertible preferred stock, par value $0.000005 per share: 329,691,856 shares authorized, 329,575,325 issued and outstanding, actual; no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

     835,430            

Stockholders’ equity (deficit):

      

Preferred stock, par value $0.000005 per share: no shares authorized, issued and outstanding, actual; 200,000,000 shares authorized, no shares issued and outstanding, pro forma and pro forma as adjusted

                

Common stock, par value $0.000005 per share: 700,000,000 shares authorized, 141,597,816 shares issued and outstanding, actual; 5,000,000,000 shares authorized, 474,696,816 shares issued and outstanding, pro forma and 5,000,000,000 shares authorized,              shares issued and outstanding, pro forma as adjusted

     1        2     

Additional paid-in capital

     304,836        1,573,756     

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

     (343     (343  

Accumulated deficit

     (483,155     (868,370  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

     (178,661     705,045     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total capitalization

   $ 705,045      $ 705,045      $     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)

The pro forma data as of September 30, 2013 gives effect to stock-based compensation expense of $385.2 million associated with Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition was satisfied as of September 30, 2013 and which we expect to record upon completion of this offering, as further described in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Stock-Based Compensation.”

 

53


Table of Contents
 

The pro forma adjustment related to stock-based compensation expense of $385.2 million has been reflected as an increase to additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit. We estimate that an aggregate of approximately                  million shares underlying Pre-2013 RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013 will vest and settle on                      in connection with the satisfaction of the performance condition to their vesting, resulting in the net issuance of an aggregate of approximately                  million shares to the holders if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards rather than allowing our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards. These shares have not been included in our pro forma or pro forma as adjusted shares outstanding.

(2)

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of our common stock of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the amount of our pro forma as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, additional paid-in capital and total stockholders’ equity by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us. An increase or decrease of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, the amount of our pro forma as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, additional paid-in capital and total stockholders’ equity by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us.

If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us were exercised in full, pro forma as adjusted cash and cash equivalents, additional paid-in capital, total stockholders’ equity and shares outstanding as of September 30, 2013 would be $        , $        , $         and         , respectively.

The pro forma and pro forma as adjusted columns in the table above are based on 474,696,816 shares of our common stock (including preferred stock on an as-converted basis) outstanding as of September 30, 2013, and exclude the following:

 

  Ÿ  

42,708,824 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, with a weighted-average exercise price of $1.84 per share;

 

  Ÿ  

85,657,603 shares of our common stock subject to RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013;

 

  Ÿ  

116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $0.34 per share;

 

  Ÿ  

up to 14,791,464 shares of our common stock issuable upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub, which includes shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our common stock that will be assumed and converted from options to purchase shares of MoPub common stock upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub; and

 

  Ÿ  

80,300,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering, consisting of:

 

  Ÿ  

68,300,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2013 Plan; and

 

  Ÿ  

12,000,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our ESPP.

Our 2013 Plan and ESPP each provide for annual automatic increases in the number of shares reserved thereunder, and our 2013 Plan also provides for increases to the number of shares that may be granted thereunder based on shares under our 2007 Plan that expire, are forfeited or otherwise repurchased by us, as more fully described in the section titled “Executive Compensation—Employee Benefit and Stock Plans.”

 

54


Table of Contents

DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per share of our common stock and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering. Net tangible book value dilution per share to new investors represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of our common stock in this offering and the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after completion of this offering.

Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the number of shares of our common stock outstanding. Our historical net tangible deficit as of September 30, 2013 was $365.7 million, or $2.58 per share. Our pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30, 2013 was $518.0 million, or $1.09 per share, based on the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock as of September 30, 2013 into an aggregate of 333,099,000 shares of our common stock, which conversion will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and the resulting reclassification of the restricted Class A junior preferred stock and preferred stock warrant liability from other long-term liabilities to additional paid-in capital.

After giving effect to the sale by us of              shares of our common stock in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value as of September 30, 2013 would have been $         million, or $         per share. This represents an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value of $         per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in pro forma net tangible book value of $         per share to investors purchasing shares of our common stock in this offering at the assumed initial public offering price. The following table illustrates this dilution:

 

Assumed initial public offering price per share

      $                

Pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share as of September 30, 2013

   $ 1.09      

Increase in pro forma net tangible book value (deficit) per share attributable to new investors in this offering

     
  

 

 

    

Pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share immediately after this offering

     
     

 

 

 

Dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering

      $     
     

 

 

 

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share to new investors by $        , and would increase or decrease, as applicable, dilution per share to new investors in this offering by $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. Similarly, each increase or decrease of 1.0 million shares in the number of shares offered by us would increase or decrease, as applicable, our pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value by approximately $        

 

55


Table of Contents

per share and increase or decrease, as applicable, the dilution to new investors by $         per share, assuming the assumed initial public offering price remains the same, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us is exercised in full, the pro forma as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock, as adjusted to give effect to this offering, would be $         per share, and the dilution in pro forma net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering would be $         per share.

The following table presents, as of September 30, 2013, after giving effect to the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock into our common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering, the differences between the existing stockholders and the new investors purchasing shares of our common stock in this offering with respect to the number of shares purchased from us, the total consideration paid or to be paid to us, which includes net proceeds received from the issuance of our common stock and preferred stock, cash received from the exercise of stock options and the average price per share paid or to be paid to us at the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, before deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us:

 

     Shares Purchased     Total Consideration     Average
Price Per

Share
 
     Number    Percent     Amount      Percent    

Existing stockholders

               $                             $                

New investors

            
  

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

Totals

        100   $           100  
  

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease, as applicable, the total consideration paid by new investors and total consideration paid by all stockholders by approximately $        , assuming that the number of shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

Except as otherwise indicated, the above discussion and tables assume no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock were exercised in full, our existing stockholders would own     % and our new investors would own     % of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding upon the completion of this offering.

The number of shares of our common stock that will be outstanding after this offering is based on 474,696,816 shares of our common stock (including preferred stock on an as-converted basis) outstanding as of September 30, 2013, and excludes:

 

  Ÿ  

42,708,824 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, with a weighted-average exercise price of $1.84 per share;

 

  Ÿ  

85,657,603 shares of our common stock subject to RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013;

 

  Ÿ  

116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, with an exercise price of $0.34 per share;

 

56


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

up to 14,791,464 shares of our common stock issuable upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub, which includes shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of options to purchase shares of our common stock that will be assumed and converted from options to purchase shares of MoPub common stock upon completion of our acquisition of MoPub; and

 

  Ÿ  

80,300,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our equity compensation plans which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering, consisting of:

 

  Ÿ  

68,300,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2013 Plan; and

 

  Ÿ  

12,000,000 shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under our ESPP.

Our 2013 Plan and ESPP each provide for annual automatic increases in the number of shares reserved thereunder, and our 2013 Plan also provides for increases to the number of shares that may be granted thereunder based on shares under our 2007 Plan that expire, are forfeited or otherwise repurchased by us, as more fully described in the section titled “Executive Compensation—Employee Benefit and Stock Plans.”

To the extent that any outstanding options to purchase our common stock or a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock are exercised, RSUs are settled or new awards are granted under our equity compensation plans, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering.

 

57


Table of Contents

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL AND OTHER DATA

The following selected consolidated statement of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2010 has been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements not included in this prospectus. The selected consolidated statement of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2013 have been derived from our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements and reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for a fair statement of the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future and the results in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year or any other period. You should read the following selected consolidated financial and other data below in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
    2010     2011     2012         2012             2013      
    (In thousands, except per share data)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

         

Revenue

  $ 28,278      $ 106,313      $ 316,933      $ 204,686      $ 422,215   

Costs and expenses (1)

         

Cost of revenue

    43,168        61,803        128,768        91,850        154,067   

Research and development

    29,348        80,176        119,004        78,664        199,144   

Sales and marketing

    6,289        25,988        86,551        57,767        138,911   

General and administrative

    16,952        65,757        59,693        44,712        56,248   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

    95,757        233,724        394,016        272,993        548,370   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

    (67,479     (127,411     (77,083     (68,307     (126,155

Interest income (expense), net

    55        (805     (2,486     (1,656     (4,473

Other income (expense), net

    (117     (1,530     399        926        (1,730
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (67,541     (129,746     (79,170     (69,037     (132,358

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

    (217     (1,444     229        1,657        1,494   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

  $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

           35,816                        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

  $ (67,324   $ (164,118   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

         

Basic and diluted

    75,992        102,544        117,401        116,119        131,196   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

         

Basic and diluted

  $ (0.89   $ (1.60   $ (0.68   $ (0.61   $ (1.02
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders (unaudited): (2)

         

Basic and diluted

      $ (0.18     $ (0.28
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

Other Financial Information: (3)

         

Adjusted EBITDA

  $ (51,184   $ (42,835   $ 21,164      $ 3,593      $ 30,685   

Non-GAAP net loss

  $ (54,066   $ (65,533   $ (35,191   $ (34,920   $ (44,104

 

58


Table of Contents

 

(1)  

Costs and expenses include stock-based compensation expense as follows:

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010      2011      2012          2012              2013      
     (In thousands)  
           

(Unaudited)

 

Cost of revenue

   $ 200       $ 1,820       $ 800       $ 618       $ 5,015   

Research and development

     3,409         33,559         12,622         9,013         53,377   

Sales and marketing

     249         1,553         1,346         985         10,356   

General and administrative

     2,073         23,452         10,973         9,779         10,422   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stock-based compensation

   $ 5,931       $ 60,384       $ 25,741       $ 20,395       $ 79,170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(2)  

See Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements for an explanation of the calculations of our pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders.

(3)  

See the sections titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures” for additional information and a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA and net loss to non-GAAP net loss.

 

     Year Ended December 31,     As of
September 30,

2013
 
     2010     2011     2012    
     (In thousands)  
                       (Unaudited)  

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

        

Cash and cash equivalents

   $   134,253      $ 218,996      $ 203,328      $ 155,704   

Short-term investments

     43,484        330,543        221,528        165,371   

Working capital

     167,088        548,324        444,587        331,997   

Property and equipment, net

     26,385        61,983        185,574        284,024   

Total assets

     224,473        720,675        831,568        992,803   

Total liabilities

     35,432        87,391        207,204        298,928   

Redeemable convertible preferred stock

            49        37,106        37,106   

Convertible preferred stock

     279,534        835,073        835,430        835,430   

Total stockholders’ deficit

   $ (90,493   $ (201,838   $ (248,172   $ (178,661

 

59


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the section titled “Selected Consolidated Financial and Other Data” and the consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed below. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Overview

Twitter is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. Our platform is unique in its simplicity: Tweets are limited to 140 characters of text. This constraint makes it easy for anyone to quickly create, distribute and discover content that is consistent across our platform and optimized for mobile devices. As a result, Tweets drive a high velocity of information exchange that makes Twitter uniquely “live.”

We have already achieved significant global scale, and we continue to grow. We have more than 230 million MAUs spanning nearly every country. Our users include millions of people from around the world, as well as influential individuals and organizations, such as world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands. Our users create approximately 500 million Tweets every day.

The value we create for our users is enhanced by our platform partners and advertisers. Millions of platform partners, which include publishers, media outlets and developers, have integrated with Twitter, adding value to our user experience by contributing content to our platform, broadly distributing content from our platform across their properties and using Twitter content and tools to enhance their websites and applications. In addition, advertisers use our Promoted Products to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and complement and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns. Although we do not generate revenue directly from users or platform partners, we benefit from network effects where more activity on Twitter results in the creation and distribution of more content, which attracts more users, platform partners and advertisers, resulting in a virtuous cycle of value creation.

We generate the substantial majority of our revenue from the sale of advertising services, with the balance coming from data licensing arrangements. We generate nearly all of our advertising revenue through the sale of our three Promoted Products: Promoted Tweets, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends. The substantial majority of our advertising revenue is generated on a pay-for-performance basis, which means advertisers are only charged when a user engages with their ad, creating an attractive value proposition for our advertisers.

We launched our first Promoted Products in mid-2010 in the United States by introducing Promoted Tweets in search results and Promoted Trends. Since that time, we have expanded our Promoted Products to add Promoted Accounts and extended our Promoted Products across our platform and to additional geographies. We generate advertising sales in the United States and certain other geographies through our direct sales force, as well as through our self-serve advertising platform.

We introduced Promoted Products on our iOS and Android mobile applications in February 2012. Over 70% of our advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices in the three months ended September 30, 2013.

 

60


Table of Contents

Our international revenue was $53.0 million and $106.7 million in 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively, representing 17% and 25% of our total revenue for those periods, respectively. We launched Promoted Products in selected international markets in the third quarter of 2011, and we expect to continue to launch our Promoted Products in additional markets over time. We have recently focused our international spending on sales support and marketing activities in specific countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom. In certain international geographies where we have not invested to build a local sales force, we rely on resellers that serve as outside sales agents for the sale of our Promoted Products. In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, we and our resellers sold our Promoted Products to advertisers in over 20 countries outside of the United States. We record advertising revenue based on the billing location of our advertisers, rather than the location of our users.

We are headquartered in San Francisco, California, and have offices in over 15 cities around the world.

Key Milestones

We have developed our advertising services through the introduction of numerous products and services, including:

 

LOGO

 

61


Table of Contents

Key Metrics

We review a number of metrics, including the following key metrics, to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate business plans and make strategic decisions:

Monthly Active Users (MAUs) .    We define MAUs as Twitter users who logged in and accessed Twitter through our website, mobile website, desktop or mobile applications, SMS or registered third-party applications or websites in the 30-day period ending on the date of measurement. Average MAUs for a period represent the average of the MAUs at the end of each month during the period. In the discussion of our results of operations we compare average MAUs for the last three months of each period discussed in such comparison. MAUs are a measure of the size of our active user base. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, we had 231.7 million average MAUs, which represents an increase of 39% from the three months ended September 30, 2012. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, we had 52.7 million average MAUs in the United States and 179.0 million average MAUs in the rest of the world, which represent increases of 30% and 41%, respectively, from the three months ended September 30, 2012. For additional information on how we calculate the number of MAUs and factors that can affect this metric, see the section titled “Industry Data and Company Metrics.”

 

LOGO

 

LOGO

  

LOGO

 

62


Table of Contents

Timeline Views , Timeline Views Per MAU and Advertising Revenue Per Timeline View .    We define timeline views as the total number of timelines requested when registered users visit Twitter, refresh a timeline or view search results while logged in on our website, mobile website or desktop or mobile applications (excluding our TweetDeck and Mac clients, as we do not fully track this data). We believe that timeline views and timeline views per MAU are measures of user engagement. Timeline views per MAU are calculated by dividing the total timeline views for the period by the average MAUs for the last three months of such period. In the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2013, we had 158.8 billion and 446.0 billion timeline views, respectively, which represent increases of 50% and 67% from the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively. In the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2013, we had 43.2 billion and 123.3 billion timeline views in the United States, respectively, which represent increases of 33% and 48% from the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively. In the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2013, we had 115.6 billion and 322.7 billion timeline views in the rest of the world, respectively, which represent increases of 57% and 76% from the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, we had 685 timeline views per MAU, which represents an increase of 8% from the three months ended September 30, 2012. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, we had 819 timeline views per MAU in the United States and 646 timeline views per MAU in the rest of the world, which represent increases of 2% and 11% from the three months ended September 30, 2012, respectively. For additional information on how we calculate the number of timeline views and factors that can affect this metric, see the section titled “Industry Data and Company Metrics.”

We define advertising revenue per timeline view as advertising revenue per 1,000 timeline views during the applicable period. We believe that advertising revenue per timeline view is a measure of our ability to monetize our platform. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, our advertising revenue per timeline view was $0.97, which represents a 49% increase from the three months ended September 30, 2012. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, our advertising revenue per timeline view in the United States was $2.58 and our advertising revenue per timeline view in the rest of the world was $0.36, which represent increases of 50% and 112% from the three months ended September 30, 2012, respectively. We record advertising revenue based on the billing location of our advertisers, rather than the location of our users.

 

63


Table of Contents

 

LOGO

 

LOGO   LOGO

Factors Affecting Our Future Performance

User Growth, User Engagement and Monetization .    User growth trends reflected in the number of MAUs, user engagement trends reflected in timeline views and timeline views per MAU and monetization trends reflected in advertising revenue per timeline view are key factors that affect our revenue. As our user base and the level of engagement of our users grow, we believe the potential to increase our revenue grows.

User Growth .    We have experienced significant growth in our number of users over the last several years. In general, a higher proportion of Internet users in the United States uses Twitter than Internet users in other countries. Accordingly, in the future we expect our user growth rate in certain international markets, such as Argentina, France, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, to continue to be higher than our user growth rate in the United States. However, we expect to face challenges in entering some markets, such as China, where access to Twitter is blocked, as well as certain other countries that have intermittently restricted access to Twitter. Restrictions or

 

64


Table of Contents

limitations on access to Twitter may adversely impact our ability to increase the size of our user base and generate additional revenue in certain markets.

Our user base continues to grow. Although we do not separately track whether an MAU has only used Twitter on a desktop or on a mobile device, the usage of our mobile applications continues to grow. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, 76% of our average MAUs accessed Twitter from a mobile device, compared to 69% in the three months ended September 30, 2012.

We may face challenges in increasing the size of our user base, including, among others, competition from alternative products and services, a decline in the number of influential users on Twitter or a perceived decline in the quality of content available on Twitter. We intend to drive growth in our user base by continuing to demonstrate the value and usefulness of our products and services to potential new users, and by introducing new products, services and features. We anticipate that our user growth rate will slow over time as the size of our user base increases. To the extent our user growth or user growth rate slows, our revenue growth will become increasingly dependent on our ability to increase levels of user engagement, as measured by timeline views and timeline views per MAU, and monetization, as measured by advertising revenue per timeline view.

User Engagement .    We broadly measure user engagement on our platform through timeline views and the number of timeline views per MAU. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, timeline views increased 50% and timeline views per MAU increased 8%, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2012. We experienced a 1% decline in timeline views per MAU during the three months ended September 30, 2013 from the three months ended June 30, 2013, which we believe was primarily driven by certain product changes we made in the three months ended September 30, 2013 to improve the overall user experience. We continue to develop products for our platform, and to develop partnerships globally to increase relevant local content on our platform, with the goal of increasing our user engagement and improving the overall user experience. In particular, our most engaged users are generally those who access Twitter via our mobile applications. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, a substantial majority of timeline views were on mobile devices, and the increase in timeline views was driven by mobile user engagement. We expect this trend to continue in the near term, and we plan to continue to develop and improve our mobile applications to further drive user adoption of these applications. As we seek to optimize our products to improve the overall user experience, we may make changes to our products that result in slower growth, or a decline, in the number of timeline views or the number of timeline views per MAU. To the extent user engagement as measured by timeline views and timeline views per MAU does not increase, our revenue growth will depend in large part on our ability to increase MAUs or monetization of our platform.

Monetization .    We measure monetization of our platform through advertising revenue per timeline view. There are many variables that impact timeline views and advertising revenue per timeline view, such as the number of MAUs, the number of timeline views per MAU, which timeline views we monetize and the amount of advertising we choose to display, our users’ engagement with our Promoted Products and advertiser demand. Generally, for our pay-for-performance Promoted Products, we design our algorithms to optimize for the combined impact of a number of factors, including the overall user experience, the number of ads we deliver to a particular user, the likelihood that our users will engage with the ads, the value we deliver to advertisers and the impact of the advertisers’ bids. We design our algorithms to enhance the user experience by delivering relevant ads to a user based on the user’s Interest Graph, and these ads may contain information of interest to the user or may provide promotional offers that are not available anywhere else. Our algorithms also enhance the value that we deliver to advertisers because the targeting capabilities of our algorithms allow advertisers to deliver ads that are relevant to a user’s interests, thereby increasing the effectiveness of an advertiser’s advertising campaign.

We regularly refine our algorithms to drive monetization while maximizing the long-term value of our platform for our users and advertisers. Given the large number of variables that drive

 

65


Table of Contents

advertising revenue per timeline view, including decisions that we make regarding optimizing user experience and satisfying advertiser demand, certain individual components may decline while others increase. Ultimately, it is the combination of the changes in these components that impacts advertising revenue per timeline view. For example, advertising revenue has increased sequentially in each of the six quarters ended September 30, 2013, driven by sequential increases in paid user engagements with our pay-for-performance Promoted Products, or ad engagements, over those same periods, partially offset by sequential decreases in average cost per ad engagement during the same periods. The number of ad engagements increased 55%, 32%, 78%, 15%, 124% and 58% sequentially in the three months ended June 30, 2012, September 30, 2012, December 31, 2012, March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, respectively. The increases in ad engagements over these periods were primarily due to increases in MAUs, user engagement levels, as measured by timeline views per MAU, and advertiser demand. Average cost per ad engagement decreased 18%, 9%, 19%, 12%, 46% and 20% sequentially in the three months ended June 30, 2012, September 30, 2012, December 31, 2012, March 31, 2013, June 30, 2013 and September 30, 2013, respectively. The decreases in cost per ad engagement over these periods were primarily due to an increase in supply of advertising inventory available in our auctions, which was partially offset by increased demand for our Promoted Products. Supply of advertising inventory increased as we expanded the distribution of our Promoted Products to our mobile applications and additional markets outside of the United States in 2012. The increase in advertising inventory provided us with additional opportunities to place ads on our platform. This increase in advertising inventory combined with our efforts, which started in the three months ended June 30, 2013 and continued through the three months ended September 30, 2013, to improve the advertiser experience by refining our algorithms to balance the distribution of an advertiser’s budget throughout the day reduced the amount that advertisers were required to bid to win auctions for our pay-for-performance Promoted Products. This reduction in cost per ad engagement made our Promoted Products more attractive for our existing advertisers and new advertisers, including small and medium sized businesses with smaller advertising budgets, as well as international advertisers. As we continue to optimize for advertiser value and the overall user experience, the cost per ad engagement may continue to decline over time, and we expect the cost per ad engagement to decline in the near term. In the event that cost per ad engagement continues to decline, and we are unable to continue to offset the impact of such decreases on advertising revenue by increasing the number of ad engagements, our advertising revenue would decline. We believe that, in order to increase the cost per ad engagement, we will need to increase advertiser demand for our Promoted Products by enhancing the value of such products. We plan to increase the value of our Promoted Products by increasing the size and engagement of our user base, improving our ability to target advertising to our users’ interests and improving the ability of our advertisers to optimize their campaigns and measure the results of their campaigns. We also believe our goal of maximizing the long-term value of our platform for our users and advertisers should make Promoted Products more attractive to our existing and new advertisers and allow us to deliver more relevant ads on our platform.

In addition, our advertising revenue per timeline view in the United States is substantially higher than our advertising revenue per timeline view in the rest of the world. For example, during the three months ended September 30, 2013, our advertising revenue per timeline view in the United States was $2.58 and our advertising revenue per timeline view in the rest of the world was $0.36. We expect this disparity to continue for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, to the extent the number of international users and engagement by international users grow faster than U.S. users and engagement by U.S. users, total advertising revenue per timeline view may be adversely impacted even if total advertising revenue continues to increase.

We have also been able to generate significant revenue through our mobile applications. We introduced Promoted Products on our iOS and Android mobile applications in February 2012, and have since expanded to include Promoted Products on our other mobile applications. In the three

 

66


Table of Contents

months ended September 30, 2013, over 70% of our advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices. We have experienced strong growth in advertising revenue from mobile devices because user engagement, as measured by timeline views, is significantly higher on mobile applications than on our desktop applications, and we expect this trend to continue. However, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends receive less prominence on our mobile applications than they do on our desktop applications, which means that fewer users see them displayed on our mobile applications, resulting in fewer ad engagements with Promoted Accounts and fewer impressions of Promoted Trends on mobile applications. Primarily as a result of Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends receiving less prominence on mobile applications, we have generated higher advertising revenue per timeline view on our desktop applications than on our mobile applications. Although advertising revenue per timeline view on our desktop applications is higher than advertising revenue per timeline view on our mobile applications, the substantial majority of our timeline views and advertising revenue is generated from mobile applications. Accordingly, to the extent that user engagement on mobile applications continues to increase faster than user engagement on our desktop applications, advertising revenue per timeline view may be adversely impacted even if total advertising revenue continues to increase.

We intend to continue to increase the monetization of our platform by improving the targeting capabilities of our advertising services to enhance the value of our Promoted Products for advertisers, expanding our sales efforts to reach advertisers in additional international markets, opening our platform to additional advertisers through our self-serve advertising platform and developing new ad formats for advertisers.

Effectiveness of Our Advertising Services .    Advertisers can use Twitter to communicate directly with their followers for free, but many choose to purchase our advertising services to reach a broader audience and further promote their brands, products and services. We believe that increasing the effectiveness of our Promoted Products for advertisers will increase the amount that advertisers spend with us. We aim to increase the value of our Promoted Products by increasing the size and engagement of our user base, improving our ability to target advertising to our users’ interests and improving the ability of our advertisers to optimize their campaigns and measure the results of their campaigns. We may also develop new advertising products and services.

International Expansion.     We intend to invest in our international operations in order to expand our user base and advertiser base and increase user engagement and monetization internationally. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, we had 179.0 million average MAUs internationally compared to 52.7 million average MAUs in the United States. In addition, our number of users is growing at a faster rate in many international markets, such as Argentina, France, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. However, we derive the substantial majority of our advertising revenue from advertisers in the United States. We also generate significantly more advertising revenue per timeline view in the United States than internationally, with advertising revenue per timeline view in the three months ended September 30, 2013 of $2.58 in the United States and $0.36 internationally. Further, because we record advertising revenue based on the billing location of our advertisers, engagement by international users with ads placed by advertisers located in the United States increases our advertising revenue per timeline view in the United States. In order to increase our international advertising revenue, we plan to invest in our international operations. In the near term, we plan to increase the size of our sales and marketing support teams in Australia, Brazil, Ireland and the Netherlands, and we plan to extend our self-serve advertising platform to countries outside of the United States.

We face challenges in increasing our advertising revenue internationally, including local competition, differences in advertiser demand, differences in the digital advertising market and conventions, and differences in the manner in which Twitter is accessed and used internationally. We face competition from well established competitors in certain international markets, including Kakao in South Korea and LINE in Japan. In addition, certain international markets are not as familiar with digital

 

67


Table of Contents

advertising in general, or with new forms of digital advertising, such as our Promoted Products. In these jurisdictions we are investing to educate advertisers about the benefits of our advertising services. However, we expect that it may require a significant investment of time and resources to educate advertisers in many international markets. We also face challenges in providing certain advertising products, features or analytics in certain international markets, such as the European Union, due to government regulation. In addition, in certain emerging markets, many users access Twitter through feature phones with limited functionality, rather than through smartphones, our website or desktop applications. This limits our ability to deliver certain features to these users and may limit the ability of advertisers to deliver compelling ads to users in these markets. We are investing to improve our applications for feature phones in order to improve our ability to monetize our products and services in international markets.

Competition .    We face significant competition for users and advertisers. We compete against many companies to attract and engage users and for advertiser spend, including companies with greater financial resources and substantially larger user bases, such as Facebook (including Instagram), Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Yahoo!, which offer a variety of Internet and mobile device-based products, services and content. In recent years there have been significant acquisitions and consolidation by and among our actual and potential competitors. We must compete effectively for users and advertisers in order to grow our business and increase our revenue. We believe that our ability to compete effectively for users depends upon a number of factors, including the quality of our products and services; and our ability to compete effectively for advertisers depends upon a number of factors, including our ability to offer attractive advertising products with unique targeting capabilities and the size of our active user base. We intend to continue to invest in research and development to improve our products and services for users and advertisers and to grow our active user base in order to address the competitive challenges in our industry. As part of our strategy to improve our products and services, we may acquire other companies to add engineering talent or complementary products and technologies.

Investment in Infrastructure .    We intend to increase the capacity and enhance the capability and reliability of our infrastructure. Our infrastructure is critical to providing users, platform partners, advertisers and data partners access to our platform, particularly during major planned and unplanned events, such as elections, sporting events or natural disasters, when activity on our platform increases dramatically. As our user base and the activity on our platform grow, we expect that investments and expenses associated with our infrastructure will continue to grow. These investments and expenses include the expansion of our data center operations and related operating costs, additional servers and networking equipment to increase the capacity of our infrastructure and increased bandwidth costs.

Products and Services Innovation .    Our ability to increase the size and engagement of our user base, attract advertisers and increase our revenue will depend, in part, on our ability to improve existing products and services and to successfully develop or acquire new products and services. We plan to continue to make significant investments in research and development and, from time to time, we may acquire companies to enhance our products, services and technical capabilities.

Investment in Talent .    We intend to invest in hiring and retaining talented employees to grow our business and increase our revenue. As of September 30, 2013, we had over 2,300 full-time employees, an increase of over 1,100 full-time employees, or approximately 87%, from September 30, 2012. We expect to grow headcount for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in our business. We have also made and intend to continue to make acquisitions that add engineers, designers, product managers and other personnel with specific technology expertise. In addition, we must retain our high-performing personnel in order to continue to develop, sell and market our products and services and manage our business.

Seasonality .    Advertising spending is traditionally strongest in the fourth quarter of each year. Historically, this seasonality in advertising spending has affected our quarterly results, with higher

 

68


Table of Contents

sequential advertising revenue growth from the third quarter to the fourth quarter compared to sequential advertising revenue growth from the fourth quarter to the subsequent first quarter. For example, our advertising revenue increased 63% and 45% between the third and fourth quarters of 2011 and 2012, respectively, while advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2012 and 2013 increased 37% and 1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 and 2012, respectively. In addition, advertising revenue per timeline view increased 31% between the third and fourth quarter of 2012, while advertising revenue per timeline view decreased 13% between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013. The rapid growth in our business may have partially masked seasonality to date and the seasonal impacts may be more pronounced in the future.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense .    Since May 2011, we have been granting RSUs to our employees. The Pre-2013 RSUs vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for a majority of the Pre-2013 RSUs is satisfied over a period of four years. The performance condition will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control. As of September 30, 2013, no stock-based compensation expense had been recognized for the Pre-2013 RSUs because a qualifying event as described above was not probable. In the quarter in which this offering is completed, we will begin recording stock-based compensation expense based on the grant-date fair value of the Pre-2013 RSUs using the accelerated attribution method, net of estimated forfeitures. If this offering had been completed on September 30, 2013, we would have recorded $385.2 million of cumulative stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs on that date, and an additional $199.6 million of unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs, net of estimated forfeitures, would be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately three years. In addition to stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs, as of September 30, 2013, we had unrecognized stock-based compensation expense of approximately $698.3 million related to other outstanding equity awards, after giving effect to estimated forfeitures, which we expect to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately four years.

On the settlement dates for the Pre-2013 RSUs, we may choose to allow our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock received upon the vesting and settlement of the Pre-2013 RSUs in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards, or we may choose to undertake a net settlement of these awards and withhold and remit income taxes on behalf of the holders of Pre-2013 RSUs at the applicable minimum statutory rates. We expect the applicable minimum statutory rates to be approximately 40% on average, and the income taxes due would be based on the then-current value of the underlying shares of our common stock. Based on the number of Pre-2013 RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013 for which the service condition had been satisfied on that date, and assuming (i) the performance condition had been satisfied on that date and (ii) that the price of our common stock at the time of settlement was equal to $        , which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, we estimate that this tax obligation on the initial settlement date would be approximately $         in the aggregate. The amount of this obligation could be higher or lower, depending on the price of shares of our common stock on the initial settlement date for the Pre-2013 RSUs. To settle these Pre-2013 RSUs on the initial settlement date, assuming a 40% tax withholding rate, if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards rather than allowing our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards, we would expect to deliver an aggregate of approximately             shares of our common stock to Pre-2013 RSU holders and withhold an aggregate of approximately             shares of our common stock. In connection with these net settlements, we would withhold and remit the tax liabilities on behalf of the Pre-2013 RSU holders to the relevant tax authorities in cash.

 

69


Table of Contents

MoPub Inc.

On September 9, 2013 we entered into a definitive agreement, or the MoPub Merger Agreement, to acquire privately held MoPub, a mobile-focused advertising exchange. Subject to the terms and conditions of the MoPub Merger Agreement, upon the closing of the proposed acquisition, all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of MoPub, other than any dissenting shares, and all equity awards to purchase shares of MoPub common stock held by individuals who will continue to provide services to us, will be converted into the right to receive an aggregate of up to 14,791,464 shares of our common stock, subject to certain adjustments and vesting terms described in the MoPub Merger Agreement, and MoPub will become one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries. The MoPub Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants by us and MoPub, including covenants regarding operation of its business by MoPub and its subsidiaries prior to the closing. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by MoPub’s stockholders and expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, or the HSR Act. In October 2013, we received early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act. The closing of the transaction is not subject to a vote of our stockholders. The MoPub Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for both MoPub and us, including for the failure to consummate the transaction by December 20, 2013. The shares of our common stock that will be issued pursuant to the MoPub Merger Agreement will be subject to the same market standoff and lock-up arrangements with us and the underwriters as are described in the section titled “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” We currently expect to close the proposed acquisition of MoPub in November 2013.

The following table presents certain summary consolidated statement of operations and other financial data for MoPub for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the six months ended June 30, 2013:

 

     Year Ended
December 31, 2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2013
 
     (In thousands)  

Certain Summary Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

    

Revenue, net

   $ 2,692      $ 6,516   

Net loss

     (8,141     (2,825

Other Financial Information:

    

Adjusted EBITDA

   $ (7,899   $ (2,503

MoPub receives a fee from transactions completed by its customers and publishers on the exchange that it operates. MoPub reports revenue on a net basis principally because it is not the primary obligor to the end-customers.

Adjusted EBITDA for MoPub is defined as net loss adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation expense, depreciation and amortization expense and interest and other income and expense, net. The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for MoPub for each of the periods indicated:

 

     Year Ended
December 31, 2012
    Six Months Ended
June 30, 2013
 
     (In thousands)  

Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA

    

Net loss

   $ (8,141   $ (2,825

Stock-based compensation expense

     141        167   

Depreciation and amortization expense

     117        168   

Interest and other income and expense, net

     (16     (13
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

   $ (7,899   $ (2,503
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

70


Table of Contents

For information regarding how our management uses Adjusted EBITDA, the reasons we believe that Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors and the limitations of Adjusted EBITDA, see the section titled “Prospect Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

Components of Results of Operations

Revenue

We generate the substantial majority of our revenue from the sale of advertising services. We also generate revenue by licensing our data to third parties.

Advertising Services

We generate substantially all of our advertising revenue by selling our Promoted Products. Currently, our Promoted Products consist of the following:

 

  Ÿ  

Promoted Tweets .    Promoted Tweets, which are labeled as “promoted,” appear within a user’s timeline or search results just like an ordinary Tweet regardless of device, whether it be desktop or mobile. Using our proprietary algorithms and understanding of the interests of each user, we can deliver Promoted Tweets that are intended to be relevant to a particular user. We enable our advertisers to target an audience based on our users’ Interest Graphs. Our Promoted Tweets are pay-for-performance advertising that are priced through an auction. We recognize advertising revenue when a user engages with a Promoted Tweet.

 

  Ÿ  

Promoted Accounts .    Promoted Accounts, which are labeled as “promoted,” appear in the same format and place as accounts suggested by our Who to Follow recommendation engine. Promoted Accounts provide a way for our advertisers to grow a community of users who are interested in their business, products or services. Our Promoted Accounts are pay-for-performance advertising that are priced through an auction. We recognize advertising revenue when a user follows a Promoted Account.

 

  Ÿ  

Promoted Trends .    Promoted Trends, which are labeled as “promoted,” appear at the top of the list of trending topics for an entire day in a particular country or on a global basis. When a user clicks on a Promoted Trend, search results for that trend are shown in a timeline and a Promoted Tweet created by the advertiser is displayed to the user at the top of those search results. We sell our Promoted Trends on a fixed-fee-per-day basis. We feature one Promoted Trend per day per geography, and recognize advertising revenue from a Promoted Trend when it is displayed on our platform.

Data Licensing

We offer data licenses that allow our data partners to access, search and analyze historical and real-time data on our platform, which data consists of public Tweets and their content. Our data partners generally purchase licenses to access all or a portion of our data for a fixed period, which is typically two years. We recognize data licensing revenue as the licensed data is made available to our data partners. In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, our top five data partners accounted for approximately 73% of our data licensing revenue, and approximately 8% of total revenue in the period. We expect data licensing revenue to decrease as a percentage of our total revenue over time.

 

71


Table of Contents

Cost of Revenue and Operating Expenses

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue consists primarily of data center costs related to our co-located facilities, which include lease and hosting costs, related support and maintenance costs and energy and bandwidth costs, as well as depreciation of our servers and networking equipment, and personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation, for our operations teams. Cost of revenue also includes allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs, amortization of acquired intangible assets and capitalized labor costs. Many of the elements of our cost of revenue are relatively fixed, and cannot be reduced in the near term to offset any decline in our revenue.

We plan to continue increasing the capacity and enhancing the capability and reliability of our infrastructure to support user growth and increased activity on our platform. We anticipate a significant increase in cost of revenue in the year ending December 31, 2013 as a result of the stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs as described in “—Factors Affecting Our Future Performance—Stock-Based Compensation Expense.” We expect that cost of revenue will increase in dollar amount for the foreseeable future and vary in the near term from period to period as a percentage of revenue.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation, for our engineers and other employees engaged in the research and development of our products and services. In addition, research and development expenses include allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.

We plan to continue to hire employees for our engineering, product management and design teams to support our research and development efforts. We anticipate a significant increase in research and development expenses in the year ending December 31, 2013 as a result of the stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs as described in “—Factors Affecting Our Future Performance—Stock-Based Compensation Expense.” We expect that research and development costs will increase in dollar amount for the foreseeable future and vary in the near term from period to period as a percentage of revenue.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation for our employees engaged in sales, sales support, commissions, business development and media, marketing, corporate communications and customer service functions. In addition, marketing and sales-related expenses also include market research, tradeshows, branding, marketing and public relations costs, as well as allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.

We plan to continue to invest in sales and marketing to expand internationally, grow our advertiser base and increase our brand awareness. We anticipate a significant increase in sales and marketing expenses in the year ending December 31, 2013 as a result of the stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs as described in “—Factors Affecting Our Future Performance—Stock-Based Compensation Expense.” We expect that sales and marketing expenses will increase in dollar amount for the foreseeable future and vary in the near term from period to period as a percentage of revenue.

 

72


Table of Contents

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation, for our executive, finance, legal, information technology, human resources and other administrative employees. In addition, general and administrative expenses include fees and costs for professional services, including consulting, third-party legal and accounting services and facilities and other supporting overhead costs that are not allocated to other departments.

We plan to continue to expand our business both domestically and internationally, and expect to increase the size of our general and administrative function to help grow our business. We expect that we will incur additional general and administrative expenses as a result of being a publicly-traded company. We also anticipate a significant increase in general and administrative expenses in the year ending December 31, 2013 as a result of the stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs as described in “—Factors Affecting Our Future Performance—Stock-Based Compensation Expense.” We expect that general and administrative expenses will increase in dollar amount for the foreseeable future and vary in the near term from period to period as a percentage of revenue.

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes

Provision for income taxes consists of federal and state income taxes in the United States and income taxes in certain foreign jurisdictions, and deferred income taxes and changes in related valuation allowance reflecting the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes.

As of December 31, 2012, we had $298.8 million of federal and $216.7 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available to reduce future taxable income. These net operating loss carryforwards will begin to expire for federal income tax purposes and state income tax purposes in 2027 and 2017, respectively. We expect our net operating loss carryforwards to increase in the quarter in which we initially settle a portion of the Pre-2013 RSUs as a result of the vesting of such RSUs. We also have research credit carryforwards of $6.6 million and $10.5 million for federal and state income tax purposes, respectively. The federal research credit carryforward will begin to expire in 2027. The state research credit carryforward has no expiration date. Utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards and research carryforwards credit may be subject to an annual limitation due to the ownership change limitations set forth in the Code, and similar state provisions. Any annual limitation may result in the expiration of net operating losses and research credits before utilization.

 

73


Table of Contents

Results of Operations

The following tables set forth our consolidated statement of operations data for each of the periods presented:

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  
     (In thousands)  
                       (Unaudited)  

Revenue

          

Advertising services

   $ 7,321      $ 77,710      $ 269,421      $   169,967      $  374,869   

Data licensing

     20,957        28,603        47,512        34,719        47,346   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

   $ 28,278      $ 106,313      $ 316,933      $ 204,686      $ 422,215   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Costs and expenses (1)

          

Cost of revenue

     43,168        61,803        128,768        91,850        154,067   

Research and development

     29,348        80,176        119,004        78,664        199,144   

Sales and marketing

     6,289        25,988        86,551        57,767        138,911   

General and administrative

     16,952        65,757        59,693        44,712        56,248   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

       95,757        233,724        394,016        272,993        548,370   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (67,479     (127,411     (77,083     (68,307     (126,155

Interest income (expense), net

     55        (805     (2,486     (1,656     (4,473

Other income (expense), net

     (117     (1,530     399        926        (1,730
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

     (67,541     (129,746     (79,170     (69,037     (132,358

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

     (217     (1,444     229        1,657        1,494   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)  

Costs and expenses include stock-based compensation expense as follows:

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010      2011      2012      2012      2013  
     (In thousands)  
                          (Unaudited)  

Cost of revenue

   $ 200       $ 1,820       $ 800       $ 618       $ 5,015   

Research and development

     3,409         33,559         12,622         9,013         53,377   

Sales and marketing

     249         1,553         1,346         985         10,356   

General and administrative

     2,073         23,452         10,973         9,779         10,422   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $   5,931       $ 60,384       $ 25,741       $   20,395       $ 79,170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

74


Table of Contents

The following table sets forth our consolidated statement of operations data for each of the periods presented as a percentage of revenue:

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
    Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
 
    2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  

Revenue

         

Advertising services

    26     73     85     83     89

Data licensing

    74        27        15        17        11   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total Revenue

    100        100        100        100        100   

Costs and expenses

         

Cost of revenue

    153        58        41        45        36   

Research and development

    104        75        38        38        47   

Sales and marketing

    22        24        27        28        33   

General and administrative

    60        62        19        22        13   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

    339        220        124        133        130   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

    (239     (120     (24     (33     (30

Interest income (expense), net

           (1     (1     (1     (1

Other income (expense), net

           (1                     
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (239     (122     (25     (34     (31

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

    (1     (1            1          
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

    (238 )%      (121 )%      (25 )%      (35 )%      (32 )% 
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2012 and 2013

Revenue

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
        
     2012      2013      % Change  
     (Unaudited, in thousands)         

Advertising services

   $ 169,967       $ 374,869         121

Data licensing

     34,719         47,346         36
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

Total revenue

   $ 204,686       $ 422,215         106
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

Revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 increased by $217.5 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012.

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, advertising revenue increased by 121% compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to a 67% increase in timeline views in the nine months ended September 30, 2013, compared to the same period in the prior year, as well as an increase in demand from advertisers that drove an increase in advertising revenue per timeline view of 32% in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in timeline views was driven by a 39% increase in average MAUs, and a 21% increase in the user engagement levels of MAUs, as measured by timeline views per MAU, in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in advertising revenue per timeline view was primarily driven by a 271% increase in ad engagements per timeline view, partially offset by a 64% decrease in average cost per ad engagement in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year. The increase in ad engagements per timeline view, combined with the increase in timeline

 

75


Table of Contents

views, resulted in a 521% increase in the number of ad engagements in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year. Advertising revenue also benefited from sales of our Promoted Products on our mobile applications, which were launched in the nine months ended September 30, 2012, as well as from an increase in international revenue.

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, data licensing revenue increased by 36% compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in data licensing revenue was attributable to a 30% net increase in licensing fees from existing data partners, as well as an increase in licensing fees from new data partners in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 compared to the same period in the prior year.

Cost of Revenue

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
       
           2012                 2013           % Change  
     (Unaudited, dollar amounts
in thousands)
       

Cost of revenue

   $ 91,850      $ 154,067        68

Cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue

     45     36  

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, cost of revenue increased by $62.2 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to a $21.6 million increase in depreciation expense related to capital leases for additional server and networking equipment, a $16.7 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs, a $13.7 million increase in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount and recognition of stock-based compensation expense related to Post-2013 RSUs we began to grant in February 2013, and a $10.2 million increase in data center costs related to our co-located facilities.

Research and Development

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
       
           2012                 2013           % Change  
     (Unaudited, dollar amounts
in thousands)
       

Research and development

   $ 78,664      $ 199,144        153

Research and development as a percentage of revenue

     38     47  

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, research and development expense increased by $120.5 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to a $112.1 million increase in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount and recognition of stock-based compensation expense related to Post-2013 RSUs we began to grant in February 2013, and a $23.6 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs. These increases were partially offset by a $15.2 million increase in the capitalization of costs associated with developing software for internal use.

 

76


Table of Contents

Sales and Marketing

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
       
           2012                 2013           % Change  
     (Unaudited, dollar amounts
in thousands)
       

Sales and marketing

   $ 57,767      $ 138,911        140

Sales and marketing as a percentage of revenue

     28     33  

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, sales and marketing expenses increased by $81.1 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to a $49.3 million increase in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount and recognition of stock-based compensation expense related to RSUs granted to domestic employees and other service providers starting in February 2013, or Post-2013 RSUs, a $20.7 million increase in marketing and sales-related expenses and an $11.1 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs.

General and Administrative

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
       
           2012                 2013           % Change  
     (Unaudited, dollar amounts
in thousands)
       

General and administrative

   $ 44,712      $ 56,248        26

General and administrative as a percentage of revenue

     22     13  

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, general and administrative expenses increased by $11.5 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase of $15.9 million in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount, and an increase in costs for professional services of $8.9 million. These increases were partially offset by a $13.3 million decrease in unallocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs, resulting from increased allocation of overhead costs to other functions with higher headcount growth.

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes

 

     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2012      2013  
    

(Unaudited, 

in thousands)

 

Provision for income taxes

   $             1,657       $         1,494   

Our provision for income taxes in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 did not change significantly compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012, resulting in income tax expense of $1.5 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2013. The slight decrease was primarily due to a reduction in state income taxes and tax benefits arising from acquisitions, offset by an increase in foreign tax expense.

 

77


Table of Contents

Years Ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012

Revenue

 

     Year Ended December 31,      2010 to 2011
% Change
    2011 to 2012
% Change
 
     2010      2011      2012       
     (In thousands)               

Advertising services

   $ 7,321       $ 77,710       $ 269,421         961     247

Data licensing

     20,957         28,603         47,512         36     66
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

      

Total revenue

   $   28,278       $   106,313       $   316,933         276    
198

  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

      

2012 Compared to 2011 .    Revenue in 2012 increased by $210.6 million compared to 2011.

In 2012, advertising revenue increased by 247% compared to 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to the expansion of our advertising service offerings in the second half of 2011 and the first half of 2012, as well as a 59% increase in average MAUs in 2012 compared to 2011. We expanded our advertising service offerings through the introduction of Promoted Tweets in all user timelines in October 2011 and Promoted Products on mobile applications in February 2012.

In 2012, data licensing revenue increased by 66% compared to 2011. The increase in data licensing revenue was primarily attributable to a 51% net increase in licensing fees from existing data partners in 2012 compared to 2011, and to a lesser extent from an increase in licensing fees from new data partners.

2011 Compared to 2010 .    Revenue in 2011 increased by $78.0 million compared to 2010.

In 2011, advertising revenue increased by 961% compared to 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to the full year impact of Promoted Products in 2011, as these products were introduced in 2010, an expansion in our advertising service offerings in 2011 and a 115% increase in average MAUs in 2011 compared to 2010. We introduced our first Promoted Product, Promoted Trends, in June 2010 and expanded our advertising service offerings through the introduction of Promoted Tweets in all user timelines in October 2011.

In 2011, data licensing revenue increased by 36% compared to 2010. The increase in data licensing revenue was primarily attributable to a 22% net increase in licensing fees from existing data partners in 2011 compared to 2010.

Cost of Revenue

 

     Year Ended December 31,     2010 to 2011
% Change
    2011 to 2012
% Change
 
     2010     2011     2012      
     (In thousands)              

Cost of revenue

   $ 43,168      $ 61,803      $ 128,768        43     108

Cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue

     153     58     41    

2012 Compared to 2011 .    In 2012, cost of revenue increased by $67.0 million compared to 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to a $28.9 million increase in depreciation expense related to additional server and networking equipment capital leases, a $14.0 million increase in amortization of acquired intangible assets, a $10.0 million increase in data center costs related to our co-located facilities, a $7.8 million increase in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount and a $6.3 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead expenses.

 

78


Table of Contents

2011 Compared to 2010 .    In 2011, cost of revenue increased by $18.6 million compared to 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to a $17.4 million increase in depreciation expense related to additional server and networking equipment capital leases and an $8.0 million increase in personnel-related costs (including a $1.1 million charge recorded in connection with the 2011 tender offer which is described below), mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount. These increases were partially offset by a $7.1 million decrease in data center costs as a result of our move from a third-party hosting solution to a co-located facility.

In 2011, the investors in our Series G convertible preferred stock financing commenced a tender offer to purchase shares of our common stock and Series A through Series F convertible preferred stock from our employees, consultants and other stockholders. The tender offer closed in September 2011, and we recorded $34.7 million of stock-based compensation expense related to the excess of the price per share of our common stock paid to our employees and consultants in the tender offer over the fair value of the tendered shares. This $34.7 million of stock-based compensation expense in 2011 was allocated among cost of revenue, research and development expenses, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses in amounts of $1.1 million, $19.1 million, $0.4 million and $14.1 million, respectively.

Research and Development

 

     Year Ended December 31,     2010 to 2011
% Change
    2011 to 2012
% Change
 
     2010     2011     2012      
     (Dollar amounts in thousands)              

Research and development

   $ 29,348      $ 80,176      $ 119,004        173     48

Research and development as a percentage of revenue

     104     75     38    

2012 Compared to 2011 .    In 2012, research and development expenses increased by $38.8 million compared to 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to a $21.7 million increase in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount, and a $23.9 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead expenses. These increases were partially offset by a $6.8 million increase in the capitalization of costs associated with developing software for internal use.

2011 Compared to 2010 .    In 2011, research and development expenses increased by $50.8 million compared to 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to a $56.7 million increase in personnel-related costs (including a $19.1 million charge recorded in connection with the 2011 tender offer), mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount. These increases were partially offset by a $3.8 million increase in the capitalization of costs associated with developing software for internal use and a $2.1 million decrease in amortization of acquired intangible assets.

Sales and Marketing

 

     Year Ended December 31,     2010 to 2011
% Change
    2011 to 2012
% Change
 
     2010     2011     2012      
     (Dollar amounts in thousands)              

Sales and marketing

   $ 6,289      $ 25,988      $ 86,551        313     233

Sales and marketing as a percentage of revenue

     22     24     27    

2012 Compared to 2011 .    In 2012, sales and marketing expenses increased by $60.6 million compared to 2011. The increase was primarily attributable to a $34.6 million increase in personnel-

 

79


Table of Contents

related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount, a $15.9 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead expenses and a $10.1 million increase in marketing and sales-related expenses.

2011 Compared to 2010 .    In 2011, sales and marketing expenses increased by $19.7 million compared to 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to a $16.3 million increase in personnel-related costs, mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount, a $1.9 million increase in allocated facilities and other supporting overhead expenses and a $1.5 million increase in marketing and sales-related expenses.

General and Administrative

 

     Year Ended December 31,     2010 to 2011
% Change
    2011 to 2012
% Change
 
     2010     2011     2012      
     (Dollar amounts in thousands)              

General and administrative

   $ 16,952      $ 65,757      $ 59,693        288     (9)

General and administrative as a percentage of revenue

     60     62     19    

2012 Compared to 2011 .    In 2012, general and administrative expense decreased by $6.1 million compared to 2011. The decrease was primarily attributable to a $19.9 million decrease in unallocated facilities and supporting costs, driven by slower headcount growth in the general and administrative function relative to other functional areas, partially offset by a $7.9 million increase in personnel-related costs (which takes into account a $14.1 million charge recorded in 2011 in connection with the 2011 tender offer), mainly driven by an increase in average employee headcount and an increase of $5.9 million in fees and costs for professional services. Excluding the impact of the 2011 tender offer, personnel-related costs increased by $22.0 million in 2012 compared to 2011.

2011 Compared to 2010 .    In 2011, general and administrative expenses increased by $48.8 million compared to 2010. The increase was primarily due to a $29.3 million increase in personnel-related costs (including a $14.1 million charge recorded in connection with the 2011 tender offer), which was driven by an increase in average employee headcount, a $12.0 million increase in fees and costs for professional services and a $7.5 million increase in unallocated facilities and other supporting costs.

Provision (Benefit) for Income Taxes

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010      2011      2012  
     (In thousands)  

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

   $   (217)       $   (1,444)       $   229   

2012 Compared to 2011 .    Our provision for income taxes in 2012 increased by $1.7 million compared to an income tax benefit of $1.4 million in 2011. The increase was primarily due to the increased tax expenses in foreign and state jurisdictions, partially offset by the decrease in income tax benefit arising from acquisitions.

2011 Compared to 2010 .    Our benefit for income taxes in 2011 increased by $1.2 million compared to an income tax benefit of $0.2 million in 2010. The increase was primarily attributable to an increase in the income tax benefit arising from acquisitions.

 

80


Table of Contents

Quarterly Results of Operations

The following table sets forth our unaudited consolidated statement of operations data for each of the eleven quarters in the period ended September 30, 2013. The unaudited quarterly statement of operations data set forth below have been prepared on a basis consistent with our audited annual consolidated financial statements and include, in our opinion, all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the financial information contained in those statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following quarterly financial data should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar. 31,
2011
    Jun. 30,
2011
    Sep. 30,
2011
    Dec. 31,
2011
    Mar. 31,
2012
    Jun. 30,
2012
    Sep. 30,
2012
    Dec. 31,
2012
    Mar. 31,
2013
    Jun. 30,
2013
    Sep. 30,
2013
 
    (Unaudited, in thousands)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

                     

Revenue

                     

Advertising revenue

    11,561        13,619        19,942        32,588        44,500        56,802        68,665        99,454        100,460        120,972        153,437   

Data licensing

    6,349        7,154        6,482        8,618        9,813        11,244        13,662        12,793        13,883        18,320        15,143   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

  $ 17,910      $ 20,773      $ 26,424      $ 41,206      $ 54,313      $ 68,046      $ 82,327      $ 112,247      $ 114,343      $ 139,292      $ 168,580   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Costs and expenses (1)

                     

Cost of revenue

    15,453        10,632        15,719        19,999        27,629        30,528        33,693        36,918        41,255        50,573        62,239   

Research and development

    10,163        14,687        34,721        20,605        18,976        27,369        32,319        40,340        47,574        64,263        87,307   

Sales and marketing

    3,652        5,147        7,368        9,821        14,450        19,655        23,662        28,784        32,439        45,258        61,214   

General and administrative

    8,709        13,244        27,776        16,028        13,389        17,369        13,954        14,981        16,982        18,114        21,152   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

    37,977        43,710        85,584        66,453        74,444        94,921        103,628        121,023        138,250        178,208        231,912   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

    (20,067     (22,937     (59,160     (25,247     (20,131     (26,875     (21,301     (8,776     (23,907     (38,916     (63,332

Interest income (expense), net

    (260     (188     (204     (153     (377     (513     (766     (830     (1,233     (1,513     (1,727

Other income (expense), net

    (17     (1,437     36        (112     (259     247        938        (527     (1,529     (1,019     818   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (20,344     (24,562     (59,328     (25,512     (20,767     (27,141     (21,129     (10,133     (26,669     (41,448     (64,241

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

                  (1,993     549        754        442        461        (1,428     357        777        360   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

  $ (20,344   $ (24,562   $ (57,335   $ (26,061   $ (21,521   $ (27,583   $ (21,590   $ (8,705   $ (27,026   $ (42,225   $ (64,601
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Other Financial Information:

                     

Adjusted EBITDA (2)

  $ (14,411   $ (10,817   $ (13,145   $ (4,462   $ (875   $ 1,545      $ 2,923      $ 17,571      $ 11,745      $ 9,647      $ 9,293   

Non-GAAP net loss (3)

  $ (17,670   $ (16,088   $ (18,520   $ (13,255   $ (11,369   $ (10,863   $ (12,688   $ (271   $ (10,524   $ (16,364   $ (17,216

 

(1)  

Costs and expenses include stock-based compensation expense as follows:

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar. 31,
2011
    Jun. 30,
2011
    Sep. 30,
2011
    Dec. 31,
2011
    Mar. 31,
2012
    Jun. 30,
2012
    Sep. 30,
2012
    Dec. 31,
2012
    Mar. 31,
2013
    Jun. 30,
2013
    Sep. 30,
2013
 
    (Unaudited, in thousands)  

Cost of revenue

  $ 95      $ 188      $ 1,327      $ 210      $ 220      $ 200      $ 198      $ 182      $ 484      $ 1,471      $ 3,060   

Research and development

    898        3,421        20,482        8,758        2,165        4,126        2,722        3,609        8,425        15,772        29,180   

Sales and marketing

    203        247        704        399        307        313        365        361        2,065        2,549        5,742   

General and administrative

    1,184        4,341        16,856        1,071        2,535        6,261        983        1,194        1,948        2,854        5,620   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stock-based compensation expense

  $   2,380      $   8,197      $ 39,369      $ 10,438      $   5,227      $ 10,900      $   4,268      $   5,346      $   12,922      $ 22,646      $ 43,602   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

81


Table of Contents
(2)  

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA for each of the periods indicated:

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar. 31,
2011
    Jun. 30,
2011
    Sep. 30,
2011
    Dec. 31,
2011
    Mar. 31,
2012
    Jun. 30,
2012
    Sep. 30,
2012
    Dec. 31,
2012
    Mar. 31,
2013
    Jun. 30,
2013
    Sep. 30,
2013
 
    (Unaudited, in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Net Loss to Adjusted EBITDA:

                     

Net loss

  $ (20,344   $ (24,562   $ (57,335   $ (26,061   $ (21,521   $ (27,583   $ (21,590   $ (8,705   $ (27,026   $ (42,225   $ (64,601

Stock-based compensation expense

    2,380        8,197        39,369        10,438        5,227        10,900        4,268        5,346        12,922        22,646        43,602   

Depreciation and amortization expense

    3,276        3,923        6,646        10,347        14,029        17,520        19,956        21,001        22,730        25,917        29,023   

Interest and other expense (income)

    277        1,625        168        265        636        266        (172     1,357        2,762        2,532        909   

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

                  (1,993     549        754        442        461        (1,428     357        777        360   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Adjusted EBITDA

  $ (14,411   $ (10,817   $ (13,145   $ (4,462   $ (875   $ 1,545      $ 2,923      $ 17,571      $ 11,745      $ 9,647      $ 9,293   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(3)  

The following table presents a reconciliation of net loss to non-GAAP net loss for each of the periods indicated:

 

    Three Months Ended  
    Mar. 31,
2011
    Jun. 30,
2011
    Sep. 30,
2011
    Dec. 31,
2011
    Mar. 31,
2012
    Jun. 30,
2012
    Sep. 30,
2012
    Dec. 31,
2012
    Mar. 31,
2013
    Jun. 30,
2013
    Sep. 30,
2013
 
    (Unaudited, in thousands)  

Reconciliation of Net Loss to Non-GAAP Net Loss:

                     

Net loss

  $ (20,344   $ (24,562   $ (57,335   $ (26,061   $ (21,521   $ (27,583   $ (21,590   $ (8,705   $ (27,026   $ (42,225   $ (64,601

Stock-based compensation expense

    2,380        8,197        39,369        10,438        5,227        10,900        4,268        5,346        12,922        22,646        43,602   

Amortization of acquired intangible assets

    294        277        1,441        2,685        4,435        5,820        4,634        3,798        3,876        3,302        3,783   

Income tax effects related to acquisitions

                  (1,995     (317     490                      (710     (296     (87       
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Non-GAAP net loss

  $ (17,670   $ (16,088   $ (18,520   $ (13,255   $ (11,369   $ (10,863   $ (12,688   $ (271   $ (10,524   $ (16,364   $ (17,216
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Quarterly Trends

Revenue

Spending by advertisers is traditionally strongest in the fourth quarter of each year. Historically, this seasonality in advertising spending has affected our quarterly results with higher sequential advertising revenue growth from the third to the fourth quarter compared to sequential advertising revenue growth from the fourth quarter to the subsequent first quarter. For example, our advertising revenue increased 63% and 45% between the third and fourth quarters of 2011 and 2012, respectively, while advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2012 and 2013 increased 37% and 1% compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 and 2012, respectively. In addition, advertising revenue per timeline view increased 31% between the third and fourth quarter of 2012, while advertising revenue per timeline view decreased 13% between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013. The rapid growth in our business may have partially masked seasonality to date and the seasonal impacts may be more pronounced in the future.

 

82


Table of Contents

Cost of Revenue and Operating Expenses

Cost of revenue increased in every quarter presented except in the three months ended June 30, 2011, primarily due to the continued expansion of our co-located data center facilities and an increase in average employee headcount. Our move from a third-party hosting solution to a co-located facility in 2011 resulted in a temporary decrease in cost of revenue in the three months ended June 30, 2011.

Operating expense increased in every quarter presented except in the three months ended December 31, 2011, primarily due to the continued expansion of our facilities and an increase in average employee headcount. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, as a result of the 2011 tender offer described above, we recorded a non-recurring stock-based compensation expense of $34.7 million related to the excess of the price per share of our common stock paid to our employees and consultants over the fair value of the tendered shares. This $34.7 million compensation expense was allocated among cost of revenue, research and development expenses, sales and marketing expenses and general and administrative expenses in amounts of $1.1 million, $19.1 million, $0.4 million and $14.1 million, respectively. In addition to the stock-based compensation expense, we experienced a varied level of capitalization of research and development expense as a result of the development of software programs and websites for internal use, due to the timing and extent of projects eligible for capitalization.

Credit Facility

In October 2013, we entered into a revolving credit agreement with certain lenders which provides for a $1.0 billion revolving unsecured credit facility maturing on October 22, 2018. Loans under the credit facility bear interest, at our option, at (i) a base rate based on the highest of the prime rate, the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and an adjusted LIBOR rate for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, in each case plus a margin ranging from 0.00% to 0.75% or (ii) an adjusted LIBOR rate plus a margin ranging from 1.00% to 1.75%. This margin is determined based on our total leverage ratio for the preceding four fiscal quarter period, but will be at the highest level at least until we consummate this offering. We are also obligated to pay other customary fees for a credit facility of this size and type, including an upfront fee and an unused commitment fee. Our obligations under the credit facility are guaranteed by one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries. As of October 22, 2013, no amounts were drawn under the credit facility.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
    Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  
    

(In thousands)

 
           (Unaudited)  

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data:

    

Net loss

   $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

     (48,737     (70,597     (27,935     (33,297     4,266   

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

     48,974        (324,875     49,443        34,397        (8,883

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

     114,315        480,210        (37,124     (25,048     (43,430

As of September 30, 2013, we had $321.1 million of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, of which $38.7 million was held by our foreign subsidiaries. Cash equivalents and

 

83


Table of Contents

marketable securities are comprised of our investments in short-term and long-term interest-bearing obligations, including government and investment-grade debt securities and money market funds.

Our principal source of liquidity has been private sales of convertible preferred stock. From our inception through September 30, 2013, we have completed several rounds of equity financing through the issuance of shares of our Series A through Series G convertible preferred stock with total cash proceeds to us of $759.2 million. Proceeds from our preferred stock financing transactions have been used primarily to fund our operations and acquisitions. We believe that our existing cash and cash equivalent balance together with cash generated from operations will be sufficient to meet our working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months.

Our Pre-2013 RSUs vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for a majority of the Pre-2013 RSUs is satisfied over a period of four years. The performance condition will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control. On the settlement dates for the Pre-2013 RSUs, we may choose to allow our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock received upon the vesting and settlement of the Pre-2013 RSUs in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards or we may choose to undertake a net settlement and withhold and remit income taxes on behalf of the holders of Pre-2013 RSUs at the applicable minimum statutory rates. We expect the applicable minimum statutory rates to be approximately 40% on average, and the income taxes due would be based on the then-current value of the underlying shares of our common stock. Based on the number of Pre-2013 RSUs outstanding as of September 30, 2013 for which the service condition had been satisfied on that date, and assuming (i) the performance condition had been satisfied on that date and (ii) that the price of our common stock at the time of settlement was equal to $        , which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, we estimate that this tax obligation on the initial settlement date would be approximately $        in the aggregate. The amount of this obligation could be higher or lower, depending on the price of shares of our common stock on the initial settlement date for the Pre-2013 RSUs. To settle these Pre-2013 RSUs on the initial settlement date, assuming a 40% tax withholding rate, if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards rather than allowing our employees who are not executive officers to sell shares of our common stock in the public market to satisfy their income tax obligations related to the vesting and settlement of such awards, we would expect to deliver an aggregate of approximately             shares of our common stock to Pre-2013 RSU holders and withholding an aggregate of approximately             shares of our common stock. In connection with these net settlements, we would withhold and remit the tax liabilities on behalf of the Pre-2013 RSU holders to the relevant tax authorities in cash.

If we choose to undertake a net settlement of our Pre-2013 RSUs, then in order to fund the tax withholding and remittance obligations on behalf of our Pre-2013 RSU holders, we would expect to use a substantial portion of our cash and cash equivalent balances, or, alternatively, we may choose to borrow funds or a combination of cash and borrowed funds to satisfy these obligations.

Operating Activities

Cash provided by (used in) operating activities consisted of net loss adjusted for certain non-cash items including depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, deferred income taxes and non-cash expense related to acquisitions, as well as the effect of changes in working capital and other activities.

 

84


Table of Contents

Cash provided by operating activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $4.3 million, an increase in cash inflow of $37.6 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. Cash provided by operating activities was driven by a net loss of $133.9 million, as adjusted for the exclusion of non-cash expenses totaling $159.8 million and the effect of changes in working capital and other carrying balances that resulted in cash outflow of $21.6 million.

Cash used in operating activities in 2012 was $27.9 million, a decrease in cash outflow of $42.7 million compared to 2011. Cash used in operating activities was driven by a net loss of $79.4 million, as adjusted for the exclusion of non-cash expenses totaling $104.8 million and the effect of changes in working capital and other carrying balances that resulted in cash outflow of $53.3 million.

Cash used in operating activities in 2011 was $70.6 million, an increase in cash outflow of $21.9 million compared to 2010. Cash used in operating activities was driven by a net loss of $128.3 million, as adjusted for the exclusion of non-cash expenses totaling $86.9 million and the effect of changes in working capital and other carrying balances that resulted in cash outflow of $29.2 million.

Investing Activities

Our primary investing activities consisted of purchases of property and equipment, particularly purchases of servers and networking equipment, purchases and disposal of marketable securities, leasehold improvements for our facilities and acquisitions of businesses.

Cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $8.9 million, an increase in cash outflow of $43.3 million compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in cash outflow was due to a decrease in the proceeds from maturities of marketable securities of $196.7 million and a $20.4 million increase in expenditure on other investing activities, including business combinations, purchases of property and equipment and restricted cash, partially offset by the decrease in the purchases of marketable securities of $159.3 million and an increase in sales of marketable securities of $14.5 million.

Cash provided by investing activities in 2012 was $49.4 million, an increase in cash inflow of $374.3 million compared to 2011. The increase in cash inflow was due to the increase in sales and maturities of marketable securities of $449.5 million and a reduction in use of cash as acquisition consideration of $17.4 million. Such increases in cash inflow were partially offset by increased purchases of marketable securities of $55.0 million and property and equipment of $39.1 million.

Cash used in investing activities in 2011 was $324.9 million, an increase in cash outflow of $373.8 million compared to 2010. The increase in cash outflow was due to an increase in purchases of marketable securities of $439.9 million, an increase in cash used as acquisition consideration of $17.4 million and an increase in purchases of property and equipment of $5.9 million. Such increases in cash outflow were partially offset by the increase of proceeds from sales and maturities of marketable securities of $93.9 million.

We anticipate making capital expenditures in 2013 of approximately $215 million to $235 million, a portion of which we will finance through capital leases, as we continue to expand our co-located data centers and our office facilities.

Financing Activities

Our primary financing activities consisted of private sales of convertible preferred stock, capital lease financing and stock option exercises by employees and other service providers.

 

85


Table of Contents

Cash used in financing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 was $43.4 million, an increase of $18.4 million in cash outflow compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The increase in cash outflow was due to an increase in repayments of capital lease obligations and payments for deferred offering costs, partially offset by an increase in proceeds from option exercises.

Cash used in financing activities in 2012 was $37.1 million, an increase in cash outflow of $517.3 million compared to 2011. The increase in cash outflow was due to the absence of equity financing transactions, an increase in repayments of capital lease obligations and a decrease in proceeds from option exercises.

Cash provided by financing activities in 2011 was $480.2 million, an increase in cash inflow of $365.9 million compared to 2010. The increase in cash inflow was due to increased equity financing and an increase in proceeds from option exercises, partially offset by an increase in repayments of capital lease obligations.

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements and did not have any such arrangements in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 or in 2012, 2011 or 2010.

Contractual Obligations

Our principal commitments consist of obligations under capital and operating leases for equipment, office space and co-located data center facilities. The following table summarizes our commitments to settle contractual obligations in cash as of December 31, 2012.

 

     Payments Due by Period  
     Total      Less than
1 year
     1-3 years      3-5 years      More than
5 years
 
     (In thousands)  

Operating lease obligations

   $ 160,091       $ 26,906       $ 58,524       $ 50,091       $ 24,570   

Capital lease obligations

     121,366         52,861         65,893         2,612           
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total contractual obligations

   $ 281,457       $ 79,767       $ 124,417       $ 52,703       $ 24,570   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

In addition, we entered into amendments to certain lease agreements in 2013 to expand the capacity of existing data center facilities through 2020, and increased our total commitments under such leases to $230.3 million.

As of December 31, 2012, we had liabilities of $12.2 million related to uncertain tax positions. Due to uncertainties in the timing of potential tax audits, the timing of the resolution of these positions is uncertain and we are unable to make a reasonably reliable estimate of the timing of payments in individual years beyond 12 months. As a result, this amount is not included in the above table. We also have $18.5 million of non-cancelable contractual commitments as of December 31, 2012, primarily related to our bandwidth and other services arrangements. These commitments are generally due within one to three years.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or U.S. GAAP. In doing so, we have to make estimates and

 

86


Table of Contents

assumptions that affect our reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, our financial condition or operating results would be affected. We base our estimates on past experience and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, and we evaluate these estimates on an ongoing basis. We refer to accounting estimates of this type as critical accounting policies and estimates, which we discuss further below.

Revenue Recognition

We generate the substantial majority of our revenue from the sale of advertising services with the balance coming from data licensing arrangements. We generate our advertising revenue primarily from the sale of our three Promoted Products: (i) Promoted Tweets, (ii) Promoted Accounts and (iii) Promoted Trends. Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts are pay-for-performance advertising products priced through an auction. Promoted Trends are featured by geography and offered on a fixed-fee-per-day basis. Advertisers are obligated to pay when a user engages with a Promoted Tweet or follows a Promoted Account or when a Promoted Trend is displayed. Users engage with Promoted Tweets by expanding, retweeting, favoriting or replying to Tweets or following the account that tweets a Promoted Tweet. These products may be sold in combination as a multiple element arrangement or separately on a stand-alone basis. Fees for these advertising services are recognized in the period when advertising is delivered as evidenced by a user engaging with a Promoted Tweet, as captured by a click, following a Promoted Account or through the display of a Promoted Trend on our platform. Data licensing revenue is generated based on monthly service fees charged to the data partners over the period in which Twitter data is made available to them.

Revenue is recognized only when (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) the price is fixed or determinable; (3) the service is performed; and (4) collectability of the related fee is reasonably assured. While the majority of our revenue transactions are based on standard business terms and conditions, we also enter into non-standard sales agreements with advertisers and data partners that sometimes involve multiple elements.

For arrangements involving multiple deliverables, judgment is required to determine the appropriate accounting, including developing an estimate of the stand-alone selling price of each deliverable. When neither vendor-specific objective evidence nor third-party evidence of selling price exists, we use our best estimate of selling price (BESP) to allocate the arrangement consideration on a relative selling price basis to each deliverable. The objective of BESP is to determine the selling price of each deliverable when it is sold to advertisers on a stand-alone basis. In determining BESPs, we take into consideration various factors, including, but not limited to, prices we charge for similar offerings, sales volume, geographies, pricing strategies and market conditions. Multiple deliverable arrangements primarily consist of combinations of our pay-for-performance products, Promoted Trends and Promoted Accounts, which are priced through an auction, and Promoted Trends, which are priced on a fixed-fee-per day per geography basis. For arrangements that include a combination of these products, we develop an estimate of the selling price for these products in order to allocate any potential discount to all advertising products in the arrangement. The estimate of selling price for pay-for-performance products is determined based on the winning bid price; and the estimate of selling price for Promoted Trends is based on Promoted Trends sold on a stand-alone basis and/or separately priced in a bundled arrangement by reference to a list price by geography which is approved periodically. We believe the use of BESP results in revenue recognition in a manner consistent with the underlying economics of the transaction and allocates the arrangement consideration on a relative selling price basis to each deliverable.

 

87


Table of Contents

Income Taxes

We are subject to income taxes in the United States and several foreign jurisdictions. Significant judgment is required in evaluating our uncertain tax positions and determining our provision for income taxes.

Although we believe we have adequately reserved for our uncertain tax positions, no assurance can be given that the final outcome of these matters will not be different. We adjust these reserves in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the closing of a tax audit or the refinement of an estimate. To the extent that the final outcome of these matters is different than the amounts recorded, such differences will impact the provision for income taxes in the period in which such determination is made. The provision for income taxes includes the impact of reserve provisions and changes to reserves that are considered appropriate, as well as any related interest or penalties.

Our effective tax rates have differed from the statutory rate primarily due to the tax impact of foreign operations, state taxes, certain benefits realized in recording the tax effects of business combinations, and the recording of U.S. valuation allowance. Our future provision for income taxes could be adversely affected by earnings being lower than anticipated in countries where we have lower statutory rates and higher than anticipated in countries where we have higher statutory tax rates, changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets or liabilities, or changes in tax laws, regulations or accounting principles. In addition, we are subject to examination of our income tax returns by tax authorities in the United States and foreign jurisdictions. We regularly assess the likelihood of adverse outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of our provision for income taxes.

On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was enacted, which includes a reinstatement of the federal research and development credit for the tax year ended December 31, 2012. Our consolidated financial statements reflected the effect of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 in the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the reporting period of enactment. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 due to our U.S. valuation allowance position.

Stock-Based Compensation

Our stock-based compensation expense for stock options granted to employees and other service providers is estimated based on the option’s fair value as calculated by the Black-Scholes option pricing model and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period. The Black-Scholes model requires various highly judgmental assumptions, including expected volatility and expected term. If any of the assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model change significantly, stock-based compensation expense may differ materially in the future from that recorded in the current period. In addition, we are required to estimate the expected forfeiture rate and only recognize expense for those shares that are subject to stock options that are expected to vest. We estimate the expected forfeiture rate based on historical experience and our expectations regarding future pre-vesting termination behavior of employees and other service providers. To the extent our actual forfeiture rate is different from our estimate, stock-based compensation expense is adjusted accordingly.

Stock-based compensation expense for employees is recorded net of estimated forfeiture on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. Stock options granted have a contractual term of ten years and generally vest over four years. Stock-based compensation expense for other service providers is remeasured at each reporting period as services are performed.

We also issued restricted Class A junior preferred stock subject to a lapsing right of repurchase to certain continuing employees in connection with acquisitions. The lapsing of the right of repurchase is

 

88


Table of Contents

dependent on the respective employee’s continued employment with us during the requisite service period, which is generally four years from the issuance date. We have the option to repurchase the unvested shares upon termination of employment prior to the right of repurchase lapsing. The fair value of the restricted Class A junior preferred stock issued to employees is recorded as compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. These shares of restricted Class A junior preferred stock are included as part of other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of these shares is remeasured at each reporting period until the restricted Class A junior preferred stock is settled through conversion or redemption or until the redemption feature expires, and the change in fair value is recorded as an addition to or reduction in compensation expense during the period of change. The fair value of these shares is determined based on the fair value of the underlying Class A junior preferred stock estimated as part of the capital stock and business enterprise valuation process.

Our stock-based compensation expense for RSUs is estimated at the grant date based on the fair value of our common stock. Under our 2007 Plan, we have granted RSUs to domestic and international employees and other service providers. The Pre-2013 RSUs vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for a majority of the Pre-2013 RSUs is satisfied over a period of four years. The performance condition will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control. The RSU shares are to be delivered no later than 30 days following the satisfaction of the service and performance conditions.

Post-2013 RSUs are not subject to a performance condition in order to vest. The service condition for a majority of the Post-2013 RSUs is satisfied over a period of four years. Under the terms of our 2007 Plan, the shares underlying Post-2013 RSUs that satisfy the service condition are to be delivered to holders no later than the fifteenth day of the third month following the end of the calendar year the service condition is satisfied, but no earlier than August 15, 2014. The stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs is recorded net of estimated forfeiture on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

As of September 30, 2013, no stock-based compensation expense had been recognized for Pre-2013 RSUs because a qualifying event for the awards’ vesting was not probable. In the quarter in which this offering is completed, we will begin recording stock-based compensation expense based on the grant-date fair value of the Pre-2013 RSUs using the accelerated attribution method, net of estimated forfeiture. The following table summarizes, on an unaudited pro forma basis, the stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs that we would incur during the quarter in which this offering is completed, assuming this offering was effective on September 30, 2013 (in thousands).

 

As of September 30, 2013

 

From inception to September 30, 2013

“Vested” Pre-2013 RSUs Outstanding (1)

 

“Unvested” Pre-2013 RSUs
Outstanding (2)

 

Pro Forma Stock-Based
Compensation Expense

11,852

 

32,072

  $385,214

 

(1)  

For purposes of this table, “Vested” RSUs represent the shares underlying Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition had been satisfied as of September 30, 2013.

(2)  

For purposes of this table, “Unvested” RSUs represent the shares underlying Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition had not been satisfied as of September 30, 2013 and excludes estimated forfeitures of RSUs.

We estimate that the remaining unrecognized stock-based compensation expense relating to the Pre-2013 RSUs would be approximately $199.6 million, after giving effect to estimated forfeitures and would be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately three years if this offering was effective on September 30, 2013.

 

89


Table of Contents

Summary of Projected Stock-Based Compensation Expense, Net of Estimated Forfeitures

 

     Remainder
of 2013
     2014      2015      2016      Beyond
2016
     Total  
     (Unaudited, in thousands)  

Pre-2013 RSUs

   $ 45,891       $ 105,010       $ 40,531       $ 7,442       $ 773       $ 199,647   

Post-2013 RSUs

     48,986         184,146         167,156         151,835         63,545         615,668   

Restricted Class A junior and common stock

     8,787         21,562         16,917         11,365         1,999         60,630   

Stock Options

     2,260         9,292         7,621         2,719         120         22,012   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 105,924       $ 320,010       $ 232,225       $   173,361       $   66,437       $ 897,957   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

In addition to stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs, as of September 30, 2013, we had unrecognized stock-based compensation expense of approximately $698.3 million related to other outstanding equity awards, which we expect to recognize over a weighted-average period of approximately four years.

Valuation of Our Common Stock

The historical valuations of our common stock were determined in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation . In the absence of a public trading market, we considered all relevant facts and circumstances known at the time of valuation, made certain assumptions based on future expectations and exercised significant judgment to determine the fair value of our common stock. The factors considered in determining the fair value include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

  Ÿ  

third-party valuations of our common stock completed as of November 18, 2011, March 15, 2012, October 15, 2012, December 4, 2012, February 25, 2013, May 15, 2013 and August 5, 2013;

 

  Ÿ  

recent issuances of preferred stock, as well as the rights, preferences and privileges of our preferred stock relative to our common stock;

 

  Ÿ  

recent private stock sale transactions;

 

  Ÿ  

our historical financial results and estimated trends and projections for our future operating and financial performance;

 

  Ÿ  

the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering or sale of our company, given prevailing market conditions;

 

  Ÿ  

the market performance of comparable, publicly-traded companies; and

 

  Ÿ  

the overall economic and industry conditions and outlook.

 

90


Table of Contents

We have granted the following RSUs and stock options since January 1, 2012:

 

Grant Date

   Shares
Underlying
RSUs
     Shares
Underlying
Options
     Grant-Date Fair
Value Per  Share
(RSUs)
     Exercise Price
Per Share

(Options)
 

2012

           

First Quarter

           

January 13, 2012

     474,000               $ 13.05           

February 10, 2012

     7,875,221               $ 13.05           

March 9, 2012

     837,500               $ 13.05           

Second Quarter

           

April 12, 2012

     4,487,575         1,880,049       $ 14.42       $ 14.42   

May 11, 2012

     4,334,375               $ 14.42           

June 19, 2012

     1,604,376         116,532       $ 14.42       $ 14.42   

Third Quarter

           

July 19, 2012

     3,498,000               $ 14.42           

August 9, 2012

     2,411,000               $ 14.42           

September 27, 2012

     555,000               $ 14.42           

Fourth Quarter

           

October 1, 2012

     2,276,500               $ 14.42           

October 12, 2012

     1,938,100               $ 14.42           

November 7, 2012

     200,000               $ 18.40           

November 12, 2012

     3,200,582               $ 18.40           

December 20, 2012

     2,241,500               $ 17.00           

2013

           

First Quarter

           

January 24, 2013

     1,985,700               $ 17.00           

February 13, 2013

     1,875,964               $ 17.00           

March 8, 2013

     9,439,306               $ 17.00           

Second Quarter

           

April 2, 2013

     265,500               $ 17.00      

April 10, 2013

     1,677,650               $ 17.00           

April 24, 2013

     240,000               $ 17.00           

May 10, 2013

     1,778,567               $ 17.00           

June 20, 2013

     2,288,206               $ 17.41           

Third Quarter

           

August 9, 2013

     26,972,280               $ 20.62           

September 5, 2013

     29,760               $ 20.62           

In order to determine the fair value of our common stock underlying stock option and RSU grants, we generally first determine our business enterprise value, or BEV, and then allocate the BEV to each element of our capital structure (preferred stock, common stock, warrant and options). Our BEV was estimated using the subject company transaction method, which is one of the three primary methodologies of the market-based approach. This methodology utilizes the most recent negotiated arm’s-length transactions involving the sale or transfer of our stock or equity interests. Our indicated BEV at each valuation date was allocated to the shares of preferred stock, common stock, warrant and options using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Estimates of the volatility of our common stock were based on available information on the volatility of our common stock of comparable, publicly-traded companies and estimates of expected term were based on the estimated time to liquidity event.

 

91


Table of Contents

November 18, 2011 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $13.05 per share as of November 18, 2011. In estimating our BEV, we utilized the pre-money valuation implied in the Series G convertible preferred stock financing completed in July 2011 as the most appropriate indication of our aggregate equity value, adjusted by an estimated rate of return. The BEV resulting from this analysis was then allocated to our capital structure using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and a non-marketability discount of 15% was applied. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in November 2011, the fair value of RSUs granted through March 9, 2012 was determined to be $13.05 per share.

March 15, 2012 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $14.42 per share as of March 15, 2012. In estimating our BEV, we utilized the pre-money valuation implied in the Series G convertible preferred stock financing as the most appropriate indication of our aggregate equity value, adjusted by the estimated rate of return. We determined that an increase in the aggregate equity value consistent with a required rate of return was appropriate considering our rapid growth and developments since the date of the Series G convertible preferred stock financing. The increase in valuation was further supported by improvements in our business and financial results as evidenced by our sequential revenue growth between July 2011 and March 2012 of $54.3 million in the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to $26.4 million in the three months ended September 30, 2011. We also continued to progress on our business plan. The operating metrics also continued to improve in the three months ended March 31, 2012 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2011. The BEV resulting from this analysis was then allocated to our capital structure using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model and a non-marketability discount of 15% was applied. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in March 2012, the fair value of RSUs and exercise price of stock options granted through October 12, 2012 was determined to be $14.42 per share.

October 15, 2012 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $18.40 per share as of October 15, 2012 based on the subject company transaction method.

In the absence of a recent equity financing from which we historically derived the implied BEV, we utilized the arm’s-length transactions of our equity in the secondary market from our most recent common stock valuation date of March 15, 2012 through October 15, 2012 to calculate the fair value of our common stock. Factors considered in this methodology included size and amount of equity sold, relationship of the parties involved, timing compared to the valuation date and our financial condition at the time of the sale. In recent secondary market common stock transactions, the price of our common stock ranged between $15.50 and $25.50 per share, with a weighted-average transaction price of approximately $18.40 per share. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in October 2012, the fair value of RSUs granted through November 12, 2012 was determined to be $18.40 per share.

December 4, 2012 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $17.00 per share as of December 4, 2012. In estimating our BEV, we utilized the pre-money valuation implied in the then-pending negotiations for a third-party tender offer to purchase stock from existing stockholders. As of the valuation date, we had entered into a non-binding term sheet for a tender offer, which outlined the third-party investor’s intent to purchase $75 million worth of our common stock and Class A junior preferred stock from employees, consultants and other stockholders at $17.00 per share. The BEV,

 

92


Table of Contents

which was derived from the proposed tender offer transaction price of $17.00 per share of our common stock and Class A junior preferred stock, was then allocated to our capital structure using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. We also considered secondary market activity and determined that such activity was consistent with the $17.00 per share price in the proposed tender offer. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in December 2012, the fair value of RSUs granted through February 13, 2013 was determined to be $17.00 per share.

February 25, 2013 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $17.00 per share as of February 25, 2013. In estimating our BEV, we utilized the pre-money valuation implied in the then-recently launched, but not yet closed, third party tender offer. As of the valuation date, the tender offer was ongoing. The tender offer was completed on March 4, 2013 with a total of $59.6 million worth of shares of our common stock and Class A junior preferred stock being purchased. The BEV, which was derived from the tender offer transaction price of $17.00 per share of our common stock and Class A junior preferred stock, was then allocated to our capital structure using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. We also considered secondary market activity and determined that such activity was consistent with the $17.00 per share price in the tender offer. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in February 2013, the fair value of RSUs granted through May 10, 2013 was determined to be $17.00 per share.

May 15, 2013 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $17.41 per share as of May 15, 2013 based on the subject company transaction method. We utilized the arm’s-length transactions of our equity securities in the secondary market since our most recent common stock valuation date, February 25, 2013, and the tender offer completed on March 4, 2013 to estimate the fair value of our common stock. Factors considered in this methodology included the number of shares sold, relationship of the parties involved, timing of the transactions in relation to the valuation date and our financial condition. The weighted-average transaction price of the recent secondary market common stock transactions and the tender offer was approximately $17.41 per share. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in May 2013, the fair value of RSUs granted through June 20, 2013 was determined to be $17.41 per share.

August 5, 2013 Valuation

We determined the fair value of our common stock to be $20.62 per share as of August 5, 2013 based on the subject company transaction method. We utilized the arm’s-length transactions of our equity securities in the secondary market since our most recent common stock valuation date, May 15, 2013, to estimate the fair value of our common stock. Factors considered in this methodology included the number of shares sold, relationship of the parties involved, timing of the transactions in relation to the valuation date and our financial condition. The weighted-average transaction price of the recent secondary market common stock transactions was approximately $20.62 per share. Based on the valuation of our common stock completed in August 2013, the fair value of RSUs granted through September 5, 2013 was determined to be $20.62 per share. We have not granted any stock options or RSUs after September 5, 2013.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosure about Market Risk

We have operations both within the United States and internationally, and we are exposed to market risks in the ordinary course of our business. These risks include primarily interest rate and foreign exchange risks.

 

93


Table of Contents

Interest Rate Fluctuation Risk

Our investment portfolio mainly consists of short-term and long-term interest-bearing obligations, including government and investment-grade debt securities and money market funds. These securities are classified as available-for-sale and, consequently, are recorded on the consolidated balance sheets at fair value with unrealized gains or losses reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax. Our investment policy and strategy is focused on the preservation of capital and supporting our liquidity requirements. We do not enter into investments for trading or speculative purposes.

A rise in interest rates could have a material adverse impact on the fair value of our investment portfolio. Based on our investment portfolio balance as of December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2013, a hypothetical increase in interest rates of 100 basis points would result in a decrease of approximately $0.6 million in the market value of our available-for-sale securities. We currently do not hedge these interest rate exposures.

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

Transaction Exposure

We transact business in various foreign currencies and have international revenue, as well as costs denominated in foreign currencies, primarily the Euro, British Pound and Japanese Yen. This exposes us to the risk of fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. Accordingly, changes in exchange rates, and in particular a strengthening of the U.S. dollar, would negatively affect our revenue and other operating results as expressed in U.S. dollars.

We have experienced and will continue to experience fluctuations in our net loss as a result of transaction gains or losses related to revaluing certain current asset and current liability balances that are denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the entities in which they are recorded. Foreign currency gain and loss were not significant in 2010, 2011 or 2012 or in the nine months ended September 30, 2013. At this time we do not, but we may in the future, enter into derivatives or other financial instruments in an attempt to hedge our foreign currency exchange risk. It is difficult to predict the impact hedging activities would have on our results of operations.

Translation Exposure

We are also exposed to foreign exchange rate fluctuations as we convert the financial statements of our foreign subsidiaries into U.S. dollars in consolidation. If there is a change in foreign currency exchange rates, the conversion of our foreign subsidiaries’ financial statements into U.S. dollars would result in a gain or loss recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) which is part of stockholders’ deficit.

Revenue and related expenses generated from our international subsidiaries are generally denominated in the currencies of the local countries. Primary currencies include the Euros, British Pound and Japanese Yen. The statements of income of our international operations are translated into U.S. dollars at exchange rates indicative of market rates during each applicable period. To the extent the U.S. dollar strengthens against foreign currencies, the translation of these foreign currency-denominated transactions would result in reduced consolidated revenue and operating expenses. Conversely, our consolidated revenue and operating expenses would increase if the U.S. dollar weakens against foreign currencies. Foreign currency translation gains and losses were not significant in 2010, 2011 or 2012 or in the nine months ended September 30, 2013.

 

94


Table of Contents

LETTER FROM @TWITTER

Twitter was born on March 21, 2006 with just 24 characters:

 

LOGO

We started with a simple idea: share what you’re doing, 140 characters at a time. People took that idea and strengthened it by using @names to have public conversations, #hashtags to organize movements, and Retweets to spread news around the world. Twitter represents a service shaped by the people, for the people.

The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve–and do not detract from–a free and global conversation.

Thank you for supporting us through your Tweets, your business, and now, your potential ownership of this service we continue to build with you.

Yours,

@twitter

 

95


Table of Contents

BUSINESS

Overview

Twitter is a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. By developing a fundamentally new way for people to create, distribute and discover content, we have democratized content creation and distribution, enabling any voice to echo around the world instantly and unfiltered.

Our platform is unique in its simplicity: Tweets are limited to 140 characters of text. This constraint makes it easy for anyone to quickly create, distribute and discover content that is consistent across our platform and optimized for mobile devices. As a result, Tweets drive a high velocity of information exchange that makes Twitter uniquely “live.” We aim to become an indispensable daily companion to live human experiences.

People are at the heart of Twitter. People come to Twitter for many reasons, and we believe that two of the most significant are the breadth of Twitter content and our broad reach. We have already achieved significant global scale, and we continue to grow. We have more than 230 million MAUs, and more than 100 million daily active users, spanning nearly every country. Our users include millions of people from around the world, as well as influential individuals and organizations, such as world leaders, government officials, celebrities, athletes, journalists, sports teams, media outlets and brands. Our users create approximately 500 million Tweets every day.

Twitter is a public, real-time platform where any user can create a Tweet and any user can follow other users. We do not impose restrictions on whom a user can follow, which greatly enhances the breadth and depth of available content and allows users to discover the content they care about most. Additionally, users can be followed by thousands or millions of other users without requiring a reciprocal relationship, which we refer to as an asymmetric follow model. This asymmetric follow model significantly enhances the ability of our users to reach a broad audience. The public nature of our platform allows us and others to extend the reach of Twitter content beyond our properties. Media outlets distribute Tweets beyond our properties to complement their content by making it more timely, relevant and comprehensive. Tweets have appeared on over one million third-party websites, and in the third quarter of 2013 there were approximately 48 billion online impressions of Tweets off of our properties.

Twitter provides a compelling and efficient way for people to stay informed about their interests, discover what is happening in their world right now and interact directly with each other. We enable the timely creation and distribution of ideas and information among people and organizations at a local and global scale. Our platform allows users to browse through Tweets quickly and explore content more deeply through links, photos, media and other applications that can be attached to each Tweet. As a result, when events happen in the world, whether planned, like sporting events and television shows, or unplanned, like natural disasters and political revolutions, the digital experience of those events happens in real time on Twitter. People can communicate with each other during these events as they occur, creating powerful shared experiences.

Our platform partners and advertisers enhance the value we create for our users.

 

  Ÿ  

Platform Partners.     Over six million websites have integrated with Twitter, adding value to our user experience by contributing content to our platform, broadly distributing content from our platform across their properties and using Twitter content and tools to enhance their websites and applications. Many of the world’s most trusted media outlets, including the BBC, CNN and Times of India, regularly use Twitter as a platform for content distribution. In addition, over

 

96


Table of Contents
 

three million applications have been registered by developers to enable them to integrate with our platform, and leverage Twitter content to enhance and extend their applications in new and creative ways.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertisers.     Advertisers use our Promoted Products, the majority of which are pay-for-performance, to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and complement and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns. We enable our advertisers to target an audience based on a variety of factors, including a user’s Interest Graph. The Interest Graph maps, among other things, interests based on users followed and actions taken on our platform, such as Tweets created and engagement with Tweets. We believe a user’s Interest Graph produces a clear and real-time signal of a user’s interests, greatly enhancing the relevance of the ads we can display for users and enhancing our targeting capabilities for advertisers. Our Promoted Products are incorporated into our platform without disrupting or detracting from the user experience and are designed to be as compelling and useful to our users as organic content on our platform.

Although we do not generate revenue directly from users or platform partners, we benefit from network effects where more activity on Twitter results in the creation and distribution of more content, which attracts more users, platform partners and advertisers, resulting in a virtuous cycle of value creation.

Mobile has become the primary driver of our business. Our mobile products are critical to the value we create for our users, and they enable our users to create, distribute and discover content in the moment and on-the-go. The 140 character constraint of a Tweet emanates from our origins as an SMS-based messaging system, and we leverage this simplicity to develop products that seamlessly bridge our user experience across all devices. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, 76% of our average MAUs accessed Twitter from a mobile device and over 70% of our advertising revenue was generated from mobile devices. We expect that the proportion of active users on, and advertising revenue generated from, mobile devices, will continue to grow in the near term.

We have experienced rapid growth in our user base and revenue in recent periods. In the three months ended September 30, 2013, our average MAUs increased by 39% to 231.7 million, compared to the three months ended September 30, 2012. From 2011 to 2012, revenue increased by 198% to $316.9 million, net loss decreased by 38% to $79.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased by 149% to $21.2 million. From the nine months ended September 30, 2012 to the nine months ended September 30, 2013, revenue increased by 106% to $422.2 million, net loss increased by 89% to $133.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA increased by $27.1 million to $30.7 million. For information on how we define and calculate the number of MAUs and factors that can affect this metric, see the sections titled “Industry Data and Company Metrics” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Key Metrics.” For information on how we define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA, and a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA, see the section titled “Prospectus Summary—Summary Consolidated Financial and Other Data—Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”

The Evolution of Content Creation, Distribution and Discovery

The Internet and digitization have allowed for virtually all content to be made available online, but the vast array of content has made it difficult for people to find what is important or relevant to them. Over time, technologies have been developed to address this challenge:

Web Browsers .    In the early to mid-1990s, browsers, including Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, presented content on the Internet in a visually appealing manner and provided a better user interface to retrieve content by navigating specific websites and from one website to another. Early browsers were pre-loaded with bookmarks directing people to popular websites, but the content

 

97


Table of Contents

experience was generally not personalized or tailored to a person’s interests and information was often difficult to find unless the person knew what they were looking for and where to find it.

Web Portals .    In the mid to late-1990s, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN and other web portals aggregated and categorized popular content and other communication features to help people discover relevant information on the Internet. These portals, while convenient and with some ability to personalize, offer access to a limited amount of content.

Search Engines .    In the early-2000s, Google and other search engines rose to prominence by developing new ways to search for information on the Internet. Search engines provide much greater depth and breadth of relevant information than portals. Although search engines focus on delivering comprehensive and relevant information as directed by a specific user request, the search results are often only as good as the search algorithm and the amount of content in the search index. In addition, given the lag between live events and the creation and indexing of digital content, search engine results may lack real-time information. Because search engines only respond to specific user requests, they also generally do not surface content that a person has not requested, but may find interesting.

Social Networks .    In the mid-2000s, social networks, such as Facebook, emerged as a new way to connect with friends and family online. Social networks allow people to share information with their friends and family and discover information based on the interests of their connections. Although social networks enable their users to create and share content, they are generally closed, private networks that do not include content from outside the user’s friends, family and mutual connections. Consequently, while the content delivered by a social network may be relevant, the source is generally limited to those people with whom the user has a mutual, symmetric relationship, and, therefore, the depth and breadth of content available to people is also generally limited. Additionally, because most social network users have the expectation that only a limited portion of the content they create will be made available to the public, most social network content is generally only available within the particular social network on which it originated and is not broadly available off their networks, such as on other websites, applications or traditional media outlets like television, radio and print.

Twitter Continues the Evolution

Twitter continues the evolution of content creation, distribution and discovery by combining the following four elements at scale to create a global platform for public self-expression and conversation in real time. We believe Twitter can be the content creation, distribution and discovery platform for the Internet and evolving mobile ecosystem.

 

  Ÿ  

Public.     Twitter is open to the world.

Content on Twitter is broadly accessible to our users and unregistered visitors. All users can create Tweets and follow other users. Since the vast majority of users on Twitter choose to communicate publicly on our platform, users can follow other users without requiring a reciprocal relationship. This asymmetric follow model significantly increases the breadth and depth of content available to users on our properties. In addition, the public nature of Twitter allows people to benefit from Twitter content even if they are not Twitter users or following the user that originally tweeted, as that content can travel virally on and off our properties to other websites and media, such as television and print.

 

98


Table of Contents

For example, during Hurricane Sandy in the United States in October 2012, Twitter provided a powerful tool for crucial emergency response as government officials, such as Dawn Zimmer (@dawnzimmernj), mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey, and Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg), mayor of New York City, relief organizations and the public used our platform to instantly broadcast essential information.

 

LOGO

LOGO

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Real-Time.     News breaks on Twitter.

Real-time content allows our users to enhance experiences by digitally connecting to a global conversation as events unfold, and enables our users to engage with each other directly and instantly in the moment and on-the-go. The combination of our tools, technology and format enables our users to quickly create and distribute content globally in real time with 140 keystrokes or the flash of a photo, and the click of a button. The ease with which our users can create content combined with our broad reach results in users often receiving content faster than other forms of media. Additionally, because our platform allows any of our over 230 million MAUs to contribute content, we have a vastly larger production capability than traditional media and news outlets.

 

99


Table of Contents

For example, when US Airways Flight 1549 landed on the Hudson River near New York City, Twitter user Jānis Krūms (@jkrums) was among the first on the scene and tweeted his account of the situation for the world to see, all in real time.

 

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Conversational.     Twitter is where users come to express themselves and interact with the world.

Our users can interact on Twitter directly with other users, including people from around the world, as well as influential individuals and organizations. Importantly, these interactions can occur in public view, thereby creating an opportunity for all users to follow and participate in conversations on Twitter. These public conversations offer a complementary communication channel to media companies and advertisers and an opportunity for them to increase their ad engagement and reach through Twitter.

 

100


Table of Contents

For example, when a Twitter user sought cooking advice from chef Mario Batali (@Mariobatali), the user received a response from @Mariobatali and musician Gavin Rossdale (@GavinRossdale) joined the conversation and provided some advice of his own.

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Distributed .     Tweets go everywhere.

Tweets are distributed not only on Twitter, but also off our properties by millions of websites around the world. Media outlets distribute Tweets beyond our properties to complement their content by making it more timely, relevant and comprehensive. The simple format of a Tweet, the public nature of content on Twitter and the ease of distribution off our properties allow media outlets to display Tweets on their online and offline properties, thereby extending the reach of Tweets beyond our properties. A 2013 study conducted by Arbitron Inc. and Edison Research found that 44% of Americans hear about Tweets through media channels other than Twitter almost every day.

 

101


Table of Contents

For example, when President Barack Obama (@barackobama) won the 2012 U.S. presidential election, he first declared victory publicly not on television or other public media, but on Twitter. The President’s Tweet was viewed approximately 25 million times on our platform and widely distributed offline in print and broadcast media.

 

LOGO

The combination of being public, real-time, conversational and distributed forms the foundation of our ability to provide value to our users, platform partners and advertisers.

Our Value Proposition to Users

People are at the heart of Twitter. We have more than 230 million MAUs from around the world. People come to Twitter for many reasons, and we believe that two of the most significant are the breadth of Twitter content and our broad reach. Our users consume content and engage in conversations that interest them by discovering and following the people and organizations they find most compelling. Our broad reach allows our users to express themselves publicly to a large global audience, and participate in global conversations.

Our platform has been used for charitable campaigns, disaster relief efforts, bearing witness to history, communicating with elected officials, political movements, responding to fans, empathizing with one another, parody as social commentary, product announcements and live play-by-play of sporting events.

Our users contribute to the vibrancy of our platform by creating unique content and by favoriting, mentioning and retweeting content they discover. The interaction among our users, including some of the world’s most influential individuals and organizations, combined with the public, real-time, conversational and widely distributed nature of our platform creates a unique value proposition for our users, whether they are contributing content or discovering and consuming it.

Specifically, our platform provides our users with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Sharing Content with the World .    Users leverage our platform to express themselves publicly to the world, share with their friends and family and participate in conversations by tweeting messages, photos and videos to their followers in real time. The public, real-time nature and

 

102


Table of Contents
 

tremendous global reach of our platform make it the content distribution platform of choice for many of the world’s most influential individuals and organizations, as well as millions of people and small businesses. Musicians tweet to launch albums, bloggers and journalists tweet to promote their latest posts or stories, professional athletes tweet to announce trades from one team to another, astronauts tweet photos from space and CEOs tweet corporate news.

For example, NASA tweeted the discovery of ice on Mars by the Mars Phoenix Rover (@MarsPhoenix).

 

LOGO

Nobukazu Kuriki (@kurikiyama_EN) tweeted his journey up Mount Everest.

 

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Discovering Unique and Relevant Content .    Twitter’s over 230 million MAUs, spanning nearly every country, provide great breadth and depth of content across a broad range of topics, including literature, politics, finance, music, movies, comedy, sports and news. Twitter uniquely allows a user to filter the vast amount of content by choosing other users that they want to follow, thereby creating a highly relevant timeline of information that is personalized to their interests. We provide search and other discovery features, including trends, hashtags and #Discover, that help users find content ranging from well-known to obscure sources to follow events or topics that are most interesting to them. We further improve the relevancy of content our users receive by making recommendations for additional content based on their Interest Graph.

 

  Ÿ  

Breaking News and Engaging in Live Events.     Users come to Twitter to discover what is happening in the world right now directly from other Twitter users. On Twitter, users tweet about live events instantly, whether it is celebrities tweeting to their fans, journalists breaking news or people providing eyewitness accounts of events as they unfold. Many individuals and organizations choose to break news first on Twitter because of the unique reach and speed of distribution on our platform. These events may be planned, like sporting events and television shows, or unplanned, like natural disasters and political revolutions. Users tweet about these events to entertain, editorialize, or commiserate and, in some cases, as a public service. We believe that no other platform complements live experiences as well as Twitter. As a result, Twitter is a primary source of information for our users. In addition, Twitter serves as a second screen to traditional media, enhancing the overall experience of an event by allowing users to share the experience with other users in real time. We believe this makes Twitter the social soundtrack to life in the moment.

 

103


Table of Contents

For example, when the power at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans went out during the 2013 Super Bowl, the creative team at Oreo (@Oreo) was quick to tweet about the situation to engage users during the live event.

 

LOGO

The British Monarchy (@ClarenceHouse) announced the birth of Prince George of Cambridge on Twitter.

 

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Participating in Conversations.     We believe Twitter is the largest source of public conversation in the world. Through Twitter, users not only communicate with friends and family, but they also participate in conversations with other people from around the world, in ways that would not otherwise be possible.

 

104


Table of Contents

For example, during the NBA lockout, Oklahoma City Thunder player Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) was looking to get some exercise and he turned to Twitter. @KDTrey5 tweeted and as a result connected with college student George Overbey (@groverbey) and joined a flag football game at Oklahoma State University that night.

 

LOGO

In addition to participating in conversations, users can simply follow conversations on Twitter or express interest in the conversation by retweeting or favoriting.

Our Value Proposition to Platform Partners

The value we create for our users is enhanced by our platform partners, which include publishers, media outlets and developers. These platform partners have integrated with Twitter through an API that we provide which allows them to contribute their content to our platform, distribute Twitter content across their properties and use Twitter content and tools to enhance their websites and applications.

We provide a set of development tools, APIs and embeddable widgets that allow our partners to seamlessly integrate with our platform. More than three million applications have been registered by developers to enable them to integrate with our platform and leverage Twitter content to enhance and extend their applications in new and creative ways.

Specifically, we provide our platform partners with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Distribution Channel .    Platform partners use Twitter as a complementary distribution channel to expand their reach and engage with their audiences. Publishers and media outlets contribute content created for other media channels to Twitter and tweet content specifically created for Twitter. We provide platform partners with a set of widgets that they can embed on their websites and an API for their mobile applications to enable Twitter users to tweet content directly from

 

105


Table of Contents
 

those properties. As our users engage with this content on Twitter, they can be directed back to our partners’ websites and applications. We also provide our platform partners with a set of analytics tools to measure the user engagement and traffic generated by Twitter users.

 

  Ÿ  

Complementary Real-Time and Relevant Content.     Twitter enables platform partners to embed or display relevant Tweets on their online and offline properties to enhance the experience for their users. Additionally, by enhancing the activity related to their programming or event on Twitter, media outlets can drive tune-in and awareness of their original content, leveraging Twitter’s strength as a second screen for television programming. For example, during Super Bowl XLVII, over 24 million Tweets regarding the Super Bowl were sent during the game alone and 45% of television ads shown during the Super Bowl used a hashtag to invite viewers to engage in conversation about those television ads on Twitter. In addition, in August 2013, Nielsen released the findings of a study which demonstrated that the volume of Tweets about a television program caused an increase in live television ratings in 29% of sampled television programs. Nielsen has also launched a measurement product based exclusively on Twitter data. This metric will measure the reach of the television conversation on Twitter and will serve to complement Nielsen’s existing television ratings, giving television networks and advertisers real-time metrics to better understand television audience social activity.

 

  Ÿ  

Canvas for Enhanced Content with Twitter Cards.     Platform partners use Twitter Cards to embed images, video and interactive content directly into a Tweet. Twitter Cards allow platform partners to create richer content that all users can interact with and distribute. In addition, by integrating Twitter Cards functionality into their websites, platform partners can ensure that whenever they or any user tweets from their websites or applications, the Tweet will automatically include rich content like a photo, a video, a sound clip, an article summary or information about a product, and make it instantly accessible to any other user on Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Building with Twitter Content .    Platform partners leverage Tweets to enhance the experience for their users. Developers incorporate Twitter content and use Twitter tools to build a broad range of applications. Media partners incorporate Twitter content to enrich their programming and increase viewer engagement by providing real-time Tweets that express public opinion and incorporate results from viewer polls on Twitter. For example, one developer uses access to Twitter content to provide alerts for its clients about a variety of topics and industries in advance of mainstream news. The developer’s application scans through all Tweets generated on our platform and identifies Tweets that appear to be credible and newsworthy based on certain aspects of a Tweet, such as the influence of the user who tweeted it, the user’s geographic location and patterns of the user’s Tweets. Another developer uses its algorithms and access to content on our platform to generate reports for brands, media companies and political campaigns that let the developer’s clients know what people are saying about them on Twitter and why.

Our Value Proposition to Advertisers

We provide compelling value to our advertisers by delivering the ability to reach a large global audience through our unique set of advertising services, the ability to target ads based on our deep understanding of our users and the opportunity to generate significant earned media. Advertisers can use Twitter to communicate directly with their followers for free, but many choose to purchase our advertising services to reach a broader audience and further promote their brands, products and services.

Advertisers can market on our platform in a variety of ways, from broad global campaigns to highly-targeted local ads. Our Promoted Products enable our advertisers to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and complement and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns. By leveraging our targeting capabilities, advertisers can reach users that are more likely to engage with their ads and improve the return on their spending on advertising.

 

106


Table of Contents

We use an auction for our pay-for-performance Promoted Products. The algorithms underlying the auction take into account the predicted ad engagement rate of an advertiser’s campaign. As such, advertisers with higher quality and more relevant ads generally have a higher probability of being successful in the auction and can win the auction with lower bids.

Specifically, our platform provides our advertisers with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Unique Ad Formats Native to the User Experience.     Our Promoted Products provide advertisers with an opportunity to reach our users without disrupting or detracting from the user experience on our platform. For example, Promoted Tweets appear within a user’s timeline just like an organic Tweet, regardless of device, whether it be desktop or mobile. Advertisers can incorporate Twitter Cards into Promoted Tweets for many purposes, including to drive product webpage visits or application installs. Similarly, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Trends also appear in the same format and place as organic account recommendations and trends, respectively. All of our Promoted Products are labeled as “promoted.”

 

  Ÿ  

Targeting .    Our pay-for-performance Promoted Products enable advertisers to reach users based on many factors. Importantly, because our asymmetric follow model does not require mutual follower relationships, people can follow the users that they find most interesting. These follow relationships are then combined with information regarding a user’s activity on our platform, including who the user replies to, what Tweets the user favorites or retweets, links the user clicks, the location of the user and what the user tweets about, to form a user’s Interest Graph. Twitter’s asymmetric follow model makes it easy for users to follow and unfollow other users. As a result, our users regularly add and remove accounts from their follow list, improving and updating their Interest Graphs. We believe a user’s Interest Graph produces a clear and real-time signal of a user’s interests, greatly enhancing our targeting capability.

 

     For example, New Relic (@newrelic) uses Twitter to target its business-to-business audience of developers and IT decision makers using a combination of interest and keyword targeting. Its goal on Twitter is to drive purchases and installs of its application performance management services. @newrelic has used Twitter to drive traffic to blog posts, share infographics and offer discounts. In July 2013, @newrelic offered a free trial of Code School, an online learning platform, for deploying its service. This promotion nearly doubled the number of Twitter-driven deployments compared to the month before.

 

LOGO

 

 

  Ÿ  

Earned Media and Viral Global Reach.     The public and widely distributed nature of our platform enables Tweets to spread virally, potentially reaching all of our users and people around the world. Our users retweet, reply to or start conversations about interesting Tweets, whether those Tweets are Promoted Tweets or organic Tweets by advertisers. An advertiser only gets charged when a user engages with a Promoted Tweet that was placed in a user’s timeline because of its promotion. By creating highly compelling and engaging ads, our advertisers can benefit from users retweeting their content across our platform at no incremental cost.

 

107


Table of Contents

For example, Mondelēz International has promoted Wheat Thins (@WheatThins) with a “Must. Have. Wheat. Thins.” slogan that appears on its advertising campaigns on TV and Twitter. During the campaign, @WheatThins asked its customers to send Tweets and Vines about having their Wheat Thins eaten or stolen by other fans of the product. Customers could win boxes of Wheat Thins by tweeting #MustHaveWheatThins. The integration across screens and promotion on Twitter drove over 242,000 Tweets mentioning the Wheat Thins brand during the advertising campaign and resulted in a significant increase in followers on Twitter.

 

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Advertising in the Moment.     Twitter’s real-time nature allows our advertisers to capitalize on live events, existing conversations and trending topics. By using our Promoted Products, advertisers can create a relevant ad in real time that is shaped by these events, conversations and topics.

 

  Ÿ  

Pay-for-Performance and Attractive Return on Investment.     Our advertisers pay for Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts on a pay-for-performance basis. Our advertisers only pay us when a user engages with their ad, such as when a user clicks on a link in a Promoted Tweet, expands a Promoted Tweet, replies to or favorites a Promoted Tweet, retweets a Promoted Tweet for the first time, follows a Promoted Account or follows the account that tweets a Promoted Tweet. The pay-for-performance structure aligns our interests in delivering relevant and engaging ads to our users with those of our advertisers.

 

    

In 2012, we commissioned a survey with Nielsen to measure the impact of our advertising services on brand awareness and purchase intent. Nielsen’s study found that users who

 

108


Table of Contents
 

engaged with a brand’s Promoted Tweet reported on average 30% higher brand favorability and 53% higher purchase intent than users who did not engage. These results highlight the value of an ad engagement on Twitter and the importance of reaching a relevant audience with compelling content to further drive ad engagement.

 

     For example, Bonobos (@Bonobos), an online men’s apparel retailer, wanted to make room for its fall season line and recruit new customers. @Bonobos held a “Twixclusive,” a 24-hour sale exclusively on Twitter. The company increased anticipation of the sale with Tweets several days in advance. On the day of the sale, @Bonobos used Promoted Tweets in timelines to announce an exclusive Twitter deal for $49 chinos. The deal was only available through Twitter and not advertised anywhere else. @Bonobos encouraged users to spread the word to unlock the deal, which was done almost immediately. The advertising campaign netted a number of first-time purchasers.

 

LOGO

 

  Ÿ  

Extension of Offline Advertising Campaigns.     Twitter advertising complements offline advertising campaigns, such as television ads. Integrating hashtags allows advertisers to extend the reach of an offline ad by driving significant earned media and continued conversation on Twitter. Additionally, we enable advertisers to engage directly on Twitter with users who have been exposed to their ads on television. We believe that synchronizing Twitter and television advertising campaigns makes brand messages more engaging and interactive.

 

  Ÿ  

Connect in Context.     Because the vast majority of Tweets are public, advertisers can gain meaningful insights and market intelligence from, and respond directly to, the feedback in customers’ and others’ Tweets. Our users discuss what they care about and what is happening around them right now. Our advertisers have powerful context to connect their messages to what is most meaningful to users in real time, and can engage with their customers in a way that is unique to Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Twitter Amplify.     Advertisers and media outlets can use Twitter Amplify to drive ad engagement and conversation on our platform during live programs. With Twitter Amplify, media outlets can attach real-time video clips about live events to Promoted Tweets, including instant replays of sports highlights and behind-the-scenes content, providing users with timely content that complements their television experience or reminds users to tune in to what they may be missing. For example, during the NCAA college basketball tournament, which began in March 2013, some of our users received Promoted Tweets containing video highlights of plays from tournament games in real time, allowing them to view these highlights within the Promoted Tweet directly in their timelines. Twitter Amplify provides advertisers with the opportunity to embed short video ads before and after the real-time video clip in a Promoted Tweet, complementing the conversation that is happening about these live events on our platform and in the world. Twitter Amplify partners include large advertisers and prominent media partners.

 

109


Table of Contents

Our Value Proposition to Data Partners

We offer data licenses that allow our data partners to access, search and analyze historical and real-time data on our platform. Since the first Tweet, our users have created over 350 billion Tweets spanning nearly every country. Our data partners use this data to generate and monetize data analytics, from which data partners can identify user sentiment, influence and other trends.

Specifically, our platform provides our data partners with the following benefits:

 

  Ÿ  

Access to Actionable Data .    Our platform enables data partners to analyze and act upon data that is current, unfiltered and public. Our data is the foundation for applications and tools that can draw relationships between social interactions and business results, and even derive signals that influence economic, political and public health and safety decisions. For example, one of our data partners applies its algorithms to Twitter data to create and sell products to its customers that identify activity trends across Twitter which may be relevant to its customers’ investment portfolios.

 

  Ÿ  

Ability to Create Measurement Standards .    We provide our data partners with the tools and data to find the right signal for the right audience. Our users tweet to express their thoughts and opinions about what is happening around them, creating data that can be analyzed to identify trends and other valuable insights.

Our Market Opportunity

We offer advertising services to help advertisers better achieve their goals, particularly as people worldwide spend more time engaging with mobile content. We provide advertisers with a platform to take on a human voice and reach a broad set of users and the tools to target users and generate interest. We design our advertising services to be engaging for users and personalized to their interests. Twitter’s public, real-time, conversational and widely distributed content and our differentiated ability to target users through their Interest Graphs enable advertisers to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and complement and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns.

We believe our advertising services address the large online and mobile advertising markets:

 

  Ÿ  

Online Advertising.     From 2012 to 2017, the worldwide online advertising market, excluding mobile advertising, is projected to increase from $91.1 billion to $124.7 billion, representing a 6.5% compounded annual growth rate, according to industry sources.

 

  Ÿ  

Mobile Advertising.     From 2012 to 2017, the worldwide mobile advertising market is projected to increase from $10.0 billion to $52.2 billion, representing a 39.2% compounded annual growth rate, according to industry sources.

Growth Strategy

We believe that the growth of our business is driven by a virtuous cycle that starts with what is best for our users. Growth in our user base drives more unique content, which in turn drives the viral, organic promotion of content on and off our properties, thereby attracting more platform partners and advertisers. As we attract more users, the value proposition for advertisers increases, thereby incentivizing advertisers to develop unique and compelling content for our platform. We have aligned our growth strategy around these three primary constituents.

 

  Ÿ  

Users .    Growth in our user base and user engagement is a fundamental driver to the growth of our business, and we believe that there is a significant opportunity to expand our user base. Since our inception, our user base has primarily grown organically and virally. Industry sources

 

110


Table of Contents
 

estimate that as of 2012 there were 2.4 billion Internet users and 1.2 billion smartphone users, of which only 230 million are MAUs of Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Geographic Expansion.     We continue to focus on growing our user base across all geographies. We plan to develop a broad set of partnerships globally to increase relevant local content on our platform and make Twitter more accessible in new and emerging markets.

 

  Ÿ  

Mobile Applications.     In the three months ended September 30, 2013, 76% of our average MAUs accessed Twitter from a mobile device. Our most engaged users are those who access Twitter via our mobile applications. We plan to continue to develop and improve our mobile applications to drive user adoption of these applications.

 

  Ÿ  

Product Development.     We plan to continue to build and acquire new technologies to develop and improve our products and services and make our platform more valuable and accessible to people around the world. We also plan to continue to focus on making Twitter simple and easy to use, particularly for new users.

 

  Ÿ  

Platform Partners.     We believe growth in our platform partners is complementary to our user growth strategy and the overall expansion of our platform.

 

  Ÿ  

Expand the Twitter Platform to Integrate More Content .    We plan to continue to build and acquire new technologies to enable our platform partners to distribute content of all forms.

 

  Ÿ  

Partner with Traditional Media .    Twitter has a complementary relationship with other media, including music services, news outlets and television networks. We plan to continue to leverage our media relationships to drive more content distribution on our platform and create more value for our users and advertisers.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertisers.     We believe we can increase the value of our platform for our advertisers by enhancing our advertising services and making our platform more accessible.

 

  Ÿ  

Targeting.     We plan to continue to improve the targeting capabilities of our advertising services. We recently introduced keyword targeting, which allows advertisers to reach users based on words, including words marked with a hashtag, in their recent Tweets and the Tweets with which users recently engaged and television targeting, which enables advertisers to engage directly with people on Twitter who have been exposed to their ads on television.

 

  Ÿ  

Opening Our Platform to Additional Advertisers.     We believe that advertisers outside of the United States represent a substantial opportunity and we plan to invest to increase our advertising revenue from international advertisers. Approximately 26% of our total revenue in the three months ended September 30, 2013, came from advertisers with billing locations outside of the United States, but approximately 77% of our average MAUs in the three months ended September 30, 2013 were from outside of the United States. We recently launched our self-serve advertising platform in the United States and we intend to launch our self-serve advertising platform in selected international markets. Our self-serve advertising platform allows advertisers to purchase advertising on Twitter through an automated online platform rather than through our direct sales force or our resellers. In international markets, our Promoted Products are currently only available for sale through our direct sales force or our resellers. As such, the number of advertisers on our platform in international markets is currently limited to those parties that our direct sales force or resellers contact and enlist as advertisers. Since our self-serve advertising platform opens our advertising platform to all advertisers, opening our self-serve advertising platform in international markets will allow us to reach many more potential advertisers than is currently possible.

 

111


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

New Advertising Formats.      We intend to develop new and unique ad formats for our advertisers. For example, we recently introduced our lead generation and application download Twitter Cards, and Twitter Amplify, which allows advertisers to embed ads into real-time video content.

Our Products and Services

We design our products to create a user-centric, interactive experience. Our development efforts focus on simplicity and ensuring that content can be accessed on any platform.

Products for Users

Twitter.     Twitter allows users to express themselves and create, distribute and discover content.

 

  Ÿ  

Home Timeline .    The timeline is a key component of the user experience. A user’s timeline displays the user’s individual Tweets as well as Tweets from the users they follow, with the most recent Tweets appearing at the top of the timeline. The timeline prompts the user to refresh whenever a followed user sends a new Tweet. The timeline is designed to be simple and easy to digest, and displays only the user profile picture and text content of each Tweet. If a Tweet contains rich media content, or is part of a broader conversation involving favorites, replies and Retweets, the user can expand the Tweet to display this content in the timeline.

 

  Ÿ  

Self-Expression Mechanisms.

 

  Ÿ  

Tweet Composer.     When a user wants to create a Tweet, they can do so by simply clicking on the “Compose new Tweet” box or icon, composing a Tweet and clicking “Tweet” to send the Tweet to their followers.

 

  Ÿ  

Profile.     The user profile includes a user’s name, Twitter username, location, website, photograph and short biography, and also includes lists of the accounts that the user is following, the user’s followers, the user’s Tweets and media gallery.

 

  Ÿ  

Lists.     A list is a curated group of Twitter users. Users can create their own lists or subscribe to lists created by other users. Viewing a list timeline will show the user a stream of Tweets from only the users on that list.

 

  Ÿ  

Social Mechanisms .

 

  Ÿ  

Follow.     Users select which other users they want to follow based on what interests them. The Tweets of the users they follow are displayed in their timeline.

 

  Ÿ  

Who to Follow.     Our user recommendation engine, “Who to Follow,” provides users with recommendations for other users to follow based on their interests and who they are currently following.

 

  Ÿ  

Favorites, @Replies and Retweets .    Various features enable users to interact with Tweets created by other users. Users can click on the “Favorite” button on a Tweet to demonstrate their support of or interest in the Tweet. Users can also reply to a Tweet created by another user by clicking the “Reply” button on the Tweet, which we refer to as an @reply, building on the original content and sharing their thoughts and opinions with the sender. A Tweet can also be resent, or retweeted, by a user that has received it by clicking the “Retweet” button on the Tweet, which enables users to redistribute the original Tweet to their followers.

 

  Ÿ  

Mentions.     Users can refer to, or mention, other users in their Tweets and Retweets by denoting the recipient with the “@” symbol followed by their username. We display mentions, including @replies, on the @Connect page of the user mentioned.

 

112


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

@Connect.     Users can see their history of interactions with other Twitter users by going to their @Connect page, which collects and displays information about a user’s followers and interactions with other users on Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Direct Messages.     In order to allow non-public communication among Twitter users, Twitter allows users to send private messages, known as direct messages. Users can only send a direct message to a user who is following them and can only receive direct messages from users they follow.

 

  Ÿ  

Protected Tweets.     Twitter also provides its users with the ability to make their Tweets private. A user who chooses to utilize this feature must choose to accept a new follower request before his or her Tweets are visible to that follower.

 

  Ÿ  

Discovery Mechanisms.

 

  Ÿ  

Trends.     Topics that are tweeted about at a high rate can become trends on Twitter. Trends are often indicators of what is current and popular at any given moment in a particular country or worldwide. Some trends are preceded by “#,” which we refer to as a hashtag. The use of hashtags on our platform was initiated by our users and hashtags are included in Tweets to mark them as relating to a topic, enabling trends to be more easily identified and conversations on a given topic to be more easily found.

 

  Ÿ  

Search.     Twitter Search enables users to find a real-time targeted list of the Tweets and users most relevant to their search topic by keyword, hashtag or username.

 

  Ÿ  

#Discover.     The Twitter #Discover tool enables users to find interesting and relevant information that they may not have found in their own timeline or through searches. A user’s interests, their followers and activity determine what is displayed on the user’s #Discover page.

 

  Ÿ  

Notifications .

 

  Ÿ  

Email, SMS and Push Notifications.     Users can customize how they are notified about activity on Twitter. They may elect to receive email notifications, SMS messages and mobile push notifications, which are alerts sent to the home screen of a mobile device by a mobile application.

 

  Ÿ  

Platform Ubiquity.     We make Twitter available across a variety of mobile and desktop applications and websites.

 

  Ÿ  

Mobile Applications .    Twitter is available across a wide range of mobile devices, including Android phones and tablets, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, Windows Phone and Nokia S40. We tailor our products and services to each system to create a rich Twitter experience for our users, taking advantage of the capabilities of each device and its operating system.

 

  Ÿ  

Mobile Web and Twitter.com.     Twitter is available on the web at mobile.twitter.com and twitter.com. We operate tailored versions of our mobile website for smartphone browsers and feature phone browsers to deliver a compelling user experience for users, regardless of how they access our platform.

 

  Ÿ  

SMS.     Users in many countries around the world can register, follow accounts, receive notifications and send Tweets entirely through SMS. Our relationships with over 250 mobile carriers enable users who are customers of these carriers to engage with Twitter through SMS.

 

  Ÿ  

Desktop Applications.     Our TweetDeck application enables users to view multiple streams of Tweets in real time, and execute custom search queries against real-time content. A Twitter application is available on the Macintosh and Windows 8 platforms.

 

113


Table of Contents

Vine.     Vine is a mobile application available on the iOS and Android operating systems that enables users to create and distribute short looping videos of up to six seconds in length. Vine users create and distribute their videos to their followers on Vine, with the option of tweeting them to their Twitter followers and sharing them on social networks. Users on Vine can follow other users, re-broadcast to their followers by revining, comment on videos and embed videos on websites. We do not currently place, or currently plan to place, ads on Vine.

#Music.     #Music is a mobile application that helps users discover new music and artists based on Tweets. #Music is available on the iOS platform. #Music uses data from the Twitter API to surface trending music artists in a variety of genres, and allows users to browse through artists based on social relationships on Twitter. We do not currently place, or currently plan to place, ads on #Music.

Our terms of service govern our users’ access to and use of our products and services, as well as any content uploaded, downloaded or appearing on our products and services. By agreeing to our terms of service, our users agree to be responsible for their use of our products and services, for any content they post to our products and services and for any consequences thereof. Our terms of service allow us to alter or limit use of our products and services or terminate a user’s right to use them at our sole discretion. We have the right to remove or refuse to distribute any content and to suspend or terminate users at any time. Our users retain their rights to any content they submit, post or display on our products and services and grant us a license to use, publish and distribute such content, including to our third-party partners. Our users also agree to our privacy policy which describes our collection and use of their information. Our users agree that we, and the third parties with whom we partner, may place targeted advertising on our products and services. Any user may terminate this agreement with us at any time for any reason by deactivating their account and discontinuing their use of our products and services.

Products for Platform Partners

We provide a set of tools, public APIs and embeddable widgets that developers can use to contribute their content to our platform, distribute Twitter content across their properties and enhance their websites and applications with Twitter content. Over six million websites have integrated with Twitter, adding value to our user experience. In addition, over three million applications have been registered by developers to enable them to integrate with our platform, and leverage Twitter content to enhance and extend their applications in new and creative ways. The goal of our platform product development is to make it easy for developers to integrate seamlessly with Twitter.

Key elements of the Twitter platform products include:

 

  Ÿ  

Twitter Cards.     Twitter Cards enable developers to attach content and functionality to Tweets, and have that content appear wherever a Tweet is displayed throughout web and mobile applications. Developers can link Twitter Cards directly to their own mobile application or website, in order to drive visits and application installs.

 

  Ÿ  

The Twitter Public API.     The Twitter public API allows platform partners to integrate Twitter content and follower relationships into their applications. For example, a platform partner can connect to the Twitter public API in order to collect, filter and integrate real-time content from Twitter into a live television program or a third-party website to integrate Tweets into a sentiment monitoring application to help companies monitor and measure conversation on Twitter about their brand.

 

  Ÿ  

Twitter for Websites.     Twitter for Websites is a set of tools that enable platform partners to integrate Twitter content and functionality into their websites. Sites can embed single Tweets or timelines of Tweets, or add Tweet buttons to their websites that make it easy for visitors to follow particular accounts or Tweet about the content they are viewing.

 

114


Table of Contents

Products and Services for Advertisers

Our Promoted Products enable our advertisers to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and extend the conversation around their advertising message. Currently, our Promoted Products consist of the following:

 

  Ÿ  

Promoted Tweets.     Promoted Tweets, which are labeled as “promoted,” appear within a user’s timeline or search results just like an ordinary Tweet regardless of device, whether it be desktop or mobile. Using our proprietary algorithm and understanding of the interests of each user, we can deliver Promoted Tweets that are intended to be relevant to a particular user.

 

  Ÿ  

Promoted Accounts .    Promoted Accounts, which are labeled as “promoted,” appear in the same format and place as accounts suggested by our Who to Follow recommendation engine. Promoted Accounts provide a way for our advertisers to grow a community of users who are interested in their business, products or services.

 

  Ÿ  

Promoted Trends.     Promoted Trends, which are labeled as “promoted,” appear at the top of the list of trending topics for an entire day in a particular country or on a global basis. When a user clicks on a Promoted Trend, search results for that trend are shown in a timeline and a Promoted Tweet created by our advertisers is displayed to the user at the top of those search results. We feature one Promoted Trend per day per geography.

Our technology platform and information database enable us to provide targeting capabilities that make it possible for advertisers to promote their brands, products and services, amplify their visibility and reach, and complement and extend the conversation around their advertising campaigns, including the following:

 

  Ÿ  

Interest and Gender Targeting.     Advertisers can target Promoted Tweets and Promoted Account campaigns based on interests and gender of users, which we predict based on the accounts that a user follows, and their history of interaction with content on Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Geographic Targeting.     Advertisers can target Promoted Tweet and Promoted Account campaigns based on user geography. Advertisers can also purchase a Promoted Trend on a country-by-country or worldwide basis. We receive information regarding a user’s location based upon the user’s IP address or, if the user has turned on location services on their mobile device, the location of the user’s mobile device at the time of user engagement to the extent possible. In the event that real-time location information is not available, we estimate the user’s location based upon an aggregation of IP addresses from which the user has recently accessed Twitter. If a user’s current geographic location is not available or we are unable to assign a geographic location to a user at the time the user engages with Twitter based on recent data, we deliver advertising that is based on the geographic location of the user at the time that such user initially registered for an account on Twitter based on the user’s IP address.

 

  Ÿ  

Keyword Targeting.     Advertisers can target specific words that users engage with on Twitter, including words marked with a hashtag, either through search queries, the Tweets a user creates or the Tweets a user engages with.

 

  Ÿ  

Television Targeting.     Advertisers can target users who have been exposed to their ads on television. We provide advertisers with this targeting capability by analyzing a user’s Tweets to determine which television shows a user has tweeted about and matching this information with information regarding which commercials were aired during these shows.

 

  Ÿ  

Device Targeting.     Advertisers can target based on specific mobile or desktop devices to reach users in specific contexts.

 

115


Table of Contents

When our customers purchase advertising services they have the ability to monitor their advertising campaigns as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

Campaign Management.     Our campaign management capability tools allow advertisers to monitor and make changes to campaigns in real time as ads are delivered. This allows advertisers to actively manage their campaigns as they gain deeper insight into their target audience and react to events and user reactions as they unfold.

 

  Ÿ  

Real-Time Analytics.     Our analytics tools give our advertisers insight into user response to their ads, which helps them to understand the success of campaigns as well as customer preferences.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertiser API.     Our APIs enable advertisers to integrate with Twitter and build websites and applications that integrate our campaign management and analytics tools.

MoPub Inc.

On September 9, 2013 we entered into a definitive agreement, or the MoPub Merger Agreement, to acquire MoPub, a mobile-focused advertising exchange. Once we complete the acquisition of MoPub, we plan to invest to grow MoPub’s current business, including by extending advertising across the mobile ecosystem through the MoPub exchange. We also plan to use MoPub’s technology to build real-time bidding into the Twitter ads platform so that our advertisers can more easily automate and scale their advertising purchases.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the MoPub Merger Agreement, upon the closing of the proposed acquisition, all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of MoPub, other than any dissenting shares, and all equity awards to purchase shares of MoPub common stock held by individuals who will continue to provide services to us, will be converted into the right to receive an aggregate of up to 14,791,464 shares of our common stock, subject to certain adjustments and vesting terms described in the MoPub Merger Agreement, and MoPub will become one of our wholly-owned subsidiaries. The MoPub Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants by us and MoPub, including covenants regarding operation of its business by MoPub and its subsidiaries prior to the closing. The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by MoPub’s stockholders and expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the HSR Act. In October 2013, we received early termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act. The closing of the transaction is not subject to a vote of our stockholders. The MoPub Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for both MoPub and us, including for the failure to consummate the transaction by December 20, 2013. The shares of our common stock that will be issued pursuant to the MoPub Merger Agreement will be subject to the same market standoff and lock-up arrangements with us and the underwriters as are described in the section titled “Shares Eligible for Future Sale.” We currently expect to close the proposed acquisition of MoPub in November 2013.

Products for Data Partners

We offer subscription access to our data feed for data partners who wish to access data beyond the public API.

Competition

We face significant competition for users, advertisers and personnel.

Users .    We compete against many companies to attract and engage users, some of which have greater financial resources and substantially larger user bases, such as Facebook (including Instagram), Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Yahoo!. We also compete against smaller companies such as Sina Weibo, LINE and Kakao, each of which is based in Asia.

We believe that our ability to compete effectively for users depends upon many factors, including the usefulness, ease of use, performance and reliability of our products and services; the amount, quality

 

116


Table of Contents

and timeliness of content generated by our users; our ability to establish and maintain relationships with platform partners that integrate with our platform; and our reputation and the strength of our brand.

Advertisers .    We also face significant competition for advertiser spend. The substantial majority of our revenue is generated from the sale of advertising services, and we compete against online and mobile businesses and traditional media outlets, such as television, radio and print, for spending on advertising.

We believe that our ability to compete effectively for advertiser spend depends upon many factors, including the size and composition of our user base; our ad targeting capabilities; the timing and market acceptance of our advertising services; our marketing and selling efforts; the return our advertisers receive from our advertising services; and our reputation and the strength of our brand.

Personnel .    We also experience significant competition for highly skilled personnel, including senior management, engineers, designers and product managers. Our growth strategy depends in part on our ability to retain our existing personnel and add additional highly skilled employees. Competition for highly skilled personnel is intense, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, where our headquarters is located, and we compete for personnel against online and mobile businesses, other companies in the technology industry and traditional media businesses, such as television, radio and print.

We believe that our ability to compete effectively for highly skilled personnel depends upon many factors, including a work environment that encourages independence, creativity and innovation; opportunities to work on challenging, meaningful and important products; the reputation and strength of our brand; and compensation.

We believe that we compete favorably on the factors described above. However, our industry is evolving rapidly and is becoming increasingly competitive. See the sections titled “Risk Factors—If we are unable to compete effectively for users and advertiser spend, our business and operating results could be harmed” and “Risk Factors—We depend on highly skilled personnel to grow and operate our business, and if we are unable to hire, retain and motivate our personnel, we may not be able to grow effectively.”

Technology, Research and Development

Twitter is composed of a set of core, scalable and distributed services that are built from proprietary and open source technologies. These systems are capable of delivering billions of short messages to hundreds of millions of people a day in an efficient and reliable way.

 

  Ÿ  

Twitter’s Scale.     Tweets are delivered to users via the twitter.com website, through over a dozen owned and operated Twitter applications, and through widgets that appear on over six million different websites. We deliver more than 200 billion Tweets per day to our users. Each time a user creates a Tweet, it is delivered to each follower of such user that requests a timeline. If a follower then retweets it, the Tweet is delivered to each of their followers who request a timeline. In addition, we deliver to users any Tweets that may be generated through our trends, search or #Discover functions. This process requires our infrastructure to collect and efficiently deliver large volumes of information daily.

 

  Ÿ  

Real-time, Service Oriented Architecture.     Twitter’s architecture is optimized so users perceive instantaneous change. The time between a Tweet being created and having it available for users to see and interact with in the product is measured in tenths of a second. In general, the latency between two events occurring in our infrastructure is measured in millisecond increments.

 

  Ÿ  

Foundational Infrastructure and Data.     Our users have created over 350 billion Tweets. Our customized technology replicates and balances this data across multiple geographically distributed databases and allows us to store, access and modify it at scale.

 

117


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

Relevancy and Content Analysis.     We have built systems and algorithms to organize content to enable users to find and discover the most relevant content, people and topics on Twitter. Our key technologies include a distributed, fixed-latency, high performance search system that allows us to efficiently index, retrieve and score users and their content in real time. We have also built a trending platform to determine trending topics on Twitter.

 

  Ÿ  

Advertising Technology.     Our advertising platform allows advertisers to reach users based on many factors, including their Interest Graphs. We use sophisticated algorithms to determine the likelihood of user engagement with specific ads. We use these algorithms to match advertiser demand with Twitter users by placing Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts into a user’s Twitter experience in a way that optimizes for both user experience and the value we deliver to advertisers.

Sales and Marketing

We have a global sales force and sales support staff that is focused on attracting and retaining advertisers. Our sales force and sales support staff assists advertisers throughout the advertising campaign cycle, from pre-purchase decision making to real-time optimizations as they utilize our campaign management tools, and to post-campaign analytics reports to assess the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns. Our advertisers also use our self-serve advertising platform to launch and manage their advertising campaigns.

Since our inception, our user base has grown primarily by word-of-mouth. Our marketing efforts to date have focused on amplifying and accelerating this word-of-mouth momentum. Through these efforts and people’s increased usage of Twitter worldwide, we have been able to build our brand with relatively minimal marketing costs.

Intellectual Property

We seek to protect our intellectual property rights by relying on federal, state and common law rights in the United States and other countries, as well as contractual restrictions. We generally enter into confidentiality and invention assignment agreements with our employees and contractors, and confidentiality agreements with other third parties, in order to limit access to, and disclosure and use of, our confidential information and proprietary technology. In addition to these contractual arrangements, we also rely on a combination of trademarks, trade dress, domain names, copyrights, trade secrets and patents to help protect our brand and our other intellectual property.

As of September 30, 2013, we had 9 issued patents and approximately 95 filed patent applications in the United States and foreign countries relating to message distribution, graphical user interfaces, security and related technologies. Our issued United States patents are expected to expire between 2029 and 2031.

We may be unable to obtain patent or trademark protection for our technologies and brands, and our existing patents and trademarks, and any patents or trademarks that may be issued in the future, may not provide us with competitive advantages or distinguish our products and services from those of our competitors. In addition, any patents and trademarks may be contested, circumvented or found unenforceable or invalid, and we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing, diluting or otherwise violating them.

In May 2013, we implemented our Innovator’s Patent Agreement, or IPA, which we enter into with our employees and consultants, including our founders. We implemented the IPA because we were concerned about the recent proliferation of offensive patent lawsuits, including lawsuits by “non-practicing entities.” We are also encouraging other companies to implement the IPA in an effort to reduce the

 

118


Table of Contents

number of patents with offensive rights which may be transferred to third parties, including non-practicing entities. We believe that a reduction in the number of patents with transferrable offensive rights may reduce the number of offensive lawsuits that may be filed, particularly by non-practicing entities.

The IPA, which applies to our current and future patents, allows us to assert our patents defensively. The IPA also allows us to assert our patents offensively with the permission of the inventors of that particular patent. Under the IPA, an assertion of claims is considered for a defensive purpose if the claims are asserted: (i) against an entity that has filed, maintained, threatened or voluntarily participated in a patent infringement lawsuit against us or any of our users, affiliates, customers, suppliers or distributors; (ii) against an entity that has used its patents offensively against any other party in the past ten years, so long as the entity has not instituted the patent infringement lawsuit defensively in response to a patent litigation threat against the entity; or (iii) otherwise to deter a patent litigation threat against us or our users, affiliates, customers, suppliers or distributors. In addition, the IPA provides that the above limitations apply to any future owner or exclusive licensee of any of our patents, which could limit our ability to sell or license our patents to third parties including to non-practicing entities.

Companies in the Internet, technology and media industries own large numbers of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, and frequently enter into litigation based on allegations of infringement, misappropriation, or other violations of intellectual property or other rights. In addition, various “non-practicing entities” that own patents and other intellectual property rights often attempt to aggressively assert their rights in order to extract value from technology companies. We are presently involved in a number of intellectual property lawsuits, and from time to time we face, and we expect to face in the future, allegations that we have infringed or otherwise violated the patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and other intellectual property rights of third parties, including our competitors and non-practicing entities. As we face increasing competition and as our business grows, we will likely face more intellectual property-related claims and litigation matters. For additional information, see the sections titled “Risk Factors—We are currently, and expect to be in the future, party to intellectual property rights claims that are expensive and time consuming to defend, and, if resolved adversely, could have a significant impact on our business, financial condition or operating results” and “—Legal Proceedings.”

Government Regulation

We are subject to a number of U.S. federal and state and foreign laws and regulations that involve matters central to our business. These laws and regulations may involve privacy, rights of publicity, data protection, content regulation, intellectual property, competition, protection of minors, consumer protection, taxation or other subjects. Many of these laws and regulations are still evolving and being tested in courts and could be interpreted in ways that could harm our business. In addition, the application and interpretation of these laws and regulations often are uncertain, particularly in the new and rapidly evolving industry in which we operate.

We are also subject to federal, state and foreign laws regarding privacy and the protection of user data. Foreign data protection, privacy, consumer protection, content regulation and other laws and regulations are often more restrictive than those in the United States. There are also a number of legislative proposals pending before the U.S. Congress, various state legislative bodies and foreign governments concerning data protection that could affect us. For example, regulation relating to the 1995 European Union Data Protection Directive is currently being considered by European legislative bodies that may include more stringent operational requirements for entities processing personal information and significant penalties for non-compliance.

In March 2011, to resolve an investigation into various incidents, we entered into a settlement agreement with the FTC that, among other things, requires us to establish an information security program

 

119


Table of Contents

designed to protect non-public consumer information and also requires that we obtain biennial independent security assessments. The FTC investigation was the result of two separate incidents in which unauthorized intruders obtained administrative passwords of certain Twitter employees. In one of the incidents, the intruder accessed the employee’s administrative capabilities to fraudulently reset various user passwords and post unauthorized Tweets. The obligations under the settlement agreement remain in effect until the latter of March 2, 2031, or the date 20 years after the date, if any, on which the U.S. government or the FTC files a complaint in federal court alleging any violation of the order. Violation of existing or future regulatory orders, settlements, or consent decrees could subject us to substantial monetary fines and other penalties that could negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations.

Twitter users may be restricted from accessing Twitter from certain countries, and other countries have intermittently restricted access to Twitter. For example, Twitter is not directly accessible in China. It is possible that other governments may seek to restrict access to or our block our website or mobile applications, censor content available through our products or impose other restrictions that may affect the accessibility or usability of Twitter for an extended period of time or indefinitely.

We have a public policy team that monitors legal and regulatory developments in the U.S., as well as a number of foreign countries, and works with policymakers and regulators in the U.S. and internationally.

For additional information, see the section titled “Risk Factors—Our business is subject to complex and evolving U.S. and foreign laws and regulations. These laws and regulations are subject to change and uncertain interpretation, and could result in claims, changes to our business practices, monetary penalties, increased cost of operations or declines in user growth, user engagement or ad engagement, or otherwise harm our business.”

Employees

As of September 30, 2013, we had over 2,300 full-time employees.

Legal Proceedings

We are currently involved in, and may in the future be involved in, legal proceedings, claims and government investigations in the ordinary course of business. We are involved in litigation, and may in the future be involved in litigation, with third parties asserting, among other things, infringement of their intellectual property rights. In addition, the nature of our business exposes us to claims related to defamation, rights of publicity and privacy, and personal injury torts resulting from information that is published or made available on our platform. This risk is enhanced in certain jurisdictions outside the United States where our protection from liability for content published on our platform by third parties may be unclear and where we may be less protected under local laws than we are in the United States. Although the results of the legal proceedings, claims and government investigations in which we are involved cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe that there is a reasonable possibility that the final outcome of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.

Future litigation may be necessary, among other things, to defend ourselves, our platform partners and our users by determining the scope, enforceability, and validity of third-party proprietary rights or to establish our proprietary rights. The results of any current or future litigation cannot be predicted with certainty, and regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

 

120


Table of Contents

Facilities

In April 2011, we entered into a lease effective through April 2018 for approximately 214,950 square feet of office space that houses our principal offices in San Francisco, California. In June 2012, we amended the lease to include approximately 85,259 square feet of additional office space for a term effective through November 2021. We have leases with data center operators in the United States pursuant to various lease agreements and co-location arrangements. We believe our facilities are sufficient for our current needs.

 

121


Table of Contents

MANAGEMENT

Executive Officers and Directors

The following table provides information regarding our executive officers and directors as of September 30, 2013:

 

Name

   Age   

Position

Executive Officers:

     

Richard Costolo

   50    Chief Executive Officer and Director

Ali Rowghani

   40    Chief Operating Officer

Mike Gupta

   42    Chief Financial Officer

Adam Bain

   40    President of Global Revenue

Christopher Fry

   43    Senior Vice President of Engineering

Vijaya Gadde

   38    General Counsel and Secretary

Non-Employee Directors:

     

Jack Dorsey

   36    Chairman

Peter Chernin

   62    Director

Peter Currie

   57    Director

Peter Fenton

   41    Director

David Rosenblatt

   45    Director

Evan Williams

   41    Director

Executive Officers

Richard Costolo .    Mr. Costolo has served as our Chief Executive Officer since October 2010 and as a member of our board of directors since September 2009. From September 2009 to October 2010, Mr. Costolo served as our Chief Operating Officer. From June 2007 to June 2009, Mr. Costolo served as Group Product Manager at Google Inc., a provider of Internet-related products and services. From October 2003 to May 2007, Mr. Costolo served as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of FeedBurner, Inc., an RSS subscription feed provider, which was acquired by Google in 2007. Mr. Costolo holds a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Mr. Costolo was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive background as a founder and an executive of companies in the technology industry and the perspective and experience he brings as our Chief Executive Officer.

Ali Rowghani .    Mr. Rowghani has served as our Chief Operating Officer since December 2012 and served as our Chief Financial Officer from March 2010 to December 2012. From June 2002 to March 2010, Mr. Rowghani served in several roles at Pixar Animation Studios, Inc., a computer animation film studio, including as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning. Mr. Rowghani holds a B.A. in International Relations and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Mike Gupta .    Mr. Gupta has served as our Chief Financial Officer since December 2012 and served as our Vice President of Corporate Finance and Treasurer from November 2012 to December 2012. From May 2011 to November 2012, Mr. Gupta served in two roles at Zynga Inc., an online provider of social game services, including as Senior Vice President and Treasurer. From February 2003 to May 2011, Mr. Gupta served in several roles at Yahoo! Inc., an Internet company, including as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Finance and Chief Treasury Officer. Mr. Gupta holds a B.S. in Accounting and Economics from New York University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.

 

122


Table of Contents

Adam Bain .    Mr. Bain has served as our President of Global Revenue since September 2010. From September 1999 to September 2010, Mr. Bain served in several roles at News Corporation, a diversified media company, including as Executive Vice President of Products & Technology and as President of its advertising arm, Fox Audience Network, Inc. Mr. Bain holds a B.A. in English Journalism from Miami University.

Christopher Fry .    Mr. Fry has served as our Senior Vice President of Engineering since March 2013. From April 2012 to March 2013, Mr. Fry served as our Vice President of Engineering. From June 2005 to April 2012, Mr. Fry served in several roles at salesforce.com, inc., an enterprise software company, including as Senior Vice President, Development. Mr. Fry holds a B.A. in Cognitive Science from Vassar College and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from the University of California, San Diego.

Vijaya Gadde .    Ms. Gadde has served as our General Counsel and Secretary since August 2013 and served as our Director, Legal from July 2011 to August 2013. From October 2010 to July 2011, Ms. Gadde served as Senior Director and Associate General Counsel, Corporate, at Juniper Networks, Inc., a provider of network infrastructure products and services. From October 2000 to April 2010, Ms. Gadde was an attorney at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. Ms. Gadde holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law.

Non-Employee Directors

Jack Dorsey .    Mr. Dorsey is one of our founders and has served as the Chairman of our board of directors since October 2008 and as a member of our board of directors since May 2007. Mr. Dorsey served as our President and Chief Executive Officer from May 2007 to October 2008. Since February 2009, Mr. Dorsey has served as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Square, Inc., a provider of payment processing services.

Mr. Dorsey was selected to serve on our board of directors because of the perspective and experience he brings as one of our founders and as one of our largest stockholders, as well as his extensive experience with technology companies.

Peter Chernin .    Mr. Chernin has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2012. Since June 2009, Mr. Chernin has served as Founder and Chairman of Chernin Entertainment, LLC, a film and television production company, and The Chernin Group LLC, which is involved in strategic opportunities in media, technology and entertainment. Since October 2010, Mr. Chernin has served as Co-Founder and Chairman of CA Media, LP, which builds and manages media, technology and entertainment businesses throughout the Asia Pacific region. From October 1996 to June 2009, Mr. Chernin served in several roles at News Corporation, most recently as President and Chief Operating Officer, and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Fox Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Mr. Chernin currently serves on the boards of directors of American Express Company, a diversified financial services company, and Pandora Media, Inc., an online music streaming company. Mr. Chernin previously served on the boards of directors of various companies in the media industry and the technology industry, including News Corporation, DirecTV, Inc., E*Trade Financial Corporation and Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. Mr. Chernin holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Chernin was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his operating and management experience at global media companies, his expertise in online and mobile markets and other new technologies and his service on the boards of directors of numerous other companies.

Peter Currie .    Mr. Currie has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2010. Since April 2004, Mr. Currie has served as President of Currie Capital LLC, a private investment firm. Mr. Currie previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of

 

123


Table of Contents

Netscape Communications Corporation, a software company, and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of McCaw Cellular Communications, Inc., a wireless communications company. Mr. Currie currently serves on the boards of directors of Schlumberger Limited, a petroleum industry services company, and a number of privately held companies. Mr. Currie previously served on the boards of directors of Clearwire Corporation, CNET Networks, Inc., Safeco Corporation and Sun Microsystems, Inc. Mr. Currie currently serves as President of the board of trustees of Phillips Academy. Mr. Currie holds a B.A. in Economics and French Literature from Williams College and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Mr. Currie was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his strong financial and operational expertise as a result of his service on the boards of directors of numerous other companies and experience serving in senior operating roles in high-growth, technology-driven companies.

Peter Fenton .    Mr. Fenton has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2009. Since September 2006, Mr. Fenton has served as a General Partner of Benchmark Capital, a venture capital firm. From October 1999 to May 2006, Mr. Fenton served as a Managing Partner at Accel Partners, a venture capital firm. Mr. Fenton currently serves on the boards of directors of Yelp, Inc., a local directory and user review service, and a number of privately held companies. Mr. Fenton holds a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Mr. Fenton was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the venture capital industry and his knowledge of technology companies.

David Rosenblatt .    Mr. Rosenblatt has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2010. Since November 2011, Mr. Rosenblatt has served as Chief Executive Officer of 1stdibs.com, Inc., an online luxury marketplace. From October 2008 to May 2009, Mr. Rosenblatt served as President of Global Display Advertising at Google. Mr. Rosenblatt joined Google in March 2008 in connection with Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, Inc., a provider of digital marketing technology and services. Mr. Rosenblatt joined DoubleClick in 1997 as part of its initial management team and served in several executive positions during his tenure, including as Chief Executive Officer from July 2005 to March 2008 and President from 2000 to July 2005. Mr. Rosenblatt currently serves on the boards of directors of IAC/InterActiveCorp, a media and Internet company, and a number of privately held companies. Mr. Rosenblatt holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Yale University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Mr. Rosenblatt was selected to serve on our board of directors because of his operating and management experience with a range of Internet and technology companies, particularly his experience with companies that focused on monetizing large online audiences.

Evan Williams.     Mr. Williams is one of our founders and has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2007. From October 2008 to October 2010, Mr. Williams served as our President and Chief Executive Officer, from July 2009 to March 2010, as our Chief Financial Officer and from February 2008 to October 2008, as our Chief Product Officer. Since April 2011, Mr. Williams has served as Chief Executive Officer of Medium, an online publishing platform, and since October 2006, as Chief Executive Officer of The Obvious Corporation, a technology systems innovator.

Mr. Williams was selected to serve on our board of directors because of the perspective and experience he brings as one of our founders and as one of our largest stockholders, as well as his extensive experience with technology companies.

Each executive officer serves at the discretion of our board of directors and holds office until his successor is duly elected and qualified or until his earlier resignation or removal. There are no family relationships among any of our directors or executive officers.

 

124


Table of Contents

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Our board of directors has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to all of our employees, officers and directors, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and other executive and senior financial officers. The full text of our code of business conduct and ethics will be posted on the investor relations page on our website. We intend to disclose any amendments to our code of business conduct and ethics, or waivers of its requirements, on our website or in filings under the Exchange Act.

Board of Directors

Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our board of directors. Our board of directors consists of, and our current certificate of incorporation authorizes, seven directors, four of whom qualify as “independent” under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. Pursuant to our current certificate of incorporation and amended and restated voting agreement, our current directors were elected as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

Mr. Costolo was elected as the designee reserved for the person serving as our Chief Executive Officer;

 

  Ÿ  

Mr. Dorsey was elected as the designee nominated by the person serving as our Chief Executive Officer and approved by a majority of the other members of our board of directors;

 

  Ÿ  

Messrs. Currie and Rosenblatt were elected as the designees nominated by our nominating and corporate governance committee;

 

  Ÿ  

Messrs. Chernin and Fenton were elected as the designees nominated by our nominating and corporate governance committee and approved by holders of a majority of shares of our capital stock owned by certain parties to our amended and restated voting agreement; and

 

  Ÿ  

Mr. Williams was elected as the designee nominated by holders of a majority of shares of our Series A convertible preferred stock owned by certain parties to our amended and restated voting agreement.

Our amended and restated voting agreement will terminate and the provisions of our current certificate of incorporation by which our directors were elected will be amended and restated in connection with this offering. After this offering, the number of directors will be fixed by our board of directors, subject to the terms of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Each of our current directors will continue to serve as a director until the election and qualification of his successor, or until his earlier death, resignation or removal.

Classified Board of Directors

We intend to adopt an amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, immediately after the completion of this offering, our board of directors will be divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Our current directors will be divided among the three classes as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

the Class I directors will be Messrs. Costolo and Fenton, and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2014;

 

  Ÿ  

the Class II directors will be Messrs. Rosenblatt and Williams, and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2015; and

 

125


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

the Class III directors will be Messrs. Chernin, Currie and Dorsey, and their terms will expire at the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2016.

Each director’s term will continue until the election and qualification of his successor, or his earlier death, resignation or removal. Any increase or decrease in the number of directors will be distributed among the three classes so that, as nearly as possible, each class will consist of one-third of our directors.

This classification of our board of directors may have the effect of delaying or preventing changes in control of our company.

Director Independence

Our board of directors has undertaken a review of the independence of each director. Based on information provided by each director concerning his background, employment and affiliations, our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Chernin, Currie, Fenton and Rosenblatt do not have a relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each of these directors is “independent” as that term is defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. In making these determinations, our board of directors considered the current and prior relationships that each non-employee director has with our company and all other facts and circumstances our board of directors deemed relevant in determining their independence, including the beneficial ownership of our capital stock by each non-employee director, and the transactions involving them described in the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

Lead Independent Director

Our board of directors has adopted corporate governance guidelines that provide that one of our independent directors should serve as our Lead Independent Director at any time when our Chief Executive Officer serves as the Chairman of our board of directors or if the Chairman is not otherwise independent. Because Mr. Dorsey is our Chairman, our board of directors has appointed Mr. Currie to serve as our Lead Independent Director. As Lead Independent Director, Mr. Currie will preside over periodic meetings of our independent directors, serve as a liaison between our Chairman and our independent directors and perform such additional duties as our board of directors may otherwise determine and delegate.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has established an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. The composition and responsibilities of each of the committees of our board of directors is described below. Members will serve on these committees until their resignation or until as otherwise determined by our board of directors.

Audit Committee

Our audit committee consists of Messrs. Currie, Fenton and Rosenblatt, with Mr. Currie serving as Chairman, each of whom meets the requirements for independence under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and SEC rules and regulations. Each member of our audit committee also meets the financial literacy and sophistication requirements of the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, our board of directors has determined that Mr. Currie is an audit committee financial expert within the meaning of Item 407(d) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Following the completion of this offering, our audit committee will, among other things:

 

  Ÿ  

select a qualified firm to serve as the independent registered public accounting firm to audit our financial statements;

 

126


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

help to ensure the independence and performance of the independent registered public accounting firm;

 

  Ÿ  

discuss the scope and results of the audit with the independent registered public accounting firm, and review, with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, our interim and year-end operating results;

 

  Ÿ  

develop procedures for employees to submit concerns anonymously about questionable accounting or audit matters;

 

  Ÿ  

review our policies on risk assessment and risk management;

 

  Ÿ  

review related party transactions; and

 

  Ÿ  

approve or, as required, pre-approve, all audit and all permissible non-audit services, other than de minimis non-audit services, to be performed by the independent registered public accounting firm.

Our audit committee will operate under a written charter, to be effective prior to the completion of this offering, that satisfies the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

Compensation Committee

Our compensation committee consists of Messrs. Chernin, Fenton and Rosenblatt, with Mr. Fenton serving as Chairman, each of whom meets the requirements for independence under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and SEC rules and regulations. Each member of our compensation committee is also a non-employee director, as defined pursuant to Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, or Rule 16b-3, and an outside director, as defined pursuant to Section 162(m) of the Code, or Section 162(m). Following the completion of this offering, our compensation committee will, among other things:

 

  Ÿ  

review, approve and determine, or make recommendations to our board of directors regarding, the compensation of our executive officers;

 

  Ÿ  

administer our equity compensation plans;

 

  Ÿ  

review and approve and make recommendations to our board of directors regarding incentive compensation and equity compensation plans; and

 

  Ÿ  

establish and review general policies relating to compensation and benefits of our employees.

Our compensation committee will operate under a written charter, to be effective prior to the completion of this offering, that satisfies the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Our nominating and governance committee consists of Messrs. Chernin, Currie and Rosenblatt, with Mr. Currie serving as Chairman, each of whom meets the requirements for independence under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and SEC rules and regulations. Following the completion of this offering, our nominating and corporate governance committee will, among other things:

 

  Ÿ  

identify, evaluate and select, or make recommendations to our board of directors regarding, nominees for election to our board of directors and its committees;

 

  Ÿ  

evaluate the performance of our board of directors and of individual directors;

 

127


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

consider and make recommendations to our board of directors regarding the composition of our board of directors and its committees;

 

  Ÿ  

review developments in corporate governance practices;

 

  Ÿ  

evaluate the adequacy of our corporate governance practices and reporting; and

 

  Ÿ  

develop and make recommendations to our board of directors regarding corporate governance guidelines and matters.

Our nominating and corporate governance committee will operate under a written charter, to be effective prior to the completion of this offering, that satisfies the applicable listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of the members of our compensation committee is or has been an officer or employee of our company. None of our executive officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee (or other board committee performing equivalent functions) of any entity that has one or more of its executive officers serving on our board of directors or compensation committee. From December 2010 through January 2011, we sold an aggregate of 1,192,544 shares of our Series F convertible preferred stock to Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. at a purchase price of approximately $7.63 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $9,104,119. Mr. Fenton is a General Partner of Benchmark Capital. The sale of our Series F convertible preferred stock to Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. was made in connection with our Series F convertible preferred stock financing and on substantially the same terms and conditions as all other sales of our Series F convertible preferred stock by us.

Non-Employee Director Compensation

Our non-employee directors do not currently receive, and did not receive in 2012, any cash compensation for their service on our board of directors and committees of our board of directors. As of December 31, 2012, Messrs. Currie and Rosenblatt were the only non-employee directors who held options to purchase shares of our common stock that would have been subject to accelerated vesting if their services had been terminated in connection with a change in control.

The following table provides information regarding the total compensation that was granted to each of our directors who was not serving as an executive officer in 2012.

 

Name

   Stock Awards (1)      Total  

Jack Dorsey (2)

               

Peter Chernin (3)

   $ 3,680,000       $     3,680,000   

Peter Currie (4)

               

Peter Fenton

               

David Rosenblatt (5)

               

Evan Williams

               

 

(1)

The amounts reported represent the aggregate grant-date fair value of the RSUs awarded to the director in 2012, calculated in accordance with ASC Topic 718. Such grant-date fair value does not take into account any estimated forfeitures related to service-vesting conditions. The assumptions used in calculating the grant-date fair value of the RSUs reported in this column are set forth in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Stock-Based Compensation.”

(2)  

As of December 31, 2012, Mr. Dorsey had one option to purchase a total of 2,000,000 shares of our common stock. 25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option vested on May 9, 2012, and the balance vests in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such date. 791,666 of the shares of our common stock subject to this option were vested as of December 31, 2012.

 

128


Table of Contents
(3)

As of December 31, 2012, Mr. Chernin had 200,000 RSUs. The RSUs vest upon the satisfaction of a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition will be satisfied as to 25% of the shares underlying the RSUs upon completion of one year of service measured from the vesting commencement date, subject to continued service through such date. Thereafter, but prior to satisfaction of the performance condition, an additional 1/48th of the total number of shares underlying the RSUs vests in monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date. After satisfaction of the performance condition, an additional 3/48th of the total number of shares underlying the RSUs will vest in quarterly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date. The performance condition will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) a change in control. The service condition was satisfied as to none of the shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs as of December 31, 2012. In July 2013, Mr. Chernin transferred all of his rights, title and interest with respect to the RSUs to The Chernin Group, LLC.

(4)  

As of December 31, 2012, Mr. Currie had one option to purchase a total of 400,000 shares of our common stock. 25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option vested on November 18, 2011, and the balance vests in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such date. 208,333 of the shares of our common stock subject to this option were vested as of December 31, 2012.

(5)  

As of December 31, 2012, Mr. Rosenblatt had one option to purchase a total of 400,000 shares of our common stock. 25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option vested on December 21, 2011, and the balance vests in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such date. 200,000 of the shares of our common stock subject to this option were vested as of December 31, 2012.

Directors who are also our employees receive no additional compensation for their service as directors. During 2012, Mr. Costolo was an employee. See the section titled “Executive Compensation” for additional information about his compensation. In addition, Mr. Dorsey was our Executive Chairman in January 2012. Mr. Dorsey did not receive in 2012 any additional compensation for his service as Executive Chairman.

Following the completion of this offering, we intend to implement a formal policy pursuant to which our non-employee directors would be eligible to receive equity awards and annual cash retainers as compensation for service on our board of directors and committees of our board of directors.

 

129


Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

The following table provides information regarding the total compensation for services rendered in all capacities that was earned by each individual who served as our principal executive officer at any time in 2012, and our two other most highly compensated executive officers who were serving as executive officers as of December 31, 2012. These individuals were our named executive officers for 2012.

 

Name and

Principal

Position

  Year     Salary
($)
    Bonus
($)
    Stock
Awards
($) (1)
    Option
Awards
($) (1)
    Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($) (2)
    Non-Qualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings ($)
    All Other
Compensation
($)
    Total
($)
 

Richard Costolo

                 

Chief Executive Officer

    2012        200,000 (3)              8,401,957        2,903,783                             11,505,740   

Adam Bain

                 

President of Global Revenue

    2012        200,000               4,705,102        1,613,325        200,000                      6,718,427   

Christopher Fry

                 

Senior Vice President of Engineering

    2012        145,513        100,000        10,094,000                                    10,339,513   

 

(1)  

The amounts reported represent the aggregate grant-date fair value of the stock options and RSUs awarded to the named executive officer in 2012, calculated in accordance with ASC Topic 718. Such grant-date fair value does not take into account any estimated forfeitures related to service-vesting conditions. The assumptions used in calculating the grant-date fair value of the RSUs reported in this column are set forth in the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates—Stock-Based Compensation.”

(2)  

The amounts reported represent the total performance-based commissions earned and payable under our sales commission arrangement established for Mr. Bain.

(3)  

Mr. Costolo’s annual salary was reduced to $14,000, effective August 2013.

Executive Officer Employment Letters

Richard Costolo

We entered into an executive employment letter dated October 1, 2013 with Richard Costolo, our Chief Executive Officer. The letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. The letter supersedes all existing agreements and understandings Mr. Costolo may have concerning his employment relationship with us. The letter also provides that Mr. Costolo’s current annual base salary is $14,000.

Ali Rowghani

We entered into an executive employment letter dated October 1, 2013 with Ali Rowghani, our Chief Operating Officer. The letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. The letter supersedes all existing agreements and understandings Mr. Rowghani may have concerning his employment relationship with us. The letter also provides that Mr. Rowghani’s current annual base salary is $250,000.

Mike Gupta

We entered into an executive employment letter dated October 1, 2013 with Mike Gupta, our Chief Financial Officer. The letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. The letter supersedes all existing agreements and understandings Mr. Gupta may have concerning his employment relationship with us. The letter also provides that Mr. Gupta’s current annual base salary is $250,000.

 

130


Table of Contents

Adam Bain

We entered into an executive employment letter dated October 1, 2013 with Adam Bain, our President of Global Revenue. The letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. The letter supersedes all existing agreements and understandings Mr. Bain may have concerning his employment relationship with us. The letter also provides that Mr. Bain’s current annual base salary is $250,000 and his annual commission opportunity is $250,000 based on achieving target levels of the performance objectives set forth in his commission plan.

Christopher Fry

We entered into an executive employment letter dated October 1, 2013 with Christopher Fry, our Senior Vice President of Engineering. The letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. The letter supersedes all existing agreements and understandings Mr. Fry may have concerning his employment relationship with us. The letter also provides that Mr. Fry’s current annual base salary is $250,000.

Vijaya Gadde

We entered into an executive employment letter dated October 1, 2013 with Vijaya Gadde, our General Counsel and Secretary. The letter has no specific term and provides for at-will employment. The letter supersedes all existing agreements and understandings Ms. Gadde may have concerning her employment relationship with us. The letter also provides that Ms. Gadde’s current annual base salary is $250,000.

Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards

Adam Bain, our President of Global Revenue, was eligible to participate in a sales commission arrangement providing for the opportunity to receive incentive compensation based on the achievement of specified revenue targets throughout the year. For 2012, his target incentive compensation was equal to $200,000. The amounts earned under his incentive compensation opportunity were calculated by multiplying the applicable commission rate by the quarterly revenue actually achieved. The total amount of commissions paid to Mr. Bain under his 2012 sales commission arrangement is set forth under the “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” column of the Summary Compensation Table.

For 2013, Mr. Bain’s target incentive compensation is equal to $250,000. We entered into a commission plan dated January 1, 2013 with Mr. Bain that describes the terms and conditions that apply to his 2013 commission opportunity. Under the commission plan, Mr. Bain is eligible to earn quarterly commissions in 2013 based on achievement against his net revenue quotas. Net revenue is measured based on payments we receive from advertisers for invoiced and served advertisements as described in the plan. Subject to certain exceptions, Mr. Bain must be employed on the date the commissions are paid to receive payment.

Pension Benefits and Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

We do not provide a pension plan for our employees, and none of our named executive officers participated in a nonqualified deferred compensation plan in 2012.

 

131


Table of Contents

Outstanding Equity Awards at 2012 Year-End

The following table sets forth information regarding outstanding stock options and stock awards held by our named executive officers as of December 31, 2012:

 

    Option Awards     Stock Awards (1)  

Name

  Grant Date (2)     Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable
    Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Unexercisable
    Option
Exercise  Price
($) (3)
    Option
Expiration
Date
    Number of
Shares or
Units of Stock
That Have Not
Vested (#)
    Market Value
of Shares or
Units of Stock
That Have Not
Vested ($) (4)
 

Richard Costolo

    9/4/2009 (5)       2,863,494        1,222,572        0.43        9/3/2019                 
    11/23/2010 (6)       2,140,772        1,969,512        1.83        11/22/2020                 
    4/12/2012 (7)              388,440        14.42        4/11/2022                 
    4/12/2012 (8)                                   582,660     

Adam Bain

    9/24/2010 (9)       1,488,631        1,157,825        0.85        9/23/2020                 
    11/23/2010 (6)       208,332        191,668        1.83        11/22/2020                 
    4/12/2012 (10)              217,526        14.42        4/11/2022                 
    4/12/2012 (11)                                   326,290     

Christopher Fry

    5/11/2012 (12)                                   600,000     
    7/19/2012 (13)                                   100,000     

  

 

(1)

As further described in the footnotes below, the shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs will vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The performance condition will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control.

(2)

Each of the outstanding equity awards was granted pursuant to our 2007 Plan.

(3)

This column represents the fair value of a share of our common stock on the date of grant, as determined by our board of directors.

(4)

The market price for our common stock is based upon the assumed initial public offering price of $         per share, which is the midpoint of the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.

(5)

25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option vested on September 1, 2010, and the balance vests in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date. In December 2012, Mr. Costolo transferred all of his rights, title and interest with respect to 273,000 vested shares of our common stock originally subject to this option to his spouse, who subsequently transferred all of her rights, title and interest with respect to such shares to the Lorin Costolo 2012 Gift Trust, for which The Northern Trust Company serves as trustee.

(6)

25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option vested on November 22, 2011, and the balance vests in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(7)

6.25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option will vest on each of July 1, 2014, October 1, 2014, January 1, 2015 and April 1, 2015, and 18.75% of the shares of our common subject to this option vests on each of July 1, 2015, October 1, 2015, January 1, 2016 and April 1, 2016, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(8)

6.25% of the shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs will vest on each of July 1, 2014, October 1, 2014, January 1, 2015 and April 1, 2015, and 18.75% of the shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs vests on each of July 1, 2015, October 1, 2015, January 1, 2016 and April 1, 2016, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(9)

25% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option vested on September 7, 2011, and the balance vests in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(10)

12.5% of the shares of our common stock subject to this option will vest on July 1, 2014, and the balance vests in seven successive equal quarterly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(11)

12.5% of the shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs will vest on July 1, 2014, and the balance vests in seven successive equal quarterly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(12)

The service condition was satisfied as to 25% of the total number of shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs on May 1, 2013. Thereafter, but prior to satisfaction of the performance condition, an additional 1/48th of the total number of shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs vests in monthly installments, subject to continued service through each vesting date. After satisfaction of the performance condition, an additional 3/48th of the total number of shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs will vest in quarterly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

(13)

The service condition was satisfied as to 25% of the total number of shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs on July 1, 2013. Thereafter, but prior to satisfaction of the performance condition, an additional 1/48th of the total number of shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs vests in monthly installments, subject to continued service through each

 

132


Table of Contents
 

such vesting date. After satisfaction of the performance condition, an additional 3/48th of the total number of shares of our common stock underlying the RSUs will vest in quarterly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date.

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control

In August 2013, we adopted a change of control severance policy applicable to our executive officers and certain other key employees that superseded all previous severance and change of control arrangements we had entered into with these eligible employees prior to the policy becoming effective. Under this policy, if any eligible employee is involuntarily terminated for any reason other than cause, death or disability on or within 12 months following a change of control, such employee would be entitled to receive severance benefits as exclusively provided for under this policy. Upon the occurrence of such an event, an eligible employee would be entitled to the following if such employee timely signs and does not revoke a release of claims: (i) a lump sum severance payment equal to 100% of such employee’s annual base salary, (ii) payment for up to 12 months of COBRA premiums to continue health insurance coverage for him and his eligible dependents that were covered under our healthcare plan or, in the event payment for COBRA premiums would violate applicable law, a taxable lump sum payment for an amount equal to the COBRA premiums we would have paid during the equivalent period and (iii) the acceleration of vesting of 50% (100% in the case of our CEO and CFO) of the shares underlying all unvested equity awards held by such employee immediately prior to such termination. In addition, in the event any of the amounts provided for under this policy or otherwise payable to an eligible employee would constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code and could be subject to the related excise tax, the eligible employee would be entitled to receive either full payment of benefits or such lesser amount which would result in no portion of the benefits being subject to the excise tax, whichever results in the greater amount of after-tax benefits to the eligible employee.

Employee Benefit and Stock Plans

2013 Equity Incentive Plan

Our board of directors adopted our 2013 Plan in October 2013 and our stockholders are expected to approve our 2013 Plan prior to the completion of this offering. Our 2013 Plan will be effective on the business day immediately prior to the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Our 2013 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code, to our employees and any parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock, RSUs, stock appreciation rights, performance units and performance shares to our employees, directors and consultants and our parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees and consultants.

Authorized Shares.     A total of 68,300,000 shares of our common stock have been reserved for issuance pursuant to our 2013 Plan. In addition, the shares reserved for issuance under our 2013 Plan also include shares returned to our 2007 Plan as the result of expiration or termination of awards or shares previously issued pursuant to our 2007 Plan that are forfeited or repurchased by us (provided that the maximum number of shares that may be added to our 2013 Plan from our 2007 Plan is 137,000,000 shares). The number of shares available for issuance under our 2013 Plan also includes an annual increase on the first day of each fiscal year beginning on January 1, 2014, equal to the least of:

 

  Ÿ  

60,000,000 shares;

 

  Ÿ  

5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock as of the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year; or

 

133


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

such other amount as our board of directors may determine.

Plan Administration. Our board of directors or one or more committees appointed by our board of directors will administer our 2013 Plan. Our board of directors has delegated concurrent authority to administer our 2013 Plan to our compensation committee. In the case of awards intended to qualify as ‘‘performance-based compensation’’ within the meaning of Section 162(m), the committee will consist of two or more ‘‘outside directors’’ within the meaning of Section 162(m). In addition, if we determine it is desirable to qualify transactions under our 2013 Plan as exempt under Rule 16b-3, such transactions will be structured to satisfy the requirements for exemption under Rule 16b-3. Subject to the provisions of our 2013 Plan, the administrator has the power to administer our 2013 Plan, including but not limited to, the power to interpret the terms of our 2013 Plan and awards granted under it, to create, amend and revoke rules relating to our 2013 Plan, including creating sub-plans, and to determine the terms of the awards, including the exercise price, the number of shares subject to each such award, the exercisability of the awards and the form of consideration, if any, payable upon exercise. The administrator also has the authority to amend existing awards to reduce or increase their exercise prices, to allow participants the opportunity to transfer outstanding awards to a financial institution or other person or entity selected by the administrator and to institute an exchange program by which outstanding awards may be surrendered in exchange for awards of the same type which may have a higher or lower exercise price or different terms, awards of a different type and/or cash.

Stock Options.     Stock options may be granted under our 2013 Plan. The exercise price of options granted under our 2013 Plan must at least be equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. The term of an incentive stock option may not exceed ten years, except that with respect to any participant who owns more than 10% of the voting power of all classes of our outstanding stock, the term must not exceed five years and the exercise price must equal at least 110% of the fair market value on the grant date. For nonstatutory stock options the exercise price must equal at least 100% of the fair market value. The administrator will determine the methods of payment of the exercise price of an option, which may include cash, shares or other property acceptable to the administrator, as well as other types of consideration permitted by applicable law. After the termination of service of an employee, director or consultant, he or she may exercise his or her option for the period of time stated in his or her option agreement. Generally, if termination is due to death or disability, the option will remain exercisable for 12 months. In all other cases, the option generally will remain exercisable for three months following the termination of service. An option may not be exercised later than the expiration of its term. However, if the exercise of an option is prevented by applicable law the exercise period may be extended under certain circumstances. Subject to the provisions of our 2013 Plan, the administrator determines the other terms of options.

Stock Appreciation Rights.     Stock appreciation rights may be granted under our 2013 Plan. Stock appreciation rights allow the recipient to receive the appreciation in the fair market value of our common stock between the exercise date and the date of grant. Stock appreciation rights may not have a term exceeding ten years. After the termination of service of an employee, director or consultant, he or she may exercise his or her stock appreciation right for the period of time stated in his or her stock appreciation rights agreement. However, in no event may a stock appreciation right be exercised later than the expiration of its term. Subject to the provisions of our 2013 Plan, the administrator determines the other terms of stock appreciation rights, including when such rights become exercisable and whether to pay any increased appreciation in cash or with shares of our common stock, or a combination thereof, except that the per share exercise price for the shares to be issued pursuant to the exercise of a stock appreciation right will be no less than 100% of the fair market value per share on the date of grant.

Restricted Stock.     Restricted stock may be granted under our 2013 Plan. Restricted stock awards are grants of shares of our common stock that vest in accordance with terms and conditions established by the administrator. The administrator will determine the number of shares of restricted stock granted to

 

134


Table of Contents

any employee, director or consultant and, subject to the provisions of our 2013 Plan, will determine the terms and conditions of such awards. The administrator may impose whatever conditions to vesting it determines to be appropriate (for example, the administrator may set restrictions based on the achievement of specific performance goals or continued service to us); provided, however, that the administrator, in its sole discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed. Recipients of restricted stock awards generally will have voting and dividend rights with respect to such shares upon grant without regard to vesting, unless the administrator provides otherwise. Shares of restricted stock that do not vest are subject to our right of repurchase or forfeiture.

RSUs.     RSUs may be granted under our 2013 Plan. RSUs are bookkeeping entries representing an amount equal to the fair market value of one share of our common stock. Subject to the provisions of our 2013 Plan, the administrator determines the terms and conditions of RSUs, including the vesting criteria (which may include accomplishing specified performance criteria or continued service to us) and the form and timing of payment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the administrator, in its sole discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed.

Performance Units and Performance Shares.     Performance units and performance shares may be granted under our 2013 Plan. Performance units and performance shares are awards that will result in a payment to a participant only if performance goals established by the administrator are achieved or the awards otherwise vest. The administrator will establish organizational or individual performance goals or other vesting criteria in its discretion, which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number and/or the value of performance units and performance shares to be paid out to participants. After the grant of a performance unit or performance share, the administrator, in its sole discretion, may reduce or waive any performance criteria or other vesting provisions for such performance units or performance shares. Performance units shall have an initial dollar value established by the administrator on or prior to the grant date. Performance shares shall have an initial value equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date. The administrator, in its sole discretion, may pay earned performance units or performance shares in the form of cash, in shares or in some combination thereof.

Outside Directors.     Our 2013 Plan provides that all outside directors will be eligible to receive all types of awards (except for incentive stock options) under our 2013 Plan. In connection with this offering, we intend to implement a formal policy pursuant to which our outside directors will be eligible to receive equity awards under our 2013 Plan. Our 2013 Plan provides that in any given year, an outside director will not receive (i) cash-settled awards having a grant-date fair value greater than $4,000,000, increased to $8,000,000 in connection with his or her initial service; and (ii) stock-settled awards having a grant-date fair value greater than $4,000,000, increased to $8,000,000 in connection with his or her initial service, in each case, as determined under GAAP.

Non-Transferability of Awards.     Unless the administrator provides otherwise, our 2013 Plan generally does not allow for the transfer of awards and only the recipient of an award may exercise an award during his or her lifetime.

Certain Adjustments.     In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, to prevent diminution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits available under our 2013 Plan, the administrator will adjust the number and class of shares that may be delivered under our 2013 Plan and/or the number, class and price of shares covered by each outstanding award, and the numerical share limits set forth in our 2013 Plan. In the event of our proposed liquidation or dissolution, the administrator will notify participants as soon as practicable and all awards will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed transaction.

Merger or Change in Control.     Our 2013 Plan provides that in the event of a merger or change in control, as defined under our 2013 Plan, each outstanding award will be treated as the administrator

 

135


Table of Contents

determines, except that if a successor corporation or its parent or subsidiary does not assume or substitute an equivalent award for any outstanding award, then such award will fully vest, all restrictions on such award will lapse, all performance goals or other vesting criteria applicable to such award will be deemed achieved at 100% of target levels and such award will become fully exercisable, if applicable, for a specified period prior to the transaction. The award will then terminate upon the expiration of the specified period of time. If the service of an outside director is terminated on or following a change in control, other than pursuant to a voluntary resignation, his or her options, RSUs and stock appreciation rights, if any, will vest fully and become immediately exercisable, all restrictions on his or her restricted stock will lapse and all performance goals or other vesting requirements for his or her performance shares and units will be deemed achieved at 100% of target levels, and all other terms and conditions met.

Amendment; Termination.     The administrator has the authority to amend, suspend or terminate our 2013 Plan provided such action does not impair the existing rights of any participant. Our 2013 Plan automatically will terminate in 2023, unless we terminate it sooner.

2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Our board of directors adopted our ESPP in October 2013 and our stockholders are expected to approve our ESPP prior to the completion of this offering. Our ESPP will be effective on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. We believe that allowing our employees to participate in our ESPP provides them with a further incentive towards ensuring our success and accomplishing our corporate goals.

Authorized Shares .    A total of 12,000,000 shares of our common stock are available for sale under our ESPP. The number of shares of our common stock available for sale under our ESPP also includes an annual increase on the first day of each fiscal year beginning on January 1, 2014, equal to the least of:

 

  Ÿ  

11,300,000 shares;

 

  Ÿ  

1% of the outstanding shares of our common stock as of the last day of the immediately preceding fiscal year; or

 

  Ÿ  

such other amount as our board of directors may determine.

Plan Administration .    Our compensation committee will administer our ESPP, and have full but non-exclusive authority to interpret the terms of our ESPP and determine eligibility to participate, subject to the conditions of our ESPP, as described below.

Eligibility .    Generally, all of our employees will be eligible to participate if they are employed by us, or any participating subsidiary, for at least 20 hours per week and more than five months in any calendar year. However, an employee may not be granted rights to purchase shares of our common stock under our ESPP if such employee:

 

  Ÿ  

immediately after the grant would own capital stock possessing 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of our capital stock; or

 

  Ÿ  

hold rights to purchase shares of our common stock under all of our employee stock purchase plans that accrue at a rate that exceeds $25,000 worth of shares of our common stock for each calendar year.

Offering Periods .    Our ESPP includes a component that allows us to make offerings intended to qualify under Section 423 of the Code and a component that allows us to make offerings not intended

 

136


Table of Contents

to qualify under Section 423 of the Code to designated companies, as described in our ESPP. Our ESPP provides for twelve-month offering periods. The offering periods are scheduled to start on the first trading day on or after May 15 and November 15 of each year, except for the first offering period, which will commence on the first trading day on or after completion of this offering and will end on the first trading day on or after November 15, 2014. Each offering period will include purchase periods, which will be the approximately six-month period commencing with one exercise date and ending with the next exercise date.

Contributions .    Our ESPP permits participants to purchase shares of our common stock through payroll deductions of up to 15% of their eligible compensation. A participant may purchase a maximum of 3,000 shares of our common stock during a purchase period. In addition, for any offering that is not intended to qualify under Section 423 of the Code and is made to participants of designated companies within the European Economic Area, we will automatically decrease the number of shares of common stock permitted to be sold to participants in those designated companies and either continue or terminate the offering period to ensure that we have complied with relevant securities laws.

Exercise of Purchase Right .    Amounts deducted and accumulated by the participant are used to purchase shares of our common stock at the end of each six-month purchase period. The purchase price of the shares will be 85% of the lower of the fair market value of our common stock on the first trading day of each offering period or on the exercise date. If the fair market value of our common stock on the exercise date is less than the fair market value on the first trading day of the offering period, participants will be withdrawn from the current offering period following their purchase of shares of our common stock on the purchase date and will be automatically re-enrolled in a new offering period. Participants may end their participation at any time during an offering period and will be paid their accrued contributions that have not yet been used to purchase shares of our common stock. Participation ends automatically upon termination of employment with us.

Non-Transferability .    A participant may not transfer rights granted under our ESPP. If our compensation committee permits the transfer of rights, it may only be done by will, the laws of descent and distribution or as otherwise provided under our ESPP.

Merger or Change in Control .    Our ESPP provides that in the event of a merger or change in control, as defined under our ESPP, a successor corporation may assume or substitute each outstanding purchase right. If the successor corporation refuses to assume or substitute for the outstanding purchase right, the offering period then in progress will be shortened, and a new exercise date will be set. The administrator will notify each participant that the exercise date has been changed and that the participant’s option will be exercised automatically on the new exercise date unless prior to such date the participant has withdrawn from the offering period.

Amendment; Termination .    The administrator has the authority to amend, suspend or terminate our ESPP, except that, subject to certain exceptions described in our ESPP, no such action may adversely affect any outstanding rights to purchase shares of our common stock under our ESPP. Our ESPP automatically will terminate in 2033, unless we terminate it sooner.

2007 Equity Incentive Plan, as Amended

Our board of directors and stockholders adopted our 2007 Plan in May 2007. Our 2007 Plan was most recently amended in August 2013. Our 2007 Plan allows for the grant of incentive stock options to our employees and any of our parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees, and for the grant of nonqualified stock options and restricted stock awards to employees, officers, directors and consultants of ours and our parent and subsidiary corporations.

 

137


Table of Contents

Authorized Shares .    Our 2007 Plan will be terminated in connection with this offering, and accordingly, no shares will be available for issuance under the 2007 Plan following the completion of this offering. Our 2007 Plan will continue to govern outstanding awards granted thereunder. As of September 30, 2013, options to purchase 41,518,768 shares of our common stock remained outstanding under our 2007 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.86 per share and RSUs covering 85,657,603 shares of our common stock remained outstanding under our 2007 Plan at a weighted-average grant-date fair value of approximately $16.89 per share.

Plan Administration .    Our compensation committee currently administers our 2007 Plan. Subject to the provisions of our 2007 Plan, the administrator has the power to interpret and administer our 2007 Plan and any agreement thereunder and to determine the terms of awards (including the recipients), the number of shares subject to each award, the exercise price (if any), the fair market value of a share of our common stock, if such stock is not publicly-traded, listed or admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, nor reported in any newspaper or other source, the vesting schedule applicable to the awards together with any vesting acceleration and the terms of the award agreement for use under our 2007 Plan. The administrator may, at any time, authorize the issuance of new awards in exchange for the surrender and cancellation of any or all outstanding awards with the consent of a participant. The administrator may also buy out an award previously granted for cash, shares or other consideration as the administrator and the participant may agree.

Options .    Stock options may be granted under our 2007 Plan. The exercise price per share of all options must equal at least 85% of the fair market value per share of our common stock on the date of grant, and the exercise price per share of incentive stock options must equal at least 100% of the fair market value per share of our common stock on the date of grant. The term of an incentive stock option may not exceed ten years. An incentive stock option granted to a participant who owns more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of our stock on the date of grant, or any parent or subsidiary corporations, may not have a term in excess of five years and must have an exercise price of at least 110% of the fair market value per share of our common stock on the date of grant. The administrator will determine the methods of payment of the exercise price of an option, which may include cash, shares or certain other property or other consideration acceptable to the administrator. After a participant’s termination of service, the participant generally may exercise his or her options, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for three months after termination. If termination is due to death or disability, the option generally will remain exercisable, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, until the one-year anniversary of such termination. However, in no event may an option be exercised later than the expiration of its term. If termination is for cause, then an option automatically expires upon first notification to the participant of such termination or, if later, such time as the conditions for cause are determined by the administrator to have occurred.

Restricted Stock .    Restricted stock may be granted under our 2007 Plan. Restricted stock awards are grants of shares of our common stock that are subject to various restrictions, including restrictions on transferability and forfeiture provisions. Shares of restricted stock will vest, and the restrictions on such shares will lapse, in accordance with terms and conditions established by the administrator.

RSUs .    RSUs may be granted under our 2007 Plan. RSUs are bookkeeping entries representing an amount equal to the fair market value of one share of our common stock. The administrator determines the terms and conditions of RSUs, including the number of units granted, the vesting criteria (which may include accomplishing specified performance criteria or continued service to us) and the form and timing of payment. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the administrator, in its sole discretion may accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed.

 

138


Table of Contents

Transferability or Assignability of Awards .    Our 2007 Plan generally does not allow for the transfer or assignment of awards, other than by gift to an immediate family member, and only the recipient of an award may exercise such an award during his or her lifetime.

Certain Adjustments .    In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, the exercise prices of and the number of shares subject to outstanding options, and the purchase price of and the numbers of shares subject to outstanding awards will be proportionately adjusted, subject to any required action by our board of directors or stockholders.

Merger or Change in Control .    Our 2007 Plan provides that, in the event of a merger, change in control or other company combination transaction, as defined under our 2007 Plan, each outstanding award may be assumed or substituted for an equivalent award. In the event that awards are not assumed or substituted for, then the vesting of outstanding awards will be accelerated, and options will become exercisable in full prior to such corporate transaction. Options, to the extent they remain unexercised, will then generally terminate immediately prior to the corporate transaction.

Amendment; Termination .    Our board of directors may amend our 2007 Plan at any time, provided that such amendment does not impair the rights under outstanding awards without the participant’s written consent. As noted above, upon completion of this offering, our 2007 Plan will be terminated and no further awards will be granted thereunder. All outstanding awards will continue to be governed by their existing terms.

2011 Acquisition Option Plan

Our board of directors and stockholders adopted our 2011 Acquisition Option Plan, or our 2011 Plan, in May 2011. Our 2011 Plan was adopted for the purpose of granting options to new employees in connection with our acquisition of TweetDeck, Inc. in May 2011.

Authorized Shares .    Our 2011 Plan will be terminated in connection with this offering, and accordingly, no shares will be available for issuance under the 2011 Plan following the completion of this offering. Our 2011 Plan will continue to govern outstanding options granted thereunder. As of September 30, 2013, options to purchase 12,880 shares of our common stock remained outstanding under our 2011 Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $0.44 per share.

Plan Administration .    Our compensation committee currently administers our 2011 Plan. Subject to the provisions of our 2011 Plan, the administrator has the power and discretion to take any action it deems necessary or advisable for administration of our 2011 Plan. The administrator may modify, extend or renew outstanding options and authorize the grant of new options in substitution, provided that any action may not, without the written consent of a participant, impair any of such participant’s rights under any option previously granted. The administrator may reduce the exercise price of outstanding options without the consent of the participant by providing written notice. The administrator may also, with the consent of the participant, issue new options in exchange for the surrender and cancellation of any or all outstanding options. The administrator also may buy out an option previously granted for cash, shares or other consideration as the administrator and the participant may agree.

Options .    Only nonqualified stock options may be granted under our 2011 Plan. The exercise price per share of all options under our 2011 Plan is established by the administrator at the time of grant. The administrator determines the methods of payment of the exercise price of an option, which may include cash, shares or certain other property or other consideration acceptable to the administrator. After a participant’s termination of service, the participant generally may exercise his or her options, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for three months after termination. If termination is due to death or disability, the option generally will remain exercisable, to the extent

 

139


Table of Contents

vested as of such date of termination, until the one-year anniversary of such termination. However, in no event may an option be exercised later than the expiration of its term. If termination is for cause, then an option automatically expires upon the participant’s termination date (or, if later, such time as the conditions for cause are determined by the administrator to have occurred).

Transferability or Assignability of Options .    Our 2011 Plan generally does not allow for the transfer or assignment of awards, other than by gift to an immediate family member, and only the recipient of an award may exercise such an award during his or her lifetime.

Certain Adjustments .    In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, the exercise prices of and the number of shares subject to outstanding options will be proportionately adjusted, subject to any required action by our board of directors or stockholders.

Merger or Change in Control .    In the event of a merger, change in control or other company combination transaction, as defined under our 2011 Plan, each outstanding option may be assumed or substituted for an equivalent award. In the event that options are not assumed or substituted for, then the vesting of outstanding options will be accelerated, and options will become exercisable in full prior to such corporate transaction. Options, to the extent they remain unexercised, will then generally terminate immediately prior to the corporate transaction.

Amendment; Termination .    Our board of directors may amend our 2011 Plan at any time, provided that such amendment does not impair the rights under outstanding options without the participant’s written consent. As noted above, upon completion of this offering, our 2011 Plan will be terminated and no further options will be granted thereunder. All outstanding options will continue to be governed by their existing terms.

Bluefin Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan

In connection with our acquisition of Bluefin Labs, Inc. in February 2013, we assumed options granted under the Bluefin Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan, or the Bluefin Plan, held by Bluefin employees who continued employment with us or one of our subsidiaries after the closing, and converted them into options to purchase shares of our common stock. The Bluefin Plan was terminated on the closing of the acquisition, but the Bluefin Plan will continue to govern the terms of options we assumed in the acquisition. As of September 30, 2013, options to purchase 493,370 shares of our common stock remained outstanding under the Bluefin Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $2.22 per share.

Our compensation committee currently administers the Bluefin Plan. The administrator determines the methods of payment of the exercise price of an option, which may include cash or cash equivalents or other consideration acceptable to the administrator in its discretion. After a participant’s termination of service, the participant may generally exercise his or her options, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for three months after termination. If termination is due to disability, the option will generally remain exercisable, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for at least six months. If termination is due to death, the option generally will remain exercisable, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for at least 12 months. However, in no event may an option be exercised later than the expiration of its term. Options generally may be transferrable only by a beneficiary designation, a will or the laws of descent and distribution. However, the stock option agreement may allow for transfer of nonstatutory stock options by gift to a family member or gift to an inter vivos or testamentary trust in which the participant’s immediate family has a beneficial interest, subject to the conditions specified in the Bluefin Plan. Incentive stock options may be exercised during the participant’s lifetime only by the participant or the participant’s guardian.

In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, the exercise prices of and the number of shares subject to outstanding options under the Bluefin Plan will be appropriately adjusted. In the event

 

140


Table of Contents

of a merger or consolidation, each option will be subject to the agreement of merger or consolidation, which will provide for one or more of the following: the continuation, assumption or substitution of awards, full acceleration of options followed by the cancellation of such options and/or the settlement of the full value of outstanding options in cash or cash equivalents followed by the cancellation of outstanding options subject to certain conditions.

Crashlytics, Inc. 2011 Stock Plan

In connection with our acquisition of Crashlytics, Inc. in January 2013, we assumed options granted under the Crashlytics, Inc. 2011 Stock Plan, or the Crashlytics Plan, held by Crashlytics employees who continued employment with us or one of our subsidiaries after the closing, and converted them into options to purchase shares of our common stock. The Crashlytics Plan was terminated on the closing of the acquisition, but the Crashlytics Plan will continue to govern the terms of options we assumed in the acquisition. As of September 30, 2013, options to purchase 325,630 shares of our common stock remained outstanding under the Crashlytics Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $0.54 per share.

Our compensation committee currently administers the Crashlytics Plan. The administrator determines the methods of payment of the exercise price of an option, which may include cash or cash equivalents or other consideration acceptable to the administrator in its discretion. After a participant’s termination of service, the participant generally may exercise his or her options, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for three months after termination. If termination is due to disability, the option generally will remain exercisable, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for at least six months. If termination is due to death, the option generally will remain exercisable, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for at least 12 months. However, in no event may an option be exercised later than the expiration of its term. Options generally may be transferrable only by a beneficiary designation, a will or the laws of descent and distribution. However, the stock option agreement may allow for transfer of nonstatutory stock options by gift to a family member or gift to an inter vivos or testamentary trust in which the participant’s immediate family has a beneficial interest, subject to the conditions specified in the Crashlytics Plan. Incentive stock options may be exercised during the participant’s lifetime only by the participant or the participant’s guardian.

In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, the exercise prices of and the number of shares subject to outstanding options under the Crashlytics Plan will be appropriately adjusted. In the event of a merger or consolidation, or in the event of a sale of all or substantially all of our stock or assets, all options will be treated in the manner described in the definitive transaction agreement (or, if none exists, by the determination by our board of directors), which will provide for one or more of the following: the continuation, assumption or substitution of awards, cancellation of the options with or without consideration (provided that if options are cancelled without any consideration, requisite notice must be provided), suspension of the right to exercise the option during a limited period of time and/or termination of any right to early exercise.

Mixer Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan

In connection with our acquisition of Mixer Labs, Inc. in December 2009, we assumed options issued under the Mixer Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan, or the Mixer Labs Plan, held by Mixer Labs employees who continued employment with us after the closing, and converted them into options to purchase shares of our common stock. The Mixer Labs Plan was terminated on the closing of the acquisition, but the Mixer Labs Plan will continue to govern the terms of options we assumed in the acquisition. As of September 30, 2013, options to purchase 103,176 shares of our common stock remained outstanding under the Mixer Labs Plan at a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $0.11 per share.

 

141


Table of Contents

Our compensation committee currently administers the Mixer Labs Plan. The administrator determines the methods of payment of the exercise price of an option, which may include cash or cash equivalents or other consideration acceptable to the administrator in its discretion. After a participant’s termination of service, the participant may generally exercise his or her options, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for three months after termination. If termination is due to disability or death, the option generally will remain exercisable, to the extent vested as of such date of termination, for six months. If termination is due to cause, the option will terminate on termination. In no event may an option be exercised later than the expiration of its term. Options generally may not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred or disposed of in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent or distribution.

In the event of certain changes in our capitalization, the exercise prices of and the number of shares subject to outstanding options under the Mixer Labs Plan will be appropriately adjusted. The Mixer Labs Plan provides that, in the event of a corporate transaction, all options may be assumed or substituted for an equivalent option or right or terminated in exchange for a payment of cash, securities and/or or property equal to the fair market value of the stock that is vested and exercisable reduced by the exercise price payable in connection with the option. In the event options are not assumed, substituted or exchanged, options will terminate upon the consummation of the corporate transaction.

Executive Incentive Compensation Plan

Our Executive Incentive Compensation Plan, or our Incentive Compensation Plan, was adopted by our compensation committee in August 2013. Our Incentive Compensation Plan allows our compensation committee to provide cash incentive awards to employees selected by our compensation committee, including our named executive officers, based upon performance goals established by our compensation committee.

Under our Incentive Compensation Plan, our compensation committee determines the performance goals applicable to any award, which goals may include, without limitation, the attainment of research and development milestones, sales bookings, business divestitures and acquisitions, cash flow, cash position, operating results and operating metrics, product defect measures, product release timelines, productivity, return on assets, return on capital, return on equity, return on investment, return on sales, sales results, sales growth, stock price, time to market, total stockholder return, working capital and individual objectives such as peer reviews or other subjective or objective criteria. The performance goals may differ from participant to participant and from award to award.

Our compensation committee currently administers our Incentive Compensation Plan. The administrator of our Incentive Compensation Plan may, in its sole discretion and at any time, increase, reduce or eliminate a participant’s actual award, and/or increase, reduce or eliminate the amount allocated to the bonus pool for a particular performance period. The actual award may be below, at or above a participant’s target award, in the discretion of the administrator. The administrator may determine the amount of any reduction on the basis of such factors as it deems relevant, and it is not required to establish any allocation or weighting with respect to the factors it considers.

Actual awards are paid in cash only after they are earned, which usually requires continued employment through the last day of the performance period and the date the actual award is paid. Payment of awards occurs as soon as administratively practicable after they are earned, but no later than the dates set forth in our Incentive Compensation Plan.

Our board of directors and our compensation committee have the authority to amend, alter, suspend or terminate our Incentive Compensation Plan, provided such action does not impair the existing rights of any participant with respect to any earned awards.

 

142


Table of Contents

401(k) Plan

We maintain a tax-qualified retirement plan, or the 401(k) plan, that provides eligible employees with an opportunity to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis. Eligible employees are able to participate in the 401(k) plan as of the first day of the month following the date they meet the 401(k) plan’s eligibility requirements, and participants are able to defer up to 100% of their eligible compensation subject to applicable annual Code limits. All participants’ interests in their deferrals are 100% vested when contributed. The 401(k) plan permits us to make matching contributions and profit sharing contributions to eligible participants, although we have not made any such contributions to date.

 

143


Table of Contents

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

In addition to the compensation arrangements, including employment, termination of employment and change in control arrangements, discussed in the sections titled “Management” and “Executive Compensation” and the registration rights described in the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights,” the following is a description of each transaction since January 1, 2010 and each currently proposed transaction in which:

 

  Ÿ  

we have been or are to be a participant;

 

  Ÿ  

the amount involved exceeded or exceeds $120,000; and

 

  Ÿ  

any of our directors, executive officers or holders of more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock, or any immediate family member of, or person sharing the household with, any of these individuals or entities, had or will have a direct or indirect material interest.

Equity Financings

Series F Convertible Preferred Stock Financing

From December 2010 through January 2011, we sold an aggregate of 26,197,896 shares of our Series F convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of approximately $7.63 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $199,999,978. The following table summarizes purchases of our Series F convertible preferred stock by holders of more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock:

 

Stockholder

  

Shares of

Series F
Convertible
Preferred Stock

    

Total Purchase
Price

 

Entities affiliated with Spark Capital (1)

     1,964,842       $ 14,999,997   

Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. (2)

     1,192,544         9,104,119   

 

(1)

Affiliates of Spark Capital holding our securities whose shares are aggregated for purposes of reporting share ownership information are Spark Capital II, L.P. and Spark Capital Founders’ Fund II, LLC.

(2)  

Peter Fenton, a member of our board of directors, is a General Partner of Benchmark Capital.

Series G Convertible Preferred Stock Financing

During July 2011, we sold an aggregate of 10,097,159 shares of our Series G-1 convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of approximately $16.09 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $162,499,987. The following table summarizes purchases of our Series G-1 convertible preferred stock by holders of more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock:

 

Stockholder

  

Shares of
Series G-1
Convertible
Preferred Stock

    

Total Purchase
Price

 

Entity affiliated with J.P. Morgan (1)

     8,233,068       $ 132,499,988   

Entity affiliated with Rizvi Traverse (2)

     1,864,091         29,999,999   

 

(1)  

Shares purchased by RTLC II, LLC. Affiliates of J.P. Morgan holding our securities whose shares are aggregated for purposes of reporting share ownership information are Institutional Associates Fund, LLC and RTLC II, LLC.

(2)  

Shares purchased by Compliance Matter Services, LLC. Affiliates of Rizvi Traverse holding our securities whose shares are aggregated for purposes of reporting share ownership information are Compliance Matter Services, LLC, Institutional Associates Fund, LLC, Institutional Associates Fund II, LLC, RT EA, LLC, RT Kendall, LLC, RT Kingdom, LLC, RT Morningside, LLC, RT Morningside II, LLC, RT Spartan III, LLC, RT Treetops, LLC, RT-FF SM, LLC and RT-FF SM II, LLC.

 

144


Table of Contents

During July 2011, we sold an aggregate of 14,757,386 shares of our Series G-2 convertible preferred stock at a purchase price of $16.09 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $237,499,978. The following table summarizes purchases of our Series G-2 convertible preferred stock by holders of more than 5% of our outstanding capital stock:

 

Stockholder

   Shares of
Series G-2
Convertible
Preferred Stock
     Total Purchase
Price
 

Entities affiliated with DST Global (1)

     12,427,273       $ 199,999,991   

 

(1)  

Affiliates of DST Global holding our securities whose shares are aggregated for purposes of reporting share ownership information are DST Global II, L.P., DST Investments 3 Limited and DST Investments IV, L.P.

2011 Third-Party Tender Offer

In July 2011, we entered into a letter agreement, which was amended in August 2011, with certain holders of our capital stock, including entities affiliated with DST Global, J.P. Morgan and Rizvi Traverse, pursuant to which we agreed to waive certain transfer restrictions in connection with, and assist in the administration of, a tender offer that such holders proposed to commence. In August 2011, these holders commenced a tender offer to purchase shares of our capital stock from certain of our securityholders. Messrs. Costolo, Dorsey and Rowghani, each of whom is one of our directors or executive officers, sold shares of our capital stock in the tender offer. An aggregate of 22,634,944 shares of our capital stock were tendered pursuant to the tender offer at a price of approximately $15.93 per share after taking into account a transaction fee.

2013 Third-Party Tender Offer

In January 2013, we entered into a letter agreement with certain holders of our capital stock pursuant to which we agreed to waive certain transfer restrictions in connection with, and assist in the administration of, a tender offer that such holders proposed to commence. In January 2013, these holders commenced a tender offer to purchase shares of our capital stock from certain of our securityholders. Mr. Bain, one of our executive officers, sold shares of our capital stock in the tender offer. An aggregate of 3,508,336 shares of our capital stock were tendered pursuant to the tender offer at a price of $17.00 per share.

Investors’ Rights Agreement

We are party to an investors’ rights agreement which provides, among other things, that certain holders of our capital stock have the right to demand that we file a registration statement or request that their shares of our capital stock be covered by a registration statement that we are otherwise filing. See the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights” for additional information regarding these registration rights.

Right of First Refusal

Pursuant to our current bylaws, certain of our equity compensation plans and certain agreements with our stockholders, including a right of first refusal and co-sale agreement, we or our assignees have a right to purchase shares of our capital stock which stockholders propose to sell to other parties. This right will terminate upon the completion of this offering. Since January 1, 2010, we have waived or assigned our right of first refusal in connection with the sale of certain shares of our capital stock, resulting in the purchase of such shares by certain holders of more than 5% of our capital stock in a series of transactions. See the section titled “Principal Stockholders” for additional information regarding beneficial ownership of our capital stock.

 

145


Table of Contents

Voting Agreement

We are party to a voting agreement under which certain holders of our capital stock, including entities with which certain of our directors are affiliated, have agreed to vote their shares of our capital stock on certain matters, including with respect to the election of directors. Upon the completion of this offering, the voting agreement will terminate and none of our stockholders will have any special rights regarding the election or designation of members of our board of directors.

Holder Voting Agreements

We are party to voting agreements under which certain holders of our capital stock, including entities affiliated with DST Global, J.P. Morgan and Rizvi Traverse, have agreed to vote their shares of our capital stock as directed by, and have granted an irrevocable proxy to, an officer appointed for the purpose of acting as a proxyholder by our board of directors at such officer’s discretion on matters to be voted upon by stockholders, subject to certain limited exceptions. In October 2013, we terminated voting agreements with entities affiliated with J.P. Morgan and Rizvi Traverse. The voting agreement with DST Global will terminate upon the completion of this offering.

We are party to a voting agreement under which an entity affiliated with J.P. Morgan and Rizvi Traverse agreed to vote 13,722,222 shares of our capital stock owned by it as directed by, and has granted an irrevocable proxy to, Obvious, LLC, an entity controlled by Mr. Williams, who is one of our directors, on certain matters to be voted upon by stockholders. This voting agreement will terminate upon the completion of this offering.

We are party to a voting agreement under which a holder of our capital stock agreed to vote 277,778 shares of our capital stock owned by it as directed by, and has granted an irrevocable proxy to, Obvious, LLC, an entity controlled by Mr. Williams, who is one of our directors, on certain matters to be voted upon by stockholders. This voting agreement will terminate upon the completion of this offering.

We are party to a voting agreement under which an entity affiliated with J.P. Morgan and Rizvi Traverse agreed to vote 10,782,076 shares of our capital stock owned by it as directed by, and has granted an irrevocable proxy to, entities affiliated with Spark Capital on certain matters to be voted upon by stockholders. This voting agreement will terminate upon the completion of this offering.

We are party to a voting agreement under which an entity affiliated with J.P. Morgan and Rizvi Traverse agreed to vote 9,638,320 shares of our capital stock owned by it as directed by, and has granted an irrevocable proxy to, entities affiliated with Union Square Ventures on certain matters to be voted upon by stockholders. This voting agreement will terminate upon the completion of this offering.

Transactions with West Studios, LLC

Jack Dorsey, one of our directors, has a direct ownership interest in West Studios, LLC. In 2011 and 2012, we incurred $0.3 million and $1.9 million, respectively, of expense for marketing and communication services rendered to us by West Studios, LLC. No expense was incurred in relation to this arrangement in the nine months ended September 30, 2013. There was no outstanding payable balance to West Studios, LLC as of September 30, 2013.

Other Transactions

We have granted stock options and RSUs to our executive officers and certain of our directors. See the sections titled “Executive Compensation—Outstanding Equity Awards at 2012 Year-End” and “Management—Non-Employee Director Compensation” for a description of these stock options and RSUs.

 

146


Table of Contents

We have entered into change in control agreements with certain of our executive officers pursuant to our change in control severance policy that, among other things, provides for certain severance and change in control benefits. See the section titled “Executive Compensation—Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control” for additional information regarding this policy.

Other than as described above under this section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions,” since January 1, 2010, we have not entered into any transactions, nor are there any currently proposed transactions, between us and a related party where the amount involved exceeds, or would exceed, $120,000, and in which any related person had or will have a direct or indirect material interest. We believe the terms of the transactions described above were comparable to terms we could have obtained in arm’s-length dealings with unrelated third parties.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

We expect to adopt an amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and which will contain provisions that limit the liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for the following:

 

  Ÿ  

any breach of their duty of loyalty to our company or our stockholders;

 

  Ÿ  

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

  Ÿ  

unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or

 

  Ÿ  

any transaction from which they derived an improper personal benefit.

Any amendment to, or repeal of, these provisions will not eliminate or reduce the effect of these provisions in respect of any act, omission or claim that occurred or arose prior to that amendment or repeal. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to provide for further limitations on the personal liability of directors of corporations, then the personal liability of our directors will be further limited to the greatest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law.

In addition, we expect to adopt amended and restated bylaws, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and which will provide that we will indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any person who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was one of our directors or officers or is or was serving at our request as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. Our amended and restated bylaws are expected to provide that we may indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law any person who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was one of our employees or agents or is or was serving at our request as an employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. Our amended and restated bylaws will also provide that we must advance expenses incurred by or on behalf of a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, subject to limited exceptions.

Further, we have entered into or will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the Delaware General Corporation Law. These indemnification agreements require us, among other things, to indemnify our directors and executive officers against liabilities that may arise

 

147


Table of Contents

by reason of their status or service. These indemnification agreements also require us to advance all expenses incurred by the directors and executive officers in investigating or defending any such action, suit or proceeding. We believe that these agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions that are expected to be included in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and in indemnification agreements that we have entered into or will enter into with our directors and executive officers may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and executive officers for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and executive officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and executive officers as required by these indemnification provisions. At present, we are not aware of any pending litigation or proceeding involving any person who is or was one of our directors, officers, employees or other agents or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, for which indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

We have obtained insurance policies under which, subject to the limitations of the policies, coverage is provided to our directors and executive officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of fiduciary duty or other wrongful acts as a director or executive officer, including claims relating to public securities matters, and to us with respect to payments that may be made by us to these directors and executive officers pursuant to our indemnification obligations or otherwise as a matter of law.

Certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their employers, be insured and/or indemnified against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as members of our board of directors.

The underwriting agreement will provide for indemnification by the underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act or otherwise.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling our company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

Policies and Procedures for Related Party Transactions

Following the completion of this offering, our audit committee will have the primary responsibility for reviewing and approving or disapproving “related party transactions,” which are transactions between us and related persons in which the aggregate amount involved exceeds or may be expected to exceed $120,000 and in which a related person has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. Upon the completion of this offering, our policy regarding transactions between us and related persons will provide that a related person is defined as a director, executive officer, nominee for director or greater than 5% beneficial owner of our common stock, in each case since the beginning of the most recently completed year, and any of their immediate family members. Our audit committee charter that will be in effect upon the completion of this offering will provide that our audit committee shall review and approve or disapprove any related party transactions.

 

148


Table of Contents

PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS

The following table sets forth certain information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our capital stock as of September 30, 2013, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock offered by us in this offering assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us, for:

 

  Ÿ  

each of our named executive officers;

 

  Ÿ  

each of our directors;

 

  Ÿ  

all of our current directors and executive officers as a group; and

 

  Ÿ  

each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of the outstanding shares of our common stock.

We have determined beneficial ownership in accordance with the rules of the SEC, and thus it represents sole or shared voting or investment power with respect to our securities. Unless otherwise indicated below, to our knowledge, the persons and entities named in the table have sole voting and sole investment power with respect to all shares that they beneficially owned, subject to community property laws where applicable. The information does not necessarily indicate beneficial ownership for any other purpose, including for purposes of Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Securities Act.

We have based our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership prior to this offering on 474,696,816 shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, which includes 333,099,000 shares of our common stock resulting from the automatic conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock into our common stock immediately prior to the completion of this offering, as if this conversion had occurred as of September 30, 2013. We have based our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership after this offering on              shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after the completion of this offering, assuming that the underwriters will not exercise their option to purchase up to an additional             shares of our common stock from us in full. We have deemed shares of our common stock subject to stock options that are currently exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013 or issuable pursuant to RSUs which are subject to vesting conditions expected to occur within 60 days of September 30, 2013 to be outstanding and to be beneficially owned by the person holding the stock option or RSU for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of that person. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

 

149


Table of Contents

Unless otherwise indicated, the address of each beneficial owner listed in the table below is c/o Twitter, Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, California 94103.

 

     Number of Shares
Beneficially

Owned (1)
     Percentage of Shares Beneficially Owned

Name of Beneficial Owner

      Before the Offering     After the Offering

Named Executive Officers and Directors:

       

Richard Costolo (2)

     7,675,239         1.6  

Adam Bain (3)

     1,785,818         *     

Christopher Fry (4)

                 

Jack Dorsey (5)

     23,453,017         4.9  

Peter Chernin (6)

                 

Peter Currie (7)

     300,000         *     

Peter Fenton (8)

     31,568,740         6.7  

David Rosenblatt (9)

     291,666         *     

Evan Williams (10)

     56,909,847         12.0  

All executive officers and directors as a group (12 persons) (11)

     124,529,741         25.5  

5% Stockholders:

       

Entities affiliated with Rizvi Traverse (12)

     85,171,093         17.9  

Entities affiliated with J.P. Morgan (13)

     48,849,820         10.3  

Entities affiliated with Spark Capital (14)

     32,414,224         6.8  

Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. (15)

     31,567,052         6.6  

Entities affiliated with Union Square Ventures (16)

     27,838,992         5.9  

Entities affiliated with DST Global (17)

     23,744,745         5.0  

 

* Represents beneficial ownership of less than one percent (1%) of the outstanding shares of our common stock.
(1)  

There are currently no RSUs which will become vested within 60 days of September 30, 2013 that are beneficially owned by the individuals and entities listed in the table above.

(2)  

Consists of (i) 566,920 shares held of record by the Richard Costolo 2001 Living Trust dated February 8, 2001, for which Mr. Costolo serves as trustee, and the Lorin Costolo 2001 Living Trust dated February 8, 2001, for which Mr. Costolo’s spouse serves as trustee, (ii) 6,835,319 shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options held by Mr. Costolo which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013 and (iii) 273,000 shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options held by the Lorin Costolo 2012 Gift Trust, for which The Northern Trust Company serves as trustee, which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013. Mr. Costolo also holds RSUs, none of which will become vested within 60 days of September 30, 2013.

(3)  

Consists solely of shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013. Mr. Bain also holds RSUs, none of which will become vested within 60 days of September 30, 2013.

(4)  

Mr. Fry holds RSUs, none of which will become vested within 60 days of September 30, 2013.

(5)  

Consists of (i) 19,848,942 shares held of record by the Jack Dorsey Revocable Trust dated December 8, 2010, for which Mr. Dorsey serves as trustee, (ii) 2,354,076 shares held of record by the Jack Dorsey 2010 Annuity Trust, for which Mr. Dorsey serves as trustee, and (iii) 1,249,999 shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013. Mr. Dorsey has granted Mr. Williams a proxy to vote the shares held by him or his transferees as described in footnote 10 below. This voting proxy will terminate upon the completion of this offering.

(6)  

The Chernin Group, LLC, for which Mr. Chernin serves as founder and chairman, holds RSUs, none of which will become vested within 60 days of September 30, 2013.

(7)  

Consists solely of shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013.

(8)  

Consists of (i) the shares listed in footnote 15 below which are held of record by Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. and (ii) 1,688 shares held of record by the Fenton Family Trust, for which Mr. Fenton and his spouse serve as trustees. Mr. Fenton is a managing member of Benchmark Capital Management Co. VI, L.L.C., the general partner of Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. and, therefore, may be deemed to hold voting and dispositive power over the shares held by Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P.

(9)  

Consists solely of shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013.

 

150


Table of Contents
(10)  

Consists of (i) 3,193,373 shares held of record by Mr. Williams, (ii) 617,229 shares held of record by the Williams 2010 Qualified Annuity Trust 1, for which Mr. Williams’ spouse serves as trustee, (iii) 617,229 shares held of record by the Williams 2010 Qualified Annuity Trust 2, for which Mr. Williams serves as trustee, (iv) 308,582 shares held of record by the Williams 2010 Qualified Annuity Trust 3, for which Mr. Williams’ spouse serves as trustee, (v) 308,582 shares held of record by the Williams 2010 Qualified Annuity Trust 4, for which Mr. Williams’ spouse serves as trustee, (vi) 7,024,657 shares held of record by the Williams 2010 Qualified Annuity Trust 5, for which Mr. Williams’ spouse serves as trustee, (vii) 564,058 shares held of record by the Green Monster Trust dated November 7, 2012, for which the Goldman Sachs Trust Company serves as trustee, (viii) 9,143 shares held of record by Mr. Williams’ spouse and (ix) 44,266,994 shares held of record by Obvious, LLC, for which Mr. Williams serves as the sole member. Mr. Williams and Mr. Dorsey are parties to a voting agreement that will terminate in connection with this offering. Under this agreement, Mr. Dorsey granted Mr. Williams a proxy to vote the shares held by him or his transferees. In addition, Obvious, LLC is a party to certain voting agreements that will terminate upon the completion of this offering. The table above does not reflect shares subject to the voting agreements that will terminate upon the completion of this offering as being beneficially owned by Mr. Williams. For more information about these voting agreements, see the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Holder Voting Agreements.”

(11)  

Consists of (i) 111,512,589 shares held of record by our current directors and executive officers and (ii) 13,017,152 shares issuable pursuant to outstanding stock options which are exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2013. Our current directors and executive officers also hold RSUs, none of which will become vested within 60 days of September 30, 2013. We are party to certain voting agreements that will terminate upon the completion of this offering. The table above does not reflect shares subject to the voting agreements that will terminate upon the completion of this offering as being beneficially owned by any of our directors or executive officers. For more information about these voting agreements, see the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Holder Voting Agreements.”

(12)  

Consists of (i) 32,165,227 shares held by Institutional Associates Fund, LLC, (ii) 20,047,516 shares held by RT Kingdom, LLC, (iii) 17,283,700 shares held by RT Spartan III, LLC, (iv) 7,704,685 shares held by Compliance Matter Services, LLC, (v) 2,981,151 shares held by Institutional Associates Fund II, LLC, (vi) 1,471,200 shares held by RT Morningside, LLC, (vii) 1,056,557 shares held by RT Treetops, LLC, (viii) 1,000,000 shares held by RT EA, LLC, (ix) 634,296 shares held by RT Kendall, LLC, (x) 300,000 shares held by RT Morningside II, LLC, (xi) 294,118 shares held by RT-FF SM II, LLC and (xii) 232,643 shares held by RT-FF SM, LLC (collectively, the Rizvi Traverse Entities). The manager of Institutional Associates Fund, LLC is IAF Manager, LLC. The manager of RT Kingdom, LLC is RTLC Management IV, LLC. The manager of RT Spartan III, LLC is RTLC Management VI, LLC. The manager of RT Treetops, LLC is RTLC Management V, LLC. The manager of each of RT EA, LLC and RT Morningside II, LLC is RTLC Management III, LLC. The manager of each of Compliance Matter Services, LLC, Institutional Associates Fund II, LLC, RT Morningside, LLC, RT Kendall, LLC, RT-FF SM II, LLC, RT-FF SM, LLC and RTLC Management III, LLC is RTLC Management, LLC. The sole member of each of IAF Manager, LLC, RTLC Management IV, LLC, RTLC Management V, LLC and RTLC Management VI, LLC is RTLC Management, LLC. Suhail Rizvi and John Giampetroni are the managers of RTLC Management, LLC and hold voting and dispositive power over the shares held by the Rizvi Traverse Entities. Entities affiliated with J.P. Morgan also share dispositive power over the shares held of record by Institutional Associates Fund, LLC. The address for these entities is 260 East Brown Street, Suite 380, Birmingham, Michigan 48009.

(13)

Consists of (i) 32,165,227 shares held of record by Institutional Associates Fund, LLC and (ii) 16,684,593 shares held of record by RTLC II, LLC. J.P. Morgan Digital Growth Fund, L.P. and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. share dispositive power over the shares held by Institutional Associates Fund, LLC and share voting and dispositive power over the shares held by RTLC II, LLC. J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. is the investment advisor to J.P. Morgan Digital Growth Fund, L.P. Entities affiliated with Rizvi Traverse also hold voting and dispositive power over the shares held of record by Institutional Associates Fund, LLC. The address for J.P. Morgan Digital Growth Fund, L.P. and J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. is 270 Park Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

(14)  

Consists of (i) 32,203,483 shares held of record by Spark Capital II, L.P. and (ii) 210,741 shares held of record by Spark Capital Founders’ Fund II, L.P. Spark Management Partners II, LLC is the general partner of each of Spark Capital II, L.P. and Spark Capital Founders’ Fund II, L.P. (collectively, the Spark Capital Entities). Paul Conway, Bijan Sabet, Santo Politi, Alex Finkelstein, Moshe Koyfman and Todd Dagres are the managing members of Spark Management Partners II, LLC and hold voting and dispositive power over the shares held by the Spark Capital Entities. The address for these entities is 137 Newbury Street, 8th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. The Spark Capital Entities are parties to a voting agreement that will terminate upon the completion of this offering. The table above does not reflect shares subject to the voting agreement that will terminate upon the completion of this offing as being beneficially owned by Spark Capital. For more information about the voting agreement, see the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Holder Voting Agreements.”

(15)  

Consists of 31,567,052 shares held directly by Benchmark Capital Partners VI, L.P. (“BCP VI”) for itself and as nominee for Benchmark Founders’ Fund VI, L.P. (“BFF VI”), Benchmark Founders’ Fund VI-B, L.P. (“BFF VI-B”) and related individuals. Benchmark Capital Management Co. VI, L.L.C. (“BCMC VI”) is the general partner of each of BCP VI, BFF VI and BFF VI-B. Mr. Fenton, Alexandre Balkanski, Matthew R, Cohler, Bruce W. Dunlevie, J. William Gurley, Kevin R. Harvey, Robert C. Kagle, Steven M. Spurlock and Mitchell H. Lasky are the managing members of BCMC VI and share voting and dispositive power over the shares held by BCP VI. The address for these entities is 2480 Sand Hill Road, Suite 200, Menlo Park, California 94025.

 

151


Table of Contents
(16)  

Consists of (i) 27,295,263 shares held by Union Square Ventures 2004, L.P. and (ii) 543,729 shares held by Union Square Principals 2004, L.L.C. Union Square GP 2004, L.L.C. is the general partner of each of Union Square Ventures 2004, L.P. and Union Square Principals 2004, L.L.C. (collectively, the Union Square Ventures Entities). Brad Burnham and Fred Wilson are the managing members of Union Square GP 2004, L.L.C. and share voting and dispositive power over the shares held by the Union Square Ventures Entities. As a result of their positions at Union Square GP 2004, L.L.C., Albert Wenger and John Buttrick may also share voting and dispositive power over the shares held by the Union Square Ventures Entities. The address for these entities is 915 Broadway, 19th Floor, New York, New York 10010. The Union Square Ventures Entities are parties to a voting agreement that will terminate upon the completion of this offering. The table above does not reflect shares subject to the voting agreement that will terminate upon the completion of this offing as being beneficially owned by Union Square Ventures. For more information about the voting agreement, see the section titled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Holder Voting Agreements.”

(17)  

Consists of (i) 11,041,306 shares held of record by DST Investments 3 Limited, (ii) 9,960,922 shares held of record by DST Global II, L.P. and (iii) 2,742,517 shares held of record by DST Investments IV, L.P. (collectively, the DST Entities). Yuri Milner holds ultimate voting and investment power over the shares held by the DST Entities. The address for these entities is c/o Tulloch & Co., 4 Hill Street, London W1J 5NE, United Kingdom.

 

152


Table of Contents

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

General

The following description summarizes certain important terms of our capital stock, as they are expected to be in effect immediately prior to the completion of this offering. We expect to adopt an amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws that will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and this description summarizes the provisions that are expected to be included in such documents. Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For a complete description of the matters set forth in this “Description of Capital Stock,” you should refer to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and amended and restated investors’ rights agreement, which are included as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and to the applicable provisions of Delaware law. Immediately following the completion of this offering, our authorized capital stock will consist of 5,200,000,000 shares of capital stock, $0.000005 par value per share, of which:

 

  Ÿ  

5,000,000,000 shares are designated as common stock; and

 

  Ÿ  

200,000,000 shares are designated as preferred stock.

Assuming the conversion of all outstanding shares of our Class A junior preferred stock and our convertible preferred stock into shares of our common stock, which will occur immediately prior to the completion of this offering, as of September 30, 2013, there were 474,696,816 shares of our common stock outstanding, held by 755 stockholders of record, and no shares of our preferred stock outstanding. Our board of directors is authorized, without stockholder approval except as required by the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange, to issue additional shares of our capital stock.

Common Stock

Dividend Rights

Subject to preferences that may apply to any shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available if our board of directors, in its discretion, determines to issue dividends and then only at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine. See the section titled “Dividend Policy” for additional information.

Voting Rights

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. We have not provided for cumulative voting for the election of directors in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation establishes a classified board of directors that is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only the directors in one class will be subject to election by a plurality of the votes cast at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the directors in the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms.

No Preemptive or Similar Rights

Our common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights, and is not subject to conversion, redemption or sinking fund provisions.

 

153


Table of Contents

Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions

If we become subject to a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders would be distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock and any participating preferred stock outstanding at that time, subject to prior satisfaction of all outstanding debt and liabilities and the preferential rights of and the payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of preferred stock.

Fully Paid and Non-Assessable

All of the outstanding shares of our common stock are, and the shares of our common stock to be issued pursuant to this offering will be, fully paid and non-assessable.

Preferred Stock

Our board of directors is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions, in each case without further vote or action by our stockholders. Our board of directors can also increase or decrease the number of shares of any series of preferred stock, but not below the number of shares of that series then outstanding, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of our company and might adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock. We have no current plan to issue any shares of preferred stock.

Options

As of September 30, 2013, we had outstanding options to purchase an aggregate of 42,708,824 shares of our common stock, with a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.84 per share, under our equity compensation plans, the equity compensation plans we assumed in connection with certain of our acquisitions and a stand-alone option agreement.

RSUs

As of September 30, 2013, we had outstanding 85,657,603 shares of our common stock subject to RSUs, with a weighted-average grant-date fair value of approximately $16.89 per share, under our 2007 Plan. Our outstanding Pre-2013 RSUs will generally vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. For the majority of our outstanding RSUs, the service condition will be satisfied as to 25% of the Pre-2013 RSUs upon completion of one year of service measured from the vesting commencement date, and the balance will vest in 36 successive equal monthly installments, subject to continued service through each such vesting date. The performance condition for the Pre-2013 RSUs will be satisfied on the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering (which we may elect to accelerate to February 15th); and (ii) the date of a change in control. On February 13, 2013, we began granting RSUs to U.S. employees which did not contain a performance condition; however, these RSUs contain a provision prohibiting settlement prior to August 15, 2014. The majority of these Post-2013 RSUs vest over a service period of four years.

 

154


Table of Contents

Warrant

As of September 30, 2013, we had an outstanding warrant to purchase up to 116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, with an exercise price of $0.34 per share. This warrant is exercisable at any time on or before December 16, 2018.

Registration Rights

After the completion of this offering, certain holders of our common stock will be entitled to rights with respect to the registration of their shares under the Securities Act. These registration rights are contained in our Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement, or IRA, dated as of July 19, 2007, as most recently amended on October 4, 2013. We and certain holders of our preferred stock are parties to the IRA. The registration rights set forth in the IRA will expire five years following the completion of this offering, or, with respect to any particular stockholder, when such stockholder is able to sell all of its shares pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act or a similar exemption during any 90-day period. We will pay the registration expenses (other than underwriting discounts, selling commissions and stock transfer taxes) of the holders of the shares registered pursuant to the registrations described below. In an underwritten offering, the managing underwriter, if any, has the right, subject to specified conditions, to limit the number of shares such holders may include. We expect that our stockholders will waive their rights under the IRA (i) to notice of this offering and (ii) to include their registrable shares in this offering. In addition, in connection with this offering, we expect that each stockholder that has registration rights will agree not to sell or otherwise dispose of any securities without the prior written consent of the underwriters for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, subject to certain terms and conditions and early release of certain holders in specified circumstances. See the section titled “Underwriters” for additional information regarding such restrictions.

Demand Registration Rights

After the completion of this offering, the holders of up to 386,072,150 shares of our common stock will be entitled to certain demand registration rights. At any time beginning 180 days after the effective date of this offering, the holders of at least 50% of these shares then outstanding can request that we register the offer and sale of their shares. We are obligated to effect only two such registrations. Such request for registration must cover securities the anticipated aggregate public offering price of which, before payment of underwriting discounts and commissions, is at least $20,000,000. If we determine that it would be seriously detrimental to our stockholders to effect such a demand registration, we have the right to defer such registration, not more than once in any 12-month period, for a period of up to 120 days.

Piggyback Registration Rights

After the completion of this offering, if we propose to register the offer and sale of our common stock under the Securities Act, in connection with the public offering of such common stock the holders of up to 386,952,743 shares of our common stock (including 116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock that was outstanding as of September 30, 2013) will be entitled to certain “piggyback” registration rights allowing the holders to include their shares in such registration, subject to certain marketing and other limitations. As a result, whenever we propose to file a registration statement under the Securities Act, other than with respect to (1) a demand registration, (2) a Form S-3 registration, (3) a registration related to any employee benefit plan or a corporate reorganization or other transaction covered by Rule 145 promulgated under the Securities Act or (4) a registration on any registration form which does

 

155


Table of Contents

not permit secondary sales or does not include substantially the same information as would be required to be included in a registration statement covering the public offering of our common stock, the holders of these shares are entitled to notice of the registration and have the right, subject to certain limitations, to include their shares in the registration.

S-3 Registration Rights

After the completion of this offering, the holders of up to 386,952,743 shares of our common stock (including 116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock that was outstanding as of September 30, 2013) will be entitled to certain Form S-3 registration rights. The holders of at least 10% of these shares then outstanding may make a written request that we register the offer and sale of their shares on a registration statement on Form S-3 if we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3 so long as the request covers securities the anticipated aggregate public offering price of which, before payment of underwriting discounts and commissions, is at least $5,000,000. One of our stockholders and its affiliates may also request that we register all or a portion of their shares on one occasion. These stockholders may make an unlimited number of requests for registration on Form S-3; however, we will not be required to effect a registration on Form S-3 if we have effected two such registrations within the 12-month period preceding the date of the request. Additionally, if we determine that it would be seriously detrimental to our stockholders to effect such a registration, we have the right to defer such registration, not more than once in any 12-month period, for a period of up to 120 days.

Anti-Takeover Provisions

The provisions of Delaware law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws, which are summarized below, may have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another person from acquiring control of our company. They are also designed, in part, to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with an unfriendly or unsolicited acquirer outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging a proposal to acquire us because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

Delaware Law

We will be governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless:

 

  Ÿ  

the transaction was approved by the board of directors prior to the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder;

 

  Ÿ  

upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding shares owned by directors who are also officers of the corporation and shares owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

  Ÿ  

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

 

156


Table of Contents

In general, Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include mergers, asset sales and other transactions resulting in financial benefit to a stockholder and an “interested stockholder” as a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years did own, 15% or more of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock. These provisions may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing changes in control of our company.

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaw Provisions

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws will include a number of provisions that could deter hostile takeovers or delay or prevent changes in control of our board of directors or management team, including the following:

Board of Directors Vacancies .    Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships, including newly created seats. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors will be permitted to be set only by a resolution adopted by a majority vote of our entire board of directors. These provisions would prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and then gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominees. This will make it more difficult to change the composition of our board of directors and will promote continuity of management.

Classified Board .    Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws will provide that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors. A third party may be discouraged from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us as it is more difficult and time consuming for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors on a classified board of directors. See the section titled “Management—Classified Board of Directors.”

Stockholder Action; Special Meeting of Stockholders .    Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our stockholders may not take action by written consent, but may only take action at annual or special meetings of our stockholders. As a result, a holder controlling a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend our amended and restated bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of our stockholders called in accordance with our amended and restated bylaws. Our amended and restated bylaws will further provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority of our board of directors, the chairman of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer or our President, thus prohibiting a stockholder from calling a special meeting. These provisions might delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for stockholders controlling a majority of our capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.

Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations .    Our amended and restated bylaws will provide advance notice procedures for stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws will also specify certain requirements regarding the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions might preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders if the proper procedures are not followed. We expect that these provisions may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company.

 

157


Table of Contents

No Cumulative Voting .    The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that stockholders are not entitled to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting.

Directors Removed Only for Cause .    Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that stockholders may remove directors only for cause.

Amendment of Charter Provisions .    Any amendment of the above provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require approval by holders of at least 80% of our then outstanding capital stock.

Issuance of Undesignated Preferred Stock .    Our board of directors will have the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 200,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by our board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock would enable our board of directors to render more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or other means.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

Upon the completion of this offering, the transfer agent and registrar for our common stock will be Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 250 Royall Street, Canton, Massachusetts 02021.

Limitations of Liability and Indemnification

See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Limitation of Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors.”

Listing

We intend to apply for the listing of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TWTR”.

 

158


Table of Contents

SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock, and we cannot predict the effect, if any, that market sales of shares of our common stock or the availability of shares of our common stock for sale will have on the market price of our common stock prevailing from time to time. Future sales of our common stock in the public market, or the availability of such shares for sale in the public market, could adversely affect market prices prevailing from time to time. As described below, only a limited number of shares of our common stock will be available for sale shortly after this offering due to contractual and legal restrictions on resale. Nevertheless, sales of our common stock in the public market after such restrictions lapse, or the perception that those sales may occur, could adversely affect the prevailing market price at such time and our ability to raise equity capital in the future.

Following the completion of this offering, based on the number of shares of our capital stock outstanding as of September 30, 2013, we will have a total of             shares of our common stock outstanding. Of these outstanding shares, all             shares of our common stock sold in this offering will be freely tradable, except that any shares purchased in this offering by our affiliates, as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act, would only be able to be sold in compliance with the Rule 144 limitations described below.

The remaining outstanding shares of our common stock will be, and shares underlying outstanding RSUs and shares subject to stock options will be upon issuance, deemed “restricted securities” as defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. Restricted securities may be sold in the public market only if they are registered or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rule 144 or Rule 701 under the Securities Act, which rules are summarized below. All of our executive officers, directors and holders of substantially all of our capital stock and securities convertible into or exchangeable for our capital stock have entered into market standoff agreements with us or lock-up agreements with the underwriters under which they have agreed, subject to specific exceptions, not to sell any of our stock for 180 days following the date of this prospectus. As a result of these agreements and the provisions of our IRA described above under the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights,” and subject to the provisions of Rule 144 or Rule 701, shares of our common stock will be available for sale in the public market as follows:

 

  Ÿ  

beginning on the date of this prospectus, all             shares of our common stock sold in this offering will be immediately available for sale in the public market;

 

  Ÿ  

beginning as early as February 15, 2014, up to an aggregate of             shares of our common stock that are held by our employees who are not executive officers may be eligible for sale in the public market in order to satisfy the income tax obligations of such employees resulting from the vesting and settlement of a portion of the outstanding Pre-2013 RSUs (or up to an aggregate of              shares of our common stock held by our employees who are not executive officers if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards to satisfy a portion of such income tax obligations); and

 

  Ÿ  

beginning 181 days after the date of this prospectus, the remainder of the shares of our common stock will be eligible for sale in the public market from time to time thereafter, subject in some cases to the volume and other restrictions of Rule 144, as described below.

Lock-Up Agreements

We, our executive officers, directors and other holders of our capital stock and securities convertible into or exchangeable for our capital stock have agreed that, subject to certain exceptions, for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Goldman, Sachs & Co., dispose of or hedge any shares or any securities

 

159


Table of Contents

convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock. Under the terms of the lock-up agreements, beginning February 15, 2014, employees who are not executive officers may be eligible to sell up to an aggregate of             shares of our common stock in the public market in order to satisfy the income tax obligations of such employees resulting from the vesting and settlement of a portion of the outstanding Pre-2013 RSUs (or up to an aggregate of             shares of our common stock held by our employees who are not executive officers if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards to satisfy a portion of such income tax obligations). Goldman, Sachs & Co. may, in its discretion, release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time.

Rule 144

In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, once we have been subject to the public company reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act for at least 90 days, a person who is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates for purposes of the Securities Act at any time during the 90 days preceding a sale and who has beneficially owned the shares of our common stock proposed to be sold for at least six months is entitled to sell those shares without complying with the manner of sale, volume limitation or notice provisions of Rule 144, subject to compliance with the public information requirements of Rule 144. If such a person has beneficially owned the shares proposed to be sold for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than our affiliates, then that person would be entitled to sell those shares without complying with any of the requirements of Rule 144.

In general, under Rule 144, as currently in effect, our affiliates or persons selling shares of our common stock on behalf of our affiliates are entitled to sell upon expiration of the market standoff agreements and lock-up agreements described above, within any three-month period, a number of shares that does not exceed the greater of:

 

  Ÿ  

1% of the number of shares of our capital stock then outstanding, which will equal approximately             shares immediately after this offering; or

 

  Ÿ  

the average weekly trading volume of our common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to that sale.

Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates or persons selling shares of our common stock on behalf of our affiliates are also subject to certain manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.

Rule 701

Rule 701 generally allows a stockholder who purchased shares of our capital stock pursuant to a written compensatory plan or contract and who is not deemed to have been an affiliate of our company during the immediately preceding 90 days to sell these shares in reliance upon Rule 144, but without being required to comply with the public information, holding period, volume limitation or notice provisions of Rule 144. Rule 701 also permits affiliates of our company to sell their Rule 701 shares under Rule 144 without complying with the holding period requirements of Rule 144. All holders of Rule 701 shares, however, are required to wait until 90 days after the date of this prospectus before selling those shares pursuant to Rule 701.

 

160


Table of Contents

Registration Rights

Pursuant to our IRA, the holders of up to 386,952,743 shares of our common stock (including 116,512 shares of our common stock, on an as-converted basis, issuable upon the exercise of a warrant to purchase convertible preferred stock that was outstanding as of September 30, 2013), or their transferees, will be entitled to certain rights with respect to the registration of the offer and sale of those shares under the Securities Act. See the section titled “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights” for a description of these registration rights. If the offer and sale of these shares of our common stock are registered, the shares will be freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act, subject to the Rule 144 limitations applicable to affiliates, and a large number of shares may be sold into the public market.

Registration Statement

We intend to file a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act promptly after the completion of this offering to register shares of our common stock subject to RSUs and options outstanding, as well as reserved for future issuance, under our equity compensation plans and the equity compensation plans we assumed in connection with certain of our acquisitions. The registration statement on Form S-8 is expected to become effective immediately upon filing, and shares of our common stock covered by the registration statement will then become eligible for sale in the public market, subject to the Rule 144 limitations applicable to affiliates, vesting restrictions and any applicable market standoff agreements and lock-up agreements. See the section titled “Executive Compensation—Employee Benefit and Stock Plans” for a description of our equity compensation plans.

 

161


Table of Contents

MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO NON-U.S. HOLDERS OF OUR COMMON STOCK

The following is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to non-U.S. holders (as defined below) of the ownership and disposition of our common stock, but does not purport to be a complete analysis of all the potential tax considerations relating thereto. This summary is based upon the provisions of the Code, Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as of the date hereof. These authorities may be changed, possibly retroactively, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those set forth below. We have not sought any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, with respect to the statements made and the conclusions reached in the following summary, and there can be no assurance that the IRS will agree with such statements and conclusions.

This summary also does not address the tax considerations arising under the laws of any non-U.S., state or local jurisdiction or under U.S. federal gift and estate tax laws, except to the limited extent set forth below. In addition, this discussion does not address the potential application of the Medicare contribution tax or any tax considerations applicable to an investor’s particular circumstances or to investors that may be subject to special tax rules, including, without limitation:

 

  Ÿ  

banks, insurance companies or other financial institutions;

 

  Ÿ  

persons subject to the alternative minimum tax;

 

  Ÿ  

tax-exempt organizations;

 

  Ÿ  

controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;

 

  Ÿ  

dealers in securities or currencies;

 

  Ÿ  

traders in securities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for their securities holdings;

 

  Ÿ  

persons that own, or are deemed to own, more than 5% of our capital stock (except to the extent specifically set forth below);

 

  Ÿ  

certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;

 

  Ÿ  

persons who hold our common stock as a position in a hedging transaction, “straddle,” “conversion transaction” or other risk reduction transaction;

 

  Ÿ  

persons who do not hold our common stock as a capital asset within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code; or

 

  Ÿ  

persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code.

In addition, if a partnership or entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner generally will depend on the status of the partner and upon the activities of the partnership. Accordingly, partnerships that hold our common stock, and partners in such partnerships, should consult their tax advisors.

You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock arising under the U.S. federal estate or gift tax rules or under the laws of any state, local, non-U.S. or other taxing jurisdiction or under any applicable tax treaty.

 

162


Table of Contents

Non-U.S. Holder Defined

For purposes of this discussion, you are a non-U.S. holder, if you are any holder other than a partnership or other entity classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or:

 

  Ÿ  

an individual citizen or resident of the United States (for tax purposes);

 

  Ÿ  

a corporation or other entity taxable as a corporation created or organized in the United States or under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof;

 

  Ÿ  

an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or

 

  Ÿ  

a trust (x) whose administration is subject to the primary supervision of a U.S. court and which has one or more U.S. persons who have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (y) which has made a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person.

Distributions

We have not made any distributions on our common stock. However, if we do make distributions on our common stock, those payments will constitute dividends for U.S. tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. To the extent those distributions exceed both our current and our accumulated earnings and profits, they will constitute a return of capital and will first reduce your basis in our common stock, but not below zero, and then will be treated as gain from the sale of stock.

Any dividend paid to you generally will be subject to U.S. withholding tax either at a rate of 30% of the gross amount of the dividend or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. In order to receive a reduced treaty rate, you must provide us with an IRS Form W-8BEN or other appropriate version of IRS Form W-8, including a U.S. taxpayer identification number, certifying qualification for the reduced rate. A non-U.S. holder of shares of our common stock eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. withholding tax pursuant to an income tax treaty may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld by filing an appropriate claim for refund with the IRS. If the non-U.S. holder holds the stock through a financial institution or other agent acting on the non-U.S. holder’s behalf, the non-U.S. holder will be required to provide appropriate documentation to the agent, which then will be required to provide certification to us or our paying agent, either directly or through other intermediaries.

Dividends received by you that are effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, if an income tax treaty applies, that are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by you in the U.S.), are exempt from such withholding tax. In order to obtain this exemption, you must provide us with an IRS Form W-8ECI or other applicable IRS Form W-8 properly certifying such exemption. Such effectively connected dividends, although not subject to withholding tax, generally are taxed at the same graduated rates applicable to U.S. persons, net of certain deductions and credits. In addition, if you are a corporate non-U.S. holder, dividends you receive that are effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business may also be subject to a branch profits tax at a rate of 30% or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty.

Gain on Disposition of Our Common Stock

You generally will not be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized upon the sale or other disposition of our common stock unless:

 

  Ÿ  

the gain is effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or business (and, if an income tax treaty applies, the gain is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by you in the United States);

 

163


Table of Contents
  Ÿ  

you are an individual who is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the calendar year in which the sale or disposition occurs and certain other conditions are met; or

 

  Ÿ  

our common stock constitutes a U.S. real property interest by reason of our status as a “United States real property holding corporation,” or USRPHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding your disposition of, or your holding period for, our common stock.

We believe that we are not currently and will not become a USRPHC. However, because the determination of whether we are a USRPHC depends on the fair market value of our U.S. real property relative to the fair market value of our other business assets, there can be no assurance that we will not become a USRPHC in the future. Even if we become a USRPHC, however, as long as our common stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, such common stock will be treated as U.S. real property interests only if you actually or constructively hold more than 5% of such regularly traded common stock at any time during the shorter of the five-year period preceding your disposition of, or your holding period for, our common stock.

If you are a non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet above, you will be required to pay tax on the net gain derived from the sale under regular graduated U.S. federal income tax rates, and a corporate non-U.S. holder described in the first bullet above also may be subject to the branch profits tax at a 30% rate, or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty. If you are an individual non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet above, you will be required to pay a flat 30% tax on the gain derived from the sale, which tax may be offset by U.S.-source capital losses for the year. You should consult any applicable income tax or other treaties that may provide for different rules.

Federal Estate Tax

Our common stock beneficially owned by an individual who is not a citizen or resident of the United States (as defined for U.S. federal estate tax purposes) at the time of their death will generally be includable in the decedent’s gross estate for U.S. federal estate tax purposes, unless an applicable estate tax treaty provides otherwise.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

Generally, we must report annually to the IRS the amount of dividends paid to you, your name and address, and the amount of tax withheld, if any. A similar report will be sent to you. Pursuant to applicable income tax treaties or other agreements, the IRS may make these reports available to tax authorities in your country of residence.

Payments of dividends on or of proceeds from the disposition of our common stock made to you may be subject to additional information reporting and backup withholding at a current rate of 28% unless you establish an exemption, for example, by properly certifying your non-U.S. status on a Form W-8BEN or another appropriate version of IRS Form W-8. Notwithstanding the foregoing, backup withholding and information reporting may apply if either we or our paying agent has actual knowledge, or reason to know, that you are a U.S. person.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax; rather, the U.S. income tax liability of persons subject to backup withholding will be reduced by the amount of tax withheld. If withholding results in an overpayment of taxes, a refund or credit may generally be obtained from the IRS, provided that the required information is furnished to the IRS in a timely manner.

 

164


Table of Contents

Legislation Affecting Taxation of our Common Stock Held by or through Foreign Entities

Legislation enacted in 2010 generally will impose a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on dividends on and the gross proceeds of a disposition of our common stock, paid to a “foreign financial institution” (as specially defined under these rules), unless such institution enters into an agreement with the U.S. government to withhold on certain payments and to collect and provide to the U.S. tax authorities substantial information regarding the U.S. account holders of such institution (which includes certain equity and debt holders of such institution, as well as certain account holders that are foreign entities with U.S. owners) or otherwise establishes an exemption. The legislation also generally will impose a U.S. federal withholding tax of 30% on dividends on and the gross proceeds of a disposition of our common stock paid to a non-financial foreign entity unless such entity provides the withholding agent with a certification identifying certain substantial direct and indirect U.S. owners of the entity, certifies that there are none or otherwise establishes an exemption. This withholding obligation under this legislation with respect to dividends on our common stock will not begin until July 1, 2014 and with respect to the gross proceeds of a sale or other disposition of our common stock will not begin until January 1, 2017. Under certain circumstances, a non-U.S. holder might be eligible for refunds or credits of such taxes. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify the requirements described in this paragraph. Prospective investors are encouraged to consult with their own tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this legislation on their investment in our common stock.

Each prospective investor should consult its own tax advisor regarding the particular U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of our common stock, including the consequences of any proposed change in applicable laws.

 

165


Table of Contents

UNDERWRITING

We and the underwriters named below will enter into an underwriting agreement with respect to the shares of our common stock being offered. Subject to certain conditions, each underwriter will severally agree to purchase the number of shares indicated in the following table. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is the representative of the underwriters.

 

Underwriters

   Number of Shares

Goldman, Sachs & Co.

  

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC

  

J.P. Morgan Securities LLC

  
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
                   Incorporated
  

Deutsche Bank Securities Inc

  

Allen & Company LLC

  

Code Advisors LLC

  
  

 

Total

  
  

 

The underwriters will be committed to take and pay for all of the shares of our common stock being offered, if any are taken, other than the shares of our common stock covered by the option described below unless and until this option is exercised.

The underwriters will have an option to buy up to an additional             shares of our common stock from us to cover sales by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than the total number set forth in the table above. They may exercise that option for 30 days. If any shares of our common stock are purchased pursuant to this option, the underwriters will severally purchase shares of our common stock in approximately the same proportion as set forth in the table above.

The following table shows the per share and total underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid to the underwriters by us. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares of our common stock.

 

     No Exercise      Full Exercise  

Per Share

   $                            $                        

Total

   $         $     

Shares of our common stock sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any shares of our common stock sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount of up to $         per share from the initial public offering price. After the initial offering of the shares of our common stock, the representative may change the offering price and the other selling terms. The offering of the shares of our common stock by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.

We and our officers, directors and other holders of our capital stock have agreed with the underwriters, subject to certain exceptions, not to dispose of or hedge any of our capital stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our capital stock during the period from the date of this prospectus continuing through the date that is 180 days after the date of this prospectus. Under the terms of the lock-up agreements, beginning February 15, 2014, employees who are not executive officers may be eligible to sell up to an aggregate of             shares of our common stock in the public market in order to satisfy the income tax obligations of such employees resulting from the

 

166


Table of Contents

vesting and settlement of a portion of the outstanding Pre-2013 RSUs (or up to an aggregate of             shares of our common stock held by our employees who are not executive officers if we choose to undertake a net settlement of all of these awards to satisfy a portion of such income tax obligations). Goldman, Sachs & Co. may, in its discretion, release any of the securities subject to the lock-up agreements at any time. See the section titled “Shares Eligible for Future Sale” for a discussion of certain transfer restrictions.

Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for the shares of our common stock. The initial public offering price has been negotiated between us and the representative. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price of the shares of our common stock, in addition to prevailing market conditions, were our historical performance, estimates of our business potential and earnings prospects, an assessment of our management and the consideration of the above factors in relation to market valuation of companies in related businesses.

We intend to apply for the listing of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “TWTR”.

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell shares of our common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, stabilizing transactions and purchases to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering. A “covered short position” is a short position that is not greater than the amount of additional shares for which the underwriters’ option described above may be exercised. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares of our common stock to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase additional shares pursuant to the option described above. “Naked” short sales are any short sales that create a short position greater than the amount of additional shares for which the option described above may be exercised. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares of our common stock in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of our common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.

The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representative has repurchased shares of our common stock sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

Purchases to cover a short position and stabilizing transactions, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock, and together with the imposition of the penalty bid, may stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. If these activities are commenced, they may be discontinued at any time. These transactions may be effected on the New York Stock Exchange, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area which has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a Relevant Member State), each underwriter has represented and agreed

 

167


Table of Contents

that with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State (the Relevant Implementation Date) it has not made and will not make an offer of securities to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that it may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of securities to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:

 

  (a) to legal entities which are authorised or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorised or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;

 

  (b) to any legal entity which has two or more of (1) an average of at least 250 employees during the last financial year; (2) a total balance sheet of more than 43,000,000 and (3) an annual net turnover of more than 50,000,000, as shown in its last annual or consolidated accounts;

 

  (c) to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representative for any such offer; or

 

  (d) in any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Issuer of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of securities to the public” in relation to any securities in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the securities, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Relevant Member State and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.

United Kingdom

Each underwriter has represented and agreed that:

 

  (a) it has only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (the “FSMA”)) received by it in connection with the issue or sale of the securities in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply to the Issuer; and

 

  (b) it has complied and will comply with all applicable provisions of the FSMA with respect to anything done by it in relation to the securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong

The securities may not be offered or sold by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder or

 

168


Table of Contents

(iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the securities may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.

Singapore

This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.

Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 by a relevant person which is: (a) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (b) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest in that trust shall not be transferable for 6 months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities under Section 275 except: (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA; (2) where no consideration is given for the transfer; or (3) by operation of law.

Japan

The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

The underwriters do not expect sales to discretionary accounts to exceed 5% of the total number of securities offered.

We estimate that our share of the total expenses of the offering, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $         .

Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, we will agree to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

 

169


Table of Contents

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. Certain of the underwriters or their affiliates are lenders under our credit facility.

In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments of us. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also make investment recommendations and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Three funds and one discretionary client account managed by an affiliate of one of the underwriters beneficially own an aggregate of 2,703,914 shares of our Series E preferred stock that they purchased from us in 2009. Such shares will convert upon the closing of this offering into 2,703,914 shares of our common stock. Two funds managed by an affiliate of one of the underwriters beneficially own 11,646,490 shares of our common stock and 37,203,330 shares of our preferred stock that they purchased from certain existing stockholders and us in 2011. Upon the closing of this offering, such shares of preferred stock will convert into 37,203,330 shares of our common stock. In 2011, one of the underwriters arranged a loan for one of our stockholders, most of which loan has since been syndicated to third parties. The loan is secured indirectly by less than 5% of our outstanding capital stock. If the borrower were to default on its obligation to repay the loan when due, the lenders would have the right to sell the shares securing the loan following the expiry of the lock-up applicable to our stockholders as described above. Also in 2011, one of the underwriters acquired record ownership of 41,436 shares of our common stock in connection with our acquisition of a private company in which such underwriter held an equity interest. Of these shares, the underwriter beneficially owns 33,415 shares of our common stock and the remaining shares are beneficially owned by certain of its employees. Also in 2011, a fund affiliated with one of the underwriters acquired 16,884 shares of our common stock in connection with our acquisition of substantially all of the assets of a private company in which that underwriter held an equity interest. In addition, in 2011, one of the underwriters received from one of our stockholders the right to be paid an amount in cash pursuant to a formula designed to capture a portion of any increase in the value of a portion of such stockholder’s investment in our common stock during the six-month period after this offering. At the estimated offering price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, the underwriter would not be entitled to receive any cash payment. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates also may have invested in funds that acquired our securities prior to January 12, 2013.

 

170


Table of Contents

LEGAL MATTERS

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., Palo Alto, California, which has acted as our counsel in connection with this offering, will pass upon the validity of the shares of our common stock being offered by this prospectus. As of the date of this prospectus, an investment fund associated with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. beneficially owns 8,904 shares of our convertible preferred stock, which will be converted into 8,904 shares of our common stock upon completion of this offering. The underwriters have been represented by Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, Menlo Park, California.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012 included in this prospectus have been so included in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus. This prospectus, which constitutes a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement, some of which is contained in exhibits to the registration statement as permitted by the rules and regulations of the SEC. For further information with respect to us and our common stock, we refer you to the registration statement, including the exhibits filed as a part of the registration statement. Statements contained in this prospectus concerning the contents of any contract or any other document is not necessarily complete. If a contract or document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, please see the copy of the contract or document that has been filed. Each statement is this prospectus relating to a contract or document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit. You may obtain copies of this information by mail from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates. You may obtain information on the operation of the public reference rooms by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information about issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.

As a result of this offering, we will become subject to the information and reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and, in accordance with this law, will file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. These periodic reports, proxy statements and other information will be available for inspection and copying at the SEC’s public reference facilities and the website of the SEC referred to above. We also maintain a website at www.twitter.com. Upon completion of this offering, you may access these materials free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after they are electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only.

 

171


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

     Page  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

     F-2   

Consolidated Balance Sheets

     F-3   

Consolidated Statements of Operations

     F-5   

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss

     F-6   

Consolidated Statements of Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

     F-7   

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     F-9   

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

     F-10   

 

F-1


Table of Contents

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of

Twitter, Inc.

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, redeemable convertible preferred stock, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit, and cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Twitter, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) at December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the accompanying financial statement schedule presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP

San Jose, California

July 12, 2013

 

F-2


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except par value)

 

    December 31,     September 30,
2013
    Pro forma
September  30,
2013

(Note 2)
 
    2011     2012      
                (Unaudited)  

Assets

       

Current assets:

       

Cash and cash equivalents

  $ 218,996      $ 203,328      $ 155,704      $ 155,704   

Short-term investments

    330,543        221,528        165,371        165,371   

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $1,828, $1,280 and $1,261 as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, respectively

    39,834        112,155        147,542        147,542   

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

    6,695        17,455        29,548        29,548   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

    596,068        554,466        498,165        498,165   

Property and equipment, net

    61,983        185,574        284,024        284,024   

Intangible assets, net

    6,418        3,753        12,096        12,096   

Goodwill

    36,761        68,813        171,031        171,031   

Other assets

    19,445        18,962        27,487        27,487   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total assets

  $ 720,675      $ 831,568      $ 992,803      $             992,803   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

       

Current liabilities:

       

Accounts payable

  $ 4,543      $ 8,432      $ 9,408      $ 9,408   

Accrued and other current liabilities

    20,507        52,611        85,982        85,982   

Capital leases, short-term

    22,694        48,836        70,778        70,778   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

    47,744        109,879        166,168        166,168   

Capital leases, long-term

    21,104        65,732        89,700        89,700   

Long-term tax liabilities

    13,617        12,156        12,156        12,156   

Other long-term liabilities

    4,926        19,437        30,904        19,734   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities

    87,391        207,204        298,928        287,758   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and contingencies (Note 16)

       

Redeemable convertible preferred stock:

       

Class A junior preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—15,000 shares authorized; 135, 3,569 and 3,524 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, respectively (aggregate liquidation preference of $135, $3,569 and $3,524 as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, respectively); no shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    49        37,106        37,106          

Convertible preferred stock:

       

Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—76,968 shares authorized; 76,968 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $86); no shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    86        86        86          

Series B convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—49,324 shares authorized; 49,324 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $5,480); no shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    5,773        5,773        5,773          

Series C convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—62,934 shares authorized; 62,817 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $21,566); no shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    21,705        21,705        21,705          

 

F-3


Table of Contents
    December 31,     September 30,
2013
    Pro forma
September  30,
2013

(Note 2)
 
    2011     2012      
                (Unaudited)  

Series D convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—50,982 shares authorized; 50,982 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $36,635); No shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    36,440        36,440        36,440          

Series E convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—38,431 shares authorized; 38,431 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $102,371); No shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    102,180        102,180        102,180          

Series F convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—26,198 shares authorized; 26,198 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $200,000); No shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    199,843        199,843        199,843          

Series G convertible preferred stock, $0.000005 par value—24,855 shares authorized; 24,855 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013 (aggregate liquidation preference of $400,000); No shares issued and outstanding, pro forma

    469,046        469,403        469,403          
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total convertible preferred stock

    835,073        835,430        835,430          

Stockholders’ equity (deficit):

       

Common stock, $0.000005 par value—700,000 shares authorized; 118,967, 125,597 and 141,598 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, respectively; 474,697 shares issued and outstanding pro forma

    1        1        1        2   

Additional paid-in capital

    68,097        101,787        304,836        1,573,756   

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

    (32     (657     (343     (343

Accumulated deficit

    (269,904     (349,303     (483,155     (868,370
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)

    (201,838     (248,172     (178,661     705,045   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total liabilities, redeemable convertible preferred stock, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit)

  $ 720,675      $ 831,568      $ 992,803      $             992,803   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-4


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

    Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
        2010             2011             2012                 2012                     2013          
                      (Unaudited)  

Revenue

  $ 28,278      $ 106,313      $ 316,933      $ 204,686      $ 422,215   

Costs and expenses

         

Cost of revenue

    43,168        61,803        128,768        91,850        154,067   

Research and development

    29,348        80,176        119,004        78,664        199,144   

Sales and marketing

    6,289        25,988        86,551        57,767        138,911   

General and administrative

    16,952        65,757        59,693        44,712        56,248   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total costs and expenses

    95,757        233,724        394,016        272,993        548,370   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

    (67,479     (127,411     (77,083     (68,307     (126,155

Interest income (expense), net

    55        (805     (2,486     (1,656     (4,473

Other income (expense), net

    (117     (1,530     399        926        (1,730
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

    (67,541     (129,746     (79,170     (69,037     (132,358

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

    (217     (1,444     229        1,657        1,494   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

  $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

           35,816                        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

  $ (67,324   $ (164,118   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used to compute net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

         

Basic and diluted

    75,992        102,544        117,401        116,119        131,196   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

         

Basic and diluted

  $ (0.89   $ (1.60   $ (0.68   $ (0.61   $ (1.02
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders (unaudited):

         

Basic and diluted

      $ (0.18     $ (0.28
     

 

 

     

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-5


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

(In thousands)

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
     2010     2011     2012             2012                     2013          
                       (Unaudited)  

Net loss

   $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852

Other comprehensive income (loss):

          

Unrealized gain (loss) on investments in available-for-sale securities, net of tax

     56        (43     41        68        10   

Foreign currency translation adjustment

     7        5        (666     (638     304   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net change in accumulated other comprehensive loss

     63        (38     (625     (570     314   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Comprehensive loss

   $ (67,261   $ (128,340   $ (80,024   $ (71,264   $ (133,538
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-6


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF REDEEMABLE CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK, CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCK AND STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

(In thousands)

 

    Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months
Ended September 30,
 
    2010     2011     2012     2013  
    Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount  
                                        (Unaudited)  

Redeemable convertible preferred stock

               

Balance, beginning of period

         $             $        135      $ 49        3,569      $ 37,106   

Issuance of stock in connection with acquisitions

                                2,621        35,501                 

Issuance of restricted stock to employees in connection with acquisitions

                  135        49        704                        

Issuance of stock for other acquisition-related costs

                                121        1,556                 

Forfeiture of restricted stock

                                (12            (45       
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

         $        135      $ 49        3,569      $ 37,106        3,524      $ 37,106   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Convertible preferred stock

               

Balance, beginning of period

    286,086      $ 165,230        293,376      $ 279,534        329,575      $ 835,073        329,575      $ 835,430   

Conversion of Series A convertible preferred stock to common stock

    (9,604     (10                                          

Issuance of Series C convertible preferred stock in connection with acquisition

    2,040        964                                             

Issuance of Series F convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs of $50 and $107 during 2010 and 2011, respectively

    14,854        113,350        11,344        86,493                               

Issuance of Series G convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs of $1,487

                  24,855        398,513                               

Series G convertible preferred stock issuance cost adjustment

                                       357                 

Compensation for employees in relation to the tender offer

                         34,717                               

Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

                         35,816                               
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

    293,376      $ 279,534        329,575      $ 835,073        329,575      $ 835,430        329,575      $ 835,430   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Stockholders’ deficit

               

Common stock

               

Balance, beginning of period

    72,654      $ 1        96,463      $ 1        118,967      $ 1        125,597      $ 1   

Issuance of common stock in connection with acquisitions

    2,495               2,279               632               6,399          

Issuance of restricted stock to employees in connection with acquisitions

    720               1,302               903               3,797          

Issuance of stock for other acquisition-related costs

                  59               42               66          

Conversion of Series A convertible preferred stock to common stock

    9,604                                                    

Purchase of restricted stock by employees at fair value

    840                                                    

Exercise of stock options

    10,398               19,408               5,577               5,861          

Repurchase of unvested early-exercised stock options

                  (98            (142            (39       

Forfeiture of restricted stock

    (248            (446            (382            (83       
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

    96,463      $ 1        118,967      $ 1        125,597      $ 1        141,598      $ 1   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-7


Table of Contents
    Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months
Ended
September 30,
 
    2010     2011     2012     2013  
    Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount     Shares     Amount  
                                        (Unaudited)  

Additional paid-in capital

               

Balance, beginning of period

         $ 5,303             $ 15,286             $ 68,097             $ 101,787   

Issuance of common stock in connection with acquisitions

           1,462               18,496               11,626               112,945   

Issuance of restricted stock to employees in connection with acquisitions

           133               1,773               3,815               20,305   

Issuance of stock for other acquisition-related costs

                    104               773               1,387   

Conversion of Series A convertible preferred stock to common stock

           10                                             

Purchase of restricted stock by employees at fair value

           707                                             

Exercise of stock options

           1,873               10,480               2,317               7,008   

Repurchase of unvested early-exercised stock options

                         (173            (5            (71

Reclassification of early-exercise liability relating to stock options

                         (3,881            (14            (36

Vesting of early exercised shares

                         1,579               1,126               463   

Stock-based compensation for employees

           4,764               18,855               13,267               60,179   

Stock-based compensation for non-employees

           1,034               5,578               785               869   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

         $ 15,286             $ 68,097             $ 101,787             $ 304,836   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

               

Balance, beginning of period

         $ (57          $ 6             $ (32          $ (657

Other comprehensive income (loss)

           63               (38            (625            314   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

         $ 6             $ (32          $ (657          $ (343
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Accumulated deficit

               

Balance, beginning of period

         $ (38,462          $ (105,786          $ (269,904          $ (349,303

Net loss

           (67,324            (128,302            (79,399            (133,852

Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

                         (35,816                            
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, end of period

         $ (105,786          $ (269,904          $ (349,303          $ (483,155
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total stockholders’ deficit

    96,463      $ (90,493     118,967      $ (201,838     125,597      $ (248,172     141,598      $ (178,661
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-8


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

    Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
    2010     2011     2012     2012     2013  
                      (Unaudited)  

Cash flows from operating activities

         

Net loss

  $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

         

Depreciation and amortization

    10,364        24,192        72,506        51,505        77,670   

Stock-based compensation expense

    5,931        60,384        25,741        20,395        79,170   

Provision for bad debt

           1,828        1,844        1,062        758   

Deferred income tax benefit

    (220     (2,252     (1,098     (124     (492

Non-cash acquisition-related costs

                  1,715        1,025        566   

Amortization of investment premium and other

    1,673        2,739        4,102        2,402        2,124   

Changes in assets and liabilities, net of assets acquired and liabilities assumed from acquisitions:

         

Accounts receivable

    (4,838     (33,023     (73,898     (49,298     (34,262

Prepaid expenses and other assets

    (1,994     (2,597     (6,691     (10,183     (2,410

Accounts payable

    1,497        (918     2,931        (814     (8,292

Accrued and other liabilities

    6,174        7,352        24,312        21,427        23,286   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities

    (48,737     (70,597     (27,935     (33,297     4,266   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from investing activities

         

Purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from sales

    (5,692     (11,546     (50,599     (40,088     (46,628

Purchases of marketable securities

    (47,681     (487,595     (542,638     (440,921     (281,574

Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities

    103,878        178,540        621,049        496,916        300,167   

Proceeds from sales of marketable securities

           19,277        26,300        20,220        34,765   

Restricted cash

           (4,645     (3,143     (2,029     (7,541

Business combinations, net of cash acquired

    (1,531     (18,906     (1,526     299        (8,072
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

    48,974        (324,875     49,443        34,397        (8,883
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash flows from financing activities

         

Repayments of capital lease obligations

    (1,615     (15,103     (39,436     (26,592     (49,242

Proceeds from issuances of convertible preferred stock, net of issuance costs

    113,350        485,006                        

Proceeds from exercise of stock options and sales of restricted stock to employees at fair value, net of repurchase

    2,580        10,307        2,312        1,544        6,937   

Payments for deferred offering costs

                                (1,125
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities

    114,315        480,210        (37,124     (25,048     (43,430
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

    114,552      $ 84,738      $ (15,616   $ (23,948   $ (48,047

Foreign exchange effect on cash and cash equivalents

    7        5        (52     167        423   

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

  $ 19,694      $ 134,253      $ 218,996      $ 218,996      $ 203,328   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

  $ 134,253      $ 218,996      $ 203,328      $ 195,215      $ 155,704   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Supplemental cash flow data

         

Interest paid in cash

  $ 244      $ 1,457      $ 3,126      $ 1,947      $ 4,761   

Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities

         

Common and convertible preferred stock issued in connection with acquisitions

  $ 2,426      $ 18,496      $ 47,127      $ 35,640      $ 112,945   

Equipment purchases under capital leases

  $ 22,616      $ 37,882      $ 110,206      $ 79,460      $ 95,500   

Accrued equipment purchases

  $      $ 5,049      $ 15,734      $ 28,507      $ 16,522   

Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

  $      $ 35,816      $      $      $   

Unpaid deferred offering costs

  $      $      $      $      $ 2,786   

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

 

F-9


Table of Contents

TWITTER, INC.

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note 1. The Company

Twitter, Inc. (“Twitter” or the “Company”) was founded in 2007, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Twitter is a public platform where any user can create a Tweet and any user can follow other users. Each Tweet is limited to 140 characters of text, but can also contain rich media, including photos, videos and applications.

Note 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

In May 2010 and May 2011, the Company declared a three-for-one and two-for-one stock split, respectively, for all preferred and common shares then issued and outstanding. All information related to common stock, preferred stock, stock options and a warrant to purchase preferred stock has been retroactively adjusted to give effect to the stock splits.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (U.S. GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, as well as related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Actual results could differ materially from the Company’s estimates. To the extent that there are material differences between these estimates and actual results, the Company’s financial condition or operating results will be affected. The Company bases its estimates on past experience and other assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable under the circumstances, and the Company evaluates these estimates on an ongoing basis.

Unaudited Interim Consolidated Financial Statements

The accompanying interim consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013, and the consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 and the consolidated statement of redeemable convertible preferred stock, convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 and the related footnote disclosures are unaudited. These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited financial statements and reflect, in management’s opinion, include all adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are necessary for the fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of September 30, 2013 and its consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013. The results for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for the full fiscal year or any other period.

Unaudited Pro Forma Consolidated Balance Sheet

Upon the consummation of the initial public offering contemplated by the Company, all of the outstanding shares of redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible preferred stock will

 

F-10


Table of Contents

automatically convert into 333.1 million shares of common stock. The unaudited pro forma consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2013 has been prepared assuming the conversion of the Class A junior preferred stock and the convertible preferred stock into common stock. This pro forma adjustment also gives effect to reclassification of restricted Class A junior preferred stock and the preferred stock warrant, which are currently classified as liabilities, to stockholders’ deficit.

The unaudited pro forma balance sheet also gives effect to approximately $385.2 million of stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs, which the Company expects to record upon the completion of the Company’s initial public offering. This amount relates to Pre-2013 RSUs for which both the service condition was satisfied as of September 30, 2013, and the performance condition would become probable as of September 30, 2013, assuming the completion of an initial public offering as of that day. Refer to the Stock-Based Compensation Expense section of this note for further details. This pro forma adjustment related to stock-based compensation expense has been reflected as an increase to additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit. Approximately 11.9 million shares of Pre-2013 RSUs vested as of September 30, 2013 have not been included in the pro forma balance sheet disclosure of shares outstanding as the settlement of these shares is taking place subsequent to the effective date of the initial public offering. Payroll tax expenses and other withholding obligations have not been included in the pro forma adjustments. Pre-2013 RSU holders generally will incur taxable income based upon the value of the shares on the date they are settled and the Company is required to withhold taxes on such value at applicable minimum statutory rates. The Company currently expects that the average of these withholding rates will be approximately 40%. The Company is unable to quantify these obligations as of September 30, 2013 and will remain unable to quantify this amount until the settlement of the Pre-2013 RSUs as the withholding obligations will be based on the value of the shares on the date that is the earlier of (i) six months after the date of the Company’s initial public offering and (ii) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of the Company’s initial public offering.

Revenue Recognition

The Company generates revenue principally from the sale of advertising services and, to a lesser extent, from entering into data licensing arrangements. The Company’s advertising services include three primary products: (i) Promoted Tweets, (ii) Promoted Accounts and (iii) Promoted Trends. Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts are pay-for-performance advertising products priced through an auction. Promoted Trends are featured by geography and offered on a fixed-fee-per-day basis. Advertisers are obligated to pay when a user engages with a Promoted Tweet or follows a Promoted Account or when a Promoted Trend is displayed. Users engage with Promoted Tweets by clicking on a link in a Promoted Tweet, expanding, retweeting, favoriting or replying to a Promoted Tweet or following the account that tweets a Promoted Tweet. These products may be sold in combination as a multiple element arrangement or separately on a stand-alone basis. Fees for these advertising services are recognized in the period when advertising is delivered as evidenced by a user engaging with a Promoted Tweet, as captured by a click, following a Promoted Account or through the display of a Promoted Trend on the Company’s platform. Data licensing revenue is generated based on monthly service fees charged to the data partners over the period in which the Company’s data is made available to them.

Revenue is recognized only when (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) the price is fixed or determinable; (3) the service is performed; and (4) collectability of the related fee is reasonably assured. While the majority of the Company’s revenue transactions are based on standard business terms and conditions, the Company also enters into non-standard sales agreements with advertisers and data partners that sometimes involve multiple elements.

For arrangements involving multiple deliverables, judgment is required to determine the appropriate accounting, including developing an estimate of the stand-alone selling price of each

 

F-11


Table of Contents

deliverable. When neither vendor-specific objective evidence nor third-party evidence of selling price exists, the Company uses its best estimate of selling price (BESP) to allocate the arrangement consideration on a relative selling price basis to each deliverable. The objective of BESP is to determine the selling price of each deliverable when it is sold to advertisers on a stand-alone basis. In determining BESPs, the Company takes into consideration various factors, including, but not limited to, prices the Company charges for similar offerings, sales volume, geographies, pricing strategies and market conditions. Multiple deliverable arrangements primarily consist of combinations of the Company’s pay-for-performance products, Promoted Tweets and Promoted Accounts, which are priced through an auction, and Promoted Trends, which are priced on a fixed-fee-per day per geography basis. For arrangements that include a combination of these products, the Company develops an estimate of the selling price for these products in order to allocate any potential discount to all advertising products in the arrangement. The estimate of selling price for pay-for-performance products is determined based on the winning bid price; the estimate of selling price for Promoted Trends is based on Promoted Trends sold on a stand-alone basis and/or separately priced in a bundled arrangement by reference to a list price by geography which is approved periodically. The Company believes the use of BESP results in revenue recognition in a manner consistent with the underlying economics of the transaction and allocates the arrangement consideration on a relative selling price basis to each deliverable.

Cost of Revenue

Cost of revenue consists primarily of data center costs related to the Company’s co-located facilities, which includes lease and hosting costs, related support and maintenance costs and energy and bandwidth costs, as well as depreciation of its servers and networking equipment, networking costs and personnel-related costs, including salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation, for its operations teams. Cost of revenue also includes allocated facilities and other supporting overhead costs, amortization expense of technology acquired through acquisitions and capitalized labor costs.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation expense under the fair value recognition and measurement provisions of U.S. GAAP.

Stock-based compensation awards granted to employees are measured based on the grant-date fair value with the resulting expense recognized over the respective period during which the award recipient is required to provide service.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model on the dates of grant. Calculating the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes model requires various highly judgmental assumptions including the expected term of the stock options and stock price volatility. The Company estimates the expected term of stock options granted based on the simplified method. The Company estimates the expected volatility of its common stock on the dates of grant based on the average historical stock price volatility of a group of its comparable, publicly-traded companies in its industry. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. Expected dividend yield is 0% as the Company has not paid and does not anticipate paying dividends on the common stock. In addition, the Company is required to estimate the expected forfeiture rate and only recognize expense for those shares expected to vest. The Company estimates the forfeiture rate based on the historical experience of the Company’s stock-based awards that are granted and forfeited prior to vesting.

The fair value of stock options granted to non-employees, including consultants, is initially measured on the grant date and remeasured each reporting period based on the same methodology

 

F-12


Table of Contents

described above. Stock-based compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeiture on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. The stock options granted have a contractual term of ten years and generally vest over four years.

The Company has historically issued restricted Class A junior preferred stock and common stock subject to a lapsing right of repurchase to continuing employees of certain acquired companies. Since these issuances are subject to post-acquisition employment, the Company has accounted for them as post-acquisition stock-based compensation expense. Since the restricted Class A junior preferred stock contain certain redemption features, they are liability-classified on the consolidated balance sheets, and their fair value is remeasured each reporting period. Refer to Note 10— Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock for further details on Class A junior preferred stock’s redemption and other features, and Note 5— Fair Value Measurement for a description of valuation estimates. The restricted common stock are equity classified and valued based on the fair value on the date of issuance. Stock-based compensation expense for these shares is recorded on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, net of estimated forfeiture.

Pre-2013 RSUs, as defined and further described in Note 12— Common Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit , vest upon satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for these awards is generally satisfied over four years. The performance condition is satisfied upon the occurrence of a qualifying liquidity event, defined as the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering; and (ii) the date of a change in control. Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition has been satisfied are not forfeitable should employment terminate prior to the performance condition being satisfied. In addition, the vesting condition that will be satisfied subsequent to the Company’s initial public offering does not affect the expense attribution period for the RSUs for which the service condition has been satisfied as of the effective date of the initial public offering. As of September 30, 2013, the Company had not recognized any stock-based compensation expense for the Pre-2013 RSUs, because a qualifying event as described above had not occurred. Although the performance condition for the Pre-2013 RSUs is satisfied on a date subsequent to the initial public offering, because the satisfaction of the performance condition becomes probable upon the completion of the Company’s initial public offering for the Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition has been satisfied as of such date, the Company will record a significant cumulative stock-based compensation expense for these RSUs in the quarter in which the qualifying event occurs, using the accelerated attribution method. The remaining unrecognized stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs will be recorded over the remaining requisite service period using the accelerated attribution method, net of estimated forfeitures. The stock-based compensation expense for RSUs is measured based on the grant-date fair value.

Post-2013 RSUs, as defined and further described in Note 12— Common Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit , are not subject to a performance condition in order to vest. The service condition for these awards is generally satisfied over four years. The compensation expense related to these RSUs is based on the grant-date fair value and is recognized on a straight-line basis, net of estimated forfeitures, over the requisite service period.

Acquisitions

The Company accounts for acquisitions of entities that include inputs and processes and have the ability to create outputs as business combinations in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805 Business Combinations .   The purchase price of the acquisition is allocated to the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values at the acquisition dates. The excess of the purchase price over those fair values is recorded as goodwill. During the measurement period, which may be up to one year from the

 

F-13


Table of Contents

acquisition date, the Company may record adjustments to the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. Upon the conclusion of the measurement period or final determination of the values of assets acquired or liabilities assumed, whichever comes first, any subsequent adjustments are recorded to the consolidated statements of operations.

Costs to exit or restructure certain activities of an acquired company or the Company’s internal operations are accounted for as one-time termination and exit costs and are accounted for separately from the business combination. Restructuring and other acquisition-related costs are expensed as incurred.

Operating and Capital Leases

The Company leases office space and data center facilities under operating leases. Certain lease agreements contain free or escalating rent payment provisions. The Company recognizes rent expense under such leases on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Lease renewal periods are considered on a lease-by-lease basis in determining the lease term.

The Company also enters into server and networking equipment lease arrangements with original lease terms ranging from two to four years. The classification of each lease arrangement is determined in accordance with the criteria outlined in ASC Topic 840 Leases . The Company’s server and networking equipment leases typically are accounted for as capital leases as they meet one or more of the four capital lease classification criteria. Assets acquired under capital leases are amortized over the shorter of the remaining lease term or their estimated useful life, which is generally two to four years. As of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, the Company had capital lease obligations included in short-term and long-term capital lease obligations in the consolidated balance sheets of $43.8 million, $114.6 million, and $160.5 million, respectively. In the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Company recorded approximately $0.3 million, $1.3 million and $3.1 million, respectively, of interest expense in relation to these capital lease arrangements. In the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, the Company recorded $1.9 million and $4.9 million of interest expense, respectively.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments

The Company invests its excess cash primarily in short-term interest-bearing obligations, including government and investment-grade debt securities and money market funds. The Company classifies all liquid investments with stated maturities of three months or less from date of purchase as cash equivalents and all liquid investments with stated maturities of greater than three months from the date of purchase as marketable securities.

The Company determines the appropriate classification of its investments in marketable securities at the time of purchase and reevaluates such designation at each balance sheet date. The Company has classified and accounted for its marketable securities as available-for-sale. After consideration of the Company’s capital preservation objectives, as well as its liquidity requirements, the Company may sell securities prior to their stated maturities. The Company classifies securities with stated maturities of 12 months or greater as long-term investments in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013, the Company did not hold any long-term investments. The Company carries its available-for-sale securities at fair value, and reports the unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, as a component of stockholders’ deficit, except for unrealized losses determined to be other than temporary which are recorded as other income (expense), net. The Company determines any realized gains or losses on the sale of marketable securities on a specific identification method and records such gains and losses as a component of other income (expense), net.

 

F-14


Table of Contents

The Company evaluates the investments periodically for possible other-than-temporary impairment. A decline in fair value below the amortized costs of debt securities is considered an other-than-temporary impairment if the Company has the intent to sell the security or it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the security before recovery of the entire amortized cost basis. In those instances, an impairment charge equal to the difference between the fair value and the amortized cost basis is recognized in earnings. Regardless of the Company’s intent or requirement to sell a debt security, impairment is considered other-than-temporary if the Company does not expect to recover the entire amortized cost basis.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts receivable. The primary focus of the Company’s investment strategy is to preserve capital and meet liquidity requirements. The Company’s investment policy addresses the level of credit exposure by limiting the concentration in any one corporate issuer or sector and establishing a minimum allowable credit rating. To manage the risk exposure, the Company invests cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments in a variety of fixed income securities, including short-term interest-bearing obligations, including government and investment-grade debt securities and money market funds. The Company places its cash primarily in checking and money market accounts with reputable financial institutions. Deposits held with these financial institutions may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits, if any.

The Company’s accounts receivable are typically unsecured and are derived from customers around the world in different industries. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and maintains allowances for potential credit losses. Historically, such losses have been within management’s expectations. As of December 31, 2011 and 2012, one customer accounted for 13% of the Company’s net accounts receivable balance. As of September 30, 2013, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s net accounts receivable balance. Two customers accounted for 42% and 20%, respectively, of the Company’s revenue in 2010. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of the Company’s revenue in the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013.

Accounts Receivable, Net

The Company records accounts receivable at the invoiced amount. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts to reserve for potentially uncollectible receivable amounts. In evaluating the Company’s ability to collect outstanding receivable balances, the Company considers various factors including the age of the balance, the creditworthiness of the customer, which is assessed based on ongoing credit evaluations and payment history, and the customer’s current financial condition.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Assets acquired under capital leases and leasehold improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful life. The estimated useful lives of property and equipment are described below:

 

Property and Equipment

  

Estimated Useful Life

Computer hardware and networking equipment

   Three to four years

Computer software

   One to three years

Office equipment and other

   Five years

Leased equipment and leasehold improvements

   Lesser of estimated useful life or remaining lease term

 

F-15


Table of Contents

Costs of maintenance and repairs that do not improve or extend the lives of the respective assets are expensed as incurred. Upon retirement or sale, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the balance sheet and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in operating expenses.

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of the net tangible and intangible assets acquired in a business combination. Goodwill is not amortized, but is tested for impairment at least annually or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the asset may be impaired. The Company’s impairment tests are based on a single operating segment and reporting unit structure. The goodwill impairment test involves a two-step process. The first step involves comparing the fair value of the Company’s reporting unit to its carrying value, including goodwill. If the carrying value of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, the second step of the test is performed by comparing the carrying value of the goodwill in the reporting unit to its implied fair value. An impairment charge is recognized for the excess of the carrying value of goodwill over its implied fair value.

The Company’s annual goodwill impairment test resulted in no impairment charges in any of the periods presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Intangible Assets, Net

Intangible assets are carried at cost and amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, which is generally 12 to 36 months, other than for one asset acquisition for which the estimated useful life is 42 months. The Company reviews identifiable amortizable intangible assets to be held and used for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on the lowest level of identifiable estimated undiscounted cash flows resulting from use of the asset and its eventual disposition. Measurement of any impairment loss is based on the excess of the carrying value of the asset over its fair value. There has been no impairment charges recorded in any of the periods presented in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. See Note 7— Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets for additional information.

Fair Value Measurements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”)’s authoritative guidance on fair value measurements establishes a framework for measuring fair value and expands required disclosure about the fair value measurements of assets and liabilities. This guidance requires the Company to classify and disclose assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis, as well as fair value measurements of assets and liabilities measured on a nonrecurring basis in periods subsequent to initial measurement, in a three-tier fair value hierarchy as described below.

The guidance defines fair value as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The guidance describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1—Observable inputs, such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2—Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

 

F-16


Table of Contents

The Company measures its cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted Class A junior preferred stock and preferred stock warrant liabilities at fair value. The Company classifies its cash equivalents and short-term investments within Level 1 or Level 2 because the Company values these investments using quoted market prices or alternative pricing sources and models utilizing market observable inputs. The fair value of the Company’s Level 1 financial assets is based on quoted market prices of the identical underlying security. The fair value of the Company’s Level 2 financial assets is based on inputs that are directly or indirectly observable in the market, including the readily-available pricing sources for the identical underlying security that may not be actively traded. The Company classifies its restricted Class A junior preferred stock and preferred stock warrant within Level 3, because they are valued using valuation techniques using certain inputs that are unobservable in the market. See Note 5— Fair Value Measurements for further details.

Internal Use Software and Website Development Costs

The Company capitalizes certain costs incurred in developing software programs or websites for internal use. In the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, the Company capitalized costs totaling approximately $1.3 million, $4.8 million, $11.6 million, $7.5 million and $22.7 million, respectively. The estimated useful life of costs capitalized is evaluated for each specific project and is generally one year. In the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, the amortization of capitalized costs included in cost of revenue totaled approximately $0.3 million, $1.9 million, $5.6 million, $4.3 million and $4.5 million, respectively. Capitalized internal use software development costs are included in property and equipment, net. Included in the capitalized amounts above are zero, $0.7 million, $1.3 million, $0.9 million and $6.7 million of stock-based compensation expense in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for its income taxes using the asset and liability method whereby deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences between the bases used for financial reporting and income tax reporting purposes, as well as for operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred income taxes are provided based on the enacted tax rates expected to be in effect at the time such temporary differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided for deferred tax assets if it is more-likely-than-not that the Company will not realize those tax assets through future operations.

The Company evaluates and accounts for uncertain tax positions using a two-step approach. Recognition (step one) occurs when the Company concludes that a tax position, based solely on its technical merits, is more-likely-than-not to be sustainable upon examination. Measurement (step two) determines the amount of benefit that is greater than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with a taxing authority that has full knowledge of all relevant information. De-recognition of a tax position that was previously recognized would occur when the Company subsequently determines that a tax position no longer meets the more-likely-than-not threshold of being sustained.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss consists of two components, net loss and other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) refers to gains and losses that are recorded as an element of stockholders’ equity and are excluded from net loss. The Company’s other comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of unrealized gain or loss on available-for-sale securities, net of tax, and foreign currency translation adjustment.

 

F-17


Table of Contents

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2013, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2013-02 “Reporting of Amounts Reclassified Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income.” ASU No. 2013-02 requires an entity to disaggregate the total change of each component of other comprehensive income either on the face of the income statement or as a separate disclosure in the notes. The new guidance became effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012 and is applied prospectively. The Company adopted this guidance during the three months ended March 31, 2013, and the adoption did not have any impact on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows as the amounts reclassified out of accumulated other comprehensive loss are not significant.

In July 2013, the FASB issued a new accounting standard update on the financial statement presentation of unrecognized tax benefits. The new guidance provides that a liability related to an unrecognized tax benefit would be presented as a reduction of a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward if such settlement is required or expected in the event the uncertain tax position is disallowed. The new guidance becomes effective for the Company on January 1, 2014 and it should be applied prospectively to unrecognized tax benefits that exist at the effective date with retrospective application permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of this new guidance.

Note 3. Acquisitions

2011 Acquisitions

In May 2011, the Company acquired 100% of the equity interest of TweetDeck, Inc. (“TweetDeck”), a privately-held U.S. corporation with operations in London, United Kingdom, which developed a Twitter interface application for modifying the display of Tweets. The acquisition of TweetDeck has been accounted for as a business combination. The purchase price of $20.4 million ($17.1 million in cash and $3.3 million in the Company’s common stock) was allocated as follows: $2.3 million to developed technology, $0.7 million to assets acquired and $1.2 million to liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair value on the acquisition date, and the excess $18.6 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. Goodwill is primarily attributable to the enhancement of the Twitter user experience, expected synergies arising from the acquisition and the value of acquired talent. This goodwill is not deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technology was amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life of 12 months.

In 2011, the Company acquired five additional companies. These acquisitions, which were not individually significant, were accounted for as business combinations. The total purchase price for these acquisitions of $18.5 million (paid with the Company’s common stock and Class A junior preferred stock valued at approximately $15.2 million and cash consideration of $3.3 million) was allocated as follows: $8.4 million to developed technology, $0.4 million to assets acquired and $2.2 million to deferred tax liability, and the excess $11.9 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. Goodwill is primarily attributable to the value of acquired assembled workforce and is not deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technologies was amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful life of 12 months.

In relation to the 2011 acquisitions, the Company also agreed to pay up to $15.5 million in both cash and equity consideration contingent upon the continued employment with the Company of certain employees of the acquired entities. The Company recognizes compensation expense in relation to these cash and equity consideration over the requisite service periods of up to 48 months from the respective acquisition dates on a straight-line basis.

 

F-18


Table of Contents

2012 Acquisitions

In January 2012, the Company acquired 100% of the equity interest of Dasient, Inc. (“Dasient”), a privately-held company based in Sunnyvale, California which provided Internet security services to protect advertising networks from malicious ads. The acquisition of Dasient has been accounted for as a business combination. The purchase price of $19.1 million ($0.1 million in cash and $19.0 million in the Company’s Class A junior preferred stock) was allocated as follows: $7.7 million to developed technology, $0.8 million to assets acquired and $1.4 million to liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair value on the acquisition date, and the excess $12.0 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. This goodwill is primarily attributable to the Company’s ability to further enhance the security of its web platform from malware and other online abuses, its ability to more effectively identify and monitor fraudulent accounts or activities on its platform and the value of acquired talent. Goodwill is not deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technology was amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life of 12 months.

In 2012, the Company acquired nine additional companies. These acquisitions, which were not individually significant, were accounted for as business combinations. The total purchase price for these acquisitions of $33.1 million (paid with the Company’s common stock and Class A junior preferred stock valued at approximately $28.1 million and cash consideration of $5.0 million) was primarily allocated as follows: $8.3 million to developed technology and $4.7 million, of which $3.5 million is cash acquired, to net assets acquired based on their estimated fair value on the acquisition date, and the excess $20.1 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. Goodwill recorded in relation to these acquisitions is primarily attributable to expected synergies and the value of acquired assembled workforce. Five of the acquisitions resulted in tax-deductible goodwill of $10.0 million for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technology will be amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful life of 12 months.

Under the terms of the acquisitions, the Company has the right to the return of a fixed number of shares issued to non-employee investors if specified performance conditions tied to certain key employees’ continued employment at the Company for one year after the acquisition are not met. The fair value of these contingently returnable shares of approximately $4.0 million and $3.0 million for Class A junior preferred stock and common stock issued, respectively, was included in the purchase price and classified as part of redeemable convertible preferred stock and stockholders’ deficit, respectively, on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company believes that the performance condition will be fully satisfied for these shares. As of September 30, 2013, none of the consideration has been returned to the Company.

In relation to the 2012 acquisitions, the Company also agreed to pay up to $28.5 million of cash and equity consideration contingent upon the continued employment with the Company of certain employees of the acquired entities. The Company recognizes compensation expense related to these consideration over the requisite service periods of up to 48 months from the respective acquisition dates on a straight-line basis.

The results of operations for each of these acquisitions have been included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations since the date of acquisition. Revenue and loss from operations arising from the acquisitions completed in 2012 that are included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for 2012 were zero and $26.9 million, respectively.

The following summary of unaudited pro forma results of operations of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2012 is presented using the assumption that the acquisitions made in 2012 were completed as of January 1, 2011. These pro forma results of the Company have been

 

F-19


Table of Contents

prepared for comparative purposes only and do not purport to be indicative of the results of operations which would have resulted had the acquisitions occurred as of January 1, 2011, nor is it indicative of future operating results. The pro forma results presented include amortization charges for acquired intangible assets, adjustments for incremental compensation expense related to the post-combination service arrangements entered into with the continuing employees and related tax effects (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2011     2012  
     (Unaudited)  

Revenue

   $ 106,313      $   316,933   

Net loss

     (166,317     (70,200

2013 Acquisitions (unaudited)

In January 2013, the Company acquired Crashlytics, Inc. (“Crashlytics”), a privately-held company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which developed mobile application crash reporting and analysis solutions for mobile application developers. The acquisition of Crashlytics has been accounted for as a business combination. The purchase price of $38.2 million paid in the Company’s common stock was allocated as follows: $5.0 million to developed technology, $0.3 million to assets acquired, $0.3 million to deferred tax liability recorded and $0.1 million to liabilities assumed, and the excess $33.3 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. Goodwill is primarily attributable to the Company’s ability to further improve the efficiency and the overall performance of its mobile platform and the value of acquired talent. This goodwill is not deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technology will be amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life of 12 months. Under the terms of the acquisition, the Company has the right to the return of shares issued to non-employee investors if specified performance conditions tied to certain key employees’ continued employment at the Company for one year after the acquisition are not met. The fair value of these contingently returnable shares of $6.7 million is included in the purchase price and is classified as part of stockholders’ deficit on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company believes that the performance condition will be fully satisfied for these shares. As of September 30, 2013, none of the consideration has been returned to the Company.

In February 2013, the Company acquired Bluefin Labs, Inc. (“Bluefin”), a privately-held company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which provided social television analytics services to brand advertisers, agencies and TV networks. The acquisition of Bluefin has been accounted for as a business combination. The purchase price of $67.3 million paid in the Company’s common stock was allocated as follows: $7.4 million to developed technology, $1.8 million to assets acquired and $1.9 million to liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair value on the acquisition date, and the excess $60.0 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. This goodwill is primarily attributable to the potential for future product offering, ability to further enhance the advertiser experience in using the Company’s services and the value of acquired talent. Goodwill is not deductible for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technology will be amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life of 18 months. Under the terms of the acquisition, the Company has the right to the return of shares issued to non-employee investors if specified performance conditions tied to certain key employees’ continued employment at the Company for one year after the acquisition are not met. The fair value of these contingently returnable shares of $7.9 million is included in the purchase price and is classified as part of stockholders’ deficit on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company believes that the performance condition will be fully satisfied for these shares. As of September 30, 2013, none of the consideration has been returned to the Company.

In June 2013, the Company completed the acquisition of certain assets of a privately-held company for the total purchase price of $2.5 million. This transaction was accounted for as a purchase of assets and, accordingly, the total purchase price was allocated to the identifiable intangible assets

 

F-20


Table of Contents

acquired based on their respective fair values on the acquisition date. As a result of this transaction, the Company recorded intangible assets of $2.5 million, which was comprised of $2.0 million of assembled workforce and $0.5 million of developed technology. The developed technology and assembled workforce will be amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives of 12 and 42 months, respectively.

During the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company completed acquisitions of five additional companies, which were not individually significant and accounted for as business combinations. The total purchase price for these acquisitions of $13.2 million (paid in shares of the Company’s common stock valued at approximately $7.4 million and cash consideration of $5.8 million) was primarily allocated to $4.5 million of developed technology and $0.2 million of assumed liabilities based on their estimated fair value on the acquisition date, and the excess $8.9 million of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired was recorded as goodwill. Goodwill recorded in relation to these acquisitions is primarily attributable to expected synergies and the value of acquired assembled workforce. Two of the acquisitions resulted in tax-deductible goodwill of $7.3 million for U.S. income tax purposes. Developed technology will be amortized on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives of 24 to 36 months.

In relation to the 2013 acquisitions, the Company also agreed to pay up to $56.9 million of equity consideration which was to be paid to certain employees of the acquired entities contingent upon their continued employment with the Company. The Company recognizes compensation expense related to the equity consideration over the requisite services periods of up to 48 months from the respective acquisition dates on a straight-line basis. The Company also granted to continuing employees options to purchase 0.8 million shares of common stock in exchange for their outstanding options to purchase the shares of the acquired entities. Excluding the fair value of the stock options that was allocated and recorded as part of the purchase price for the portion of the service period completed pre-acquisition, the Company will recognize approximately $9.2 million of stock-based compensation expense in relation to these stock options over the remaining requisite service periods of up to 48 months from the respective acquisition dates on a straight-line basis.

The Company has considered all potential identifiable intangible assets in its past business combinations and determined that it was not appropriate to allocate material amounts to identifiable intangible assets other than acquired developed technologies. In valuing acquired developed technologies, the Company determined that neither the income approach nor the market approach was relevant, and, consistent with a market participant approach that would weigh a “make” versus “buy” decision when considering the acquisition of a particular incremental technology, applied the cost approach in determining the amount of purchase price allocated to acquired developed technology. The cost approach uses the concept of reproduction cost as an indicator of fair value. The premise of the cost approach is that a prudent investor would pay no more for an asset than the amount for which the asset could be replaced with a new one. Reproduction cost refers to the cost incurred to reproduce the asset using the exact same specifications. In order to apply the cost method to determine the fair value of each acquired developed technology, the Company considered the following: (i) the estimated development hours or equivalent of person months required to reproduce the technology, (ii) the related labor cost and (iii) an expected market participant profit margin.

For certain transactions that were considered asset acquisitions, the Company identified assembled workforce as an intangible asset. The Company used the cost approach to value the assembled workforce. The cost approach takes into consideration the relevant costs to replace the workforce, which include recruiting and training costs required until the employees become fully integrated.

The results of operations for each of these acquisitions have been included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations since the date of acquisition. Revenue and loss from operations

 

F-21


Table of Contents

arising from the acquisitions completed during the nine months ended September 30, 2013 that are included in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2013 were $1.8 million and $30.2 million, respectively.

The following summary of unaudited pro forma results of operations of the Company for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 is presented using the assumption that the acquisitions made during the nine months ended September 30, 2013 were completed as of January 1, 2012. These pro forma results of the Company have been prepared for comparative purposes only and do not purport to be indicative of the results of operations which would have resulted had the acquisitions occurred as of January 1, 2012, nor is it indicative of future operating results. The pro forma results presented include amortization charges for acquired intangible assets, adjustments for incremental compensation expense related to the post-combination service arrangements entered into with the continuing employees and related tax effects (in thousands):

 

     Nine Months ended September 30,  
           2012                 2013        
     (Unaudited)  

Revenue

   $     206,452      $     422,671   

Net loss

     (108,826     (126,737

Note 4. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments consist of the following (in thousands):

 

     December 31,      September 30,
2013
 
     2011      2012     
                   (Unaudited)  

Cash and cash equivalents:

        

Cash

   $ 20,661       $ 18,928       $ 74,408   

Money market funds

     62,087         56,934         24,821   

U.S. government and agency securities including treasury bills

     71,750         115,225         40,975   

Corporate notes and commercial paper

     64,498         12,241         15,500   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents

   $ 218,996       $ 203,328       $ 155,704   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Short-term investments:

        

U.S. government and agency securities including treasury bills

   $ 209,443       $ 102,211       $ 71,077   

Corporate notes, certificates of deposit and commercial paper

     121,100         119,317         94,294   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total short-term investments

   $ 330,543       $ 221,528       $ 165,371   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The following tables summarize unrealized gains and losses related to available-for-sale securities classified as short-term investments on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013 (in thousands):

 

     December 31, 2011  
     Gross
Amortized
Costs
     Gross
Unrealized
Gains
     Gross
Unrealized
Losses
    Aggregated
Estimated
Fair Value
 

US Government and agency securities including treasury bills

   $ 209,452       $ 7       $ (16   $ 209,443   

Corporate notes and commercial paper

     121,134         11         (45     121,100   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total available-for-sale securities classified as short-term investments

   $ 330,586       $             18       $         (61   $ 330,543   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-22


Table of Contents
     December 31, 2012  
     Gross
Amortized
Costs
     Gross
Unrealized
Gains
     Gross
Unrealized
Losses
    Aggregated
Estimated
Fair Value
 

US Government and agency securities including treasury bills

   $ 102,191       $             21       $ (1   $  102,211   

Corporate notes and commercial paper

     119,339         7         (29     119,317   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total available-for-sale securities classified as short-term investments

   $ 221,530       $ 28       $         (30   $ 221,528   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

     September 30, 2013  
     Gross
Amortized
Costs
     Gross
Unrealized
Gains
     Gross
Unrealized
Losses
    Aggregated
Estimated
Fair Value
 
     (Unaudited)  

US Government and agency securities including treasury bills

   $ 71,057       $ 21       $ (1   $ 71,077   

Corporate notes, certificates of deposit and commercial paper

     94,307         5         (18     94,294   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total available-for-sale securities classified as short-term investments

   $ 165,364       $             26       $         (19   $  165,371   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

The available-for-sale securities classified as cash and cash equivalents on the consolidated balance sheets are not included in the tables above as the gross unrealized gains and losses were immaterial for each period; their carrying value approximates fair value because of the short maturity period of these instruments.

The following tables show all short-term investments in an unrealized loss position for which other-than-temporary impairment has not been recognized and the related gross unrealized losses and fair value, aggregated by investment category and the length of time that individual securities have been in a continuous unrealized loss position (in thousands):

 

    December 31, 2011  
    Less than 12 Months     12 Months or Greater     Total  
    Fair Value     Unrealized
Loss
    Fair Value     Unrealized
Loss
    Fair Value     Unrealized
Loss
 

US Government and agency securities including treasury bills

  $ 85,407      $ (16   $           —      $           —      $ 85,407      $ (16

Corporate notes and commercial paper

    49,525        (45                   49,525        (45
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total short-term investments in an unrealized loss position

  $ 134,932      $         (61   $      $      $ 134,932      $         (61
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

    December 31, 2012  
    Less than 12 Months     12 Months or Greater     Total  
    Fair Value     Unrealized
Loss
    Fair Value     Unrealized
Loss
    Fair Value     Unrealized
Loss
 

US Government and agency securities including treasury bills

  $ 9,993      $ (1   $           —      $           —      $ 9,993      $ (1

Corporate notes and commercial paper

    69,068        (29                   69,068        (29
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total short-term investments in an unrealized loss position

  $ 79,061      $         (30   $      $      $ 79,061      $         (30
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-23


Table of Contents
     September 30, 2013  
     Less than 12 Months     12 Months or Greater      Total  
     Fair Value      Unrealized
Loss
    Fair Value      Unrealized
Loss
     Fair Value      Unrealized
Loss
 
     (Unaudited)  

US Government and agency securities including treasury bills

   $ 8,525       $ (1   $         —       $         —       $ 8,525       $ (1

Corporate notes, certificates of deposit and commercial paper

     32,736         (18                     32,736         (18
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total short-term investments in an unrealized loss position

   $ 41,261       $         (19   $       $       $ 41,261       $         (19
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Investments are reviewed periodically to identify possible other-than-temporary impairments. No impairment loss has been recorded on the securities included in the tables above as the Company believes that the decrease in fair value of these securities is temporary and expects to recover up to (or beyond) the initial cost of investment for these securities.

Note 5. Fair Value Measurements

The following tables set forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013 based on the three-tier fair value hierarchy (in thousands):

 

    December 31, 2011  
    Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

Assets

       

Cash equivalents:

       

Money market funds

  $ 62,087      $      $      $ 62,087   

Treasury bills

    13,000                      13,000   

Agency securities

           58,750               58,750   

Commercial paper

           64,498               64,498   

Short-term investments:

       

Treasury bills

    27,544                      27,544   

Agency securities

           168,844               168,844   

Commercial paper

           56,979               56,979   

Corporate notes

           64,121               64,121   

U.S. government securities

           13,055               13,055   

Liabilities

       

Preferred stock warrant (1)

                  (1,752     (1,752
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $ 102,631      $ 426,247      $ (1,752   $ 527,126   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-24


Table of Contents
    December 31, 2012  
    Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  

Assets

       

Cash equivalents:

       

Money market funds

  $ 56,934      $      $      $ 56,934   

Treasury bills

    71,073                      71,073   

Agency securities

           32,626               32,626   

Commercial paper

           10,199               10,199   

Corporate notes

           2,042               2,042   

U.S. government securities

           11,526               11,526   

Short-term investments:

       

Treasury bills

    8,000                      8,000   

Agency securities

           36,038               36,038   

Commercial paper

           26,852               26,852   

Corporate notes

           92,465               92,465   

U.S. government securities

           58,173               58,173   

Liabilities

       

Restricted Class A junior preferred stock (1)

                  (4,964     (4,964

Preferred stock warrant (1)

                  (1,943     (1,943
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $ 136,007      $ 269,921      $ (6,907   $ 399,021   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

    September 30, 2013  
    Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Total  
    (Unaudited)  

Assets

       

Cash equivalents:

       

Money market funds

  $ 24,821      $      $      $ 24,821   

Treasury bills

    33,975                      33,975   

Agency securities

           7,000               7,000   

Commercial paper

           15,500               15,500   

Short-term investments:

       

Treasury bills

    34,923                      34,923   

Agency securities

           22,299               22,299   

Commercial paper

           29,744               29,744   

Corporate notes

           61,501               61,501   

U.S. government securities

           13,855               13,855   

Certificates of deposit

           3,049               3,049   

Liabilities

       

Restricted Class A junior preferred stock (1)

                  (8,805     (8,805

Preferred stock warrant (1)

                  (2,365     (2,365
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

  $ 93,719      $ 152,948      $ (11,170   $ 235,497   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1)  

Restricted Class A junior preferred stock and the preferred stock warrant are included in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

Fair Value of Restricted Class A Junior Preferred Stock

The Company’s restricted Class A junior preferred stock liability originates from the issuance of Class A junior preferred stock as part of post-acquisition service arrangements to certain continuing employees. Since these issuances contain certain redemption features, they are classified as liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets, and their fair value is remeasured each reporting period. Refer to Note 10— Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock for further details on Class A junior preferred stock’s redemption and other features. In order to determine the fair value of Class A junior preferred

 

F-25


Table of Contents

stock, the Company first determines the business enterprise value, or BEV, using the market transaction method which utilizes the most recent negotiated arm’s-length transactions involving the sale or transfer of the Company’s stock or equity interests. The estimated BEV is then allocated to the shares of preferred stock, common stock, warrant and stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Estimates of the volatility for the Black-Scholes option pricing model were based on the volatility of common stock of a group of comparable, publicly-traded companies. Estimates of expected term were based on the estimated time to liquidity event. The risk-free interest rate was based on the U.S. Treasury yield for a term consistent with the estimated expected term.

The following table presents a reconciliation of the Class A junior preferred stock liability measured at fair value as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013 using significant unobservable inputs, and the amount of loss recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations as a result of change in fair value (in thousands):

 

Class A junior preferred stock liabilities

  

Balance as of December 31, 2011

   $   

Vesting of restricted stock

     3,942   

Revaluation

     1,022   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

     4,964   

Vesting of restricted stock (unaudited)

     1,846   

Revaluation (unaudited)

     1,995   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

   $ 8,805   
  

 

 

 

Fair Value of Preferred Stock Warrant

In December 2008, the Company issued a fully vested warrant in connection with obtaining a loan, which was subsequently repaid in full in April 2009. The warrant is exercisable for 116,512 shares of Series C convertible preferred stock with an exercise price of $0.34 per share at the sole discretion of the warrant holder within ten years from the date of issuance. The Company utilized the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of the outstanding preferred stock warrant. Estimates of the volatility for the option pricing model were based on the volatility of common stock of a group of comparable, publicly-traded companies. Estimates of expected term were based on the remaining contractual period of the warrant. The risk-free interest rate was based on the U.S. Treasury yield for a term consistent with the estimated expected term. The key inputs used in preferred stock warrant valuation as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013 were as follows:

 

     December 31,        
     2011     2012     September 30, 2013  
                 (Unaudited)  

Expected dividend yield

                     

Risk-free interest rate

     1.35     0.95     1.43

Expected volatility

     52.88     54.71     52.16

Expected life (in years)

     6.96        5.96        5.21   

 

F-26


Table of Contents

The following table presents a reconciliation of the preferred stock warrant measured at fair value as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013 using significant unobservable inputs, and the amount of gain or loss recorded in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations in other income (expense) as a result of change in fair value (in thousands):

 

Preferred stock warrant liabilities

  

Balance as of December 31, 2010

   $ 280   

Revaluation

     1,472   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2011

     1,752   

Revaluation

     191   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

     1,943   

Revaluation (unaudited)

     422   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

   $ 2,365   
  

 

 

 

Note 6. Property and Equipment, Net

The following table presents the detail of property and equipment, net for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

     December 31,        
     2011     2012     September 30, 2013  
                 (Unaudited)  

Property and equipment, net

      

Equipment

   $ 63,776      $ 197,659      $       305,266   

Furniture and leasehold improvements

     6,690        34,363        52,438   

Capitalized software

     6,523        16,466        34,786   

Construction in progress

     7,550        10,323        31,027   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     84,539        258,811        423,517   

Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization

     (22,556     (73,237     (139,493
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Property and equipment, net

   $ 61,983      $ 185,574      $ 284,024   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The gross carrying amount of property and equipment includes $64.5 million, $187.9 million and $281.0 million of server and networking equipment acquired under capital leases as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, respectively. The accumulated depreciation of the equipment under capital leases totaled $17.2 million, $57.7 million and $108.4 million as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013, respectively.

Depreciation expense totaled $2.9 million, $19.5 million and $53.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively and $36.6 million and $66.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively. Included in these amounts were depreciation expense for server and networking equipment acquired under capital leases in the amount of $2.0 million, $15.3 million and $40.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively, and $27.3 million and $50.9 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

 

F-27


Table of Contents

Note 7. Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The following table presents the goodwill activities for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

Goodwill   

Balance as of December 31, 2010

   $ 6,149   

TweetDeck acquisition

     18,558   

Other acquisitions

     12,054   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2011

     36,761   

Dasient acquisition

     11,963   

Other acquisitions

     20,089   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2012

     68,813   

Crashlytics acquisition (unaudited)

     33,254   

Bluefin acquisition (unaudited)

     60,019   

Other acquisitions (unaudited)

     8,945   
  

 

 

 

Balance as of September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

   $ 171,031   
  

 

 

 

For each of the period presented, gross goodwill balance equaled the net balance since no impairment charges have been recorded. Refer to Note 3— Acquisitions for further details about goodwill.

The following table presents the detail of other intangible assets for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

     Gross Carrying
Value
     Accumulated
Amortization
    Net
Carrying Value
 

December 31, 2011:

       

Developed technology

   $           18,287       $      (11,869   $            6,418   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

December 31, 2012:

       

Developed technology

   $ 34,309       $ (30,556   $ 3,753   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

September 30, 2013 (unaudited):

       

Developed technology

   $ 51,653       $ (41,357   $ 10,296   

Assembled workforce

   $ 1,960       $ (160   $ 1,800   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

   $ 53,613       $ (41,517   $ 12,096   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Amortization expense associated with other intangible assets for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 was $7.5 million, $4.7 million and $18.7 million, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, it was $14.9 million and $11.0 million, respectively. These expenses were included in cost of revenue on the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Estimated future amortization expense as of September 30, 2013 was $3.5 million for the remaining three months of 2013, and $6.1 million, $1.7 million and $0.8 million for years ending December 31, 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Note 8. Accrued and Other Current Liabilities

The following table presents the detail of accrued and other current liabilities for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

     December 31,         
     2011      2012      September 30, 2013  
                   (Unaudited)  

Accrued equipment purchases under capital lease

   $ 4,004       $ 17,223       $         15,755   

Accrued compensation

     3,309         8,467         16,031   

Accrued equipment and maintenance

     941         940         14,974   

Accrued tax liabilities

     5,266         5,711         8,487   

Accrued professional services

     1,465         3,625         8,107   

Accrued other

     5,522         16,645         22,628   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 20,507       $ 52,611       $ 85,982   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

F-28


Table of Contents

Note 9. Net Loss per Share

The Company computes net loss per share of common stock in conformity with the two-class method required for participating securities. The Company considers all series of the Company’s redeemable convertible preferred stock and convertible preferred stock to be participating securities as the holders of the preferred stock are entitled to receive a noncumulative dividend on a pari passu basis in the event that a dividend is paid on common stock. The Company also considers the shares issued upon the early exercise of stock options subject to repurchase to be participating securities, because holders of such shares have non-forfeitable dividend rights in the event a dividend is paid on common stock. The holders of all series of convertible preferred stock and the holders of early exercised shares subject to repurchase do not have a contractual obligation to share in the losses of the Company. As such, the Company’s net losses for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 were not allocated to these participating securities.

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing total net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average common shares outstanding. The weighted-average common shares outstanding is adjusted for shares subject to repurchase such as unvested restricted stock granted to employees in connection with acquisitions, contingently returnable shares and escrowed shares supporting indemnification obligations that are issued in connection with acquisitions and unvested stock options exercised. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding including potential dilutive common stock instruments. In the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, the Company’s potential common stock instruments such as stock options, RSUs, shares subject to repurchases, shares of preferred stock and the preferred stock warrant were not included in the computation of diluted loss per share as the effect of including these shares in the calculation would have been anti-dilutive.

The following table presents the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per share for periods presented (in thousands, except per share data).

 

    Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
    2010     2011     2012             2012                     2013          
                      (Unaudited)  

Net loss

  $ (67,324   $ (128,302   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $ (133,852

Less: Deemed dividend to investors in relation to the tender offer

           35,816                        
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss attributable to common stockholders

  $ (67,324   $ (164,118   $ (79,399   $ (70,694   $     (133,852
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Basic shares:

         

Weighted-average common shares outstanding

    82,471        109,891        120,845            119,822        137,486   

Weighted-average unvested restricted stock subject to repurchase

    (6,479     (7,347     (3,444     (3,703     (6,290
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used to compute basic net loss per share

    75,992        102,544        117,401        116,119        131,196   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted shares:

         

Weighted-average shares used to compute diluted net loss per share

    75,992        102,544        117,401        116,119        131,196   
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

         

Basic

  $ (0.89   $ (1.60   $ (0.68   $ (0.61   $ (1.02
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted

  $ (0.89   $ (1.60   $ (0.68   $ (0.61   $ (1.02
 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-29


Table of Contents

Unaudited Pro Forma Net Loss per Share

Pro forma basic and diluted net loss per share were computed to give effect to the automatic conversion of Series A convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock and Class A junior preferred stock using the if converted method as though the conversion had occurred as of the beginning of the period or the original date of issuance, if later. In addition, the pro forma share amounts give effect to the Company’s Pre-2013 RSUs that have satisfied the service condition as of December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2013. These RSUs will vest and settle upon the satisfaction of a qualifying event as further defined in Note 12— Common Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit . Stock-based compensation expense associated with the Pre-2013 RSUs is excluded from this pro forma presentation. If the qualifying event had occurred on September 30, 2013, the Company would have recorded $385.2 million of stock-based compensation expense related to these RSUs.

 

    Year Ended
December 31,
2012
    Nine Months
Ended September 30,
2013
 
    (Unaudited)  

Net loss

  $ (79,399   $ (133,852

Basic shares:

   

Weighted-average shares used to compute basic net loss per share

    117,401        131,196   

Pro forma adjustment to reflect assumed conversion of preferred stock to occur upon completion of the Company’s initial public offering

        331,431            332,347   

Pro forma adjustment to reflect assumed vesting of Pre-2013 RSUs

    1,068        7,509   
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used to compute basic pro forma net loss per share

    449,900        471,052   
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Diluted shares:

   

Weighted-average shares used to compute basic pro forma net loss per share

    449,900        471,052   

Effect of potentially dilutive securities

             
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used to compute diluted pro forma net loss per share

    449,900        471,052   
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Pro forma net loss per share attributable to common stockholders:

   

Basic and Diluted

  $ (0.18   $ (0.28
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following potential common shares were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders and pro forma diluted net loss per share because their effect would have been anti-dilutive for the periods presented (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Nine Months
Ended September 30,
 
     2010      2011      2012          2012              2013      
                          (Unaudited)  

Stock options

     71,551         55,066         48,787         51,947         42,709   

Post-2013 RSUs

                                     41,733   

Shares subject to repurchase

     7,783         5,526         4,237         3,773         7,520   

Preferred stock warrant

     117         117         117         117         117   

 

F-30


Table of Contents

Note 10. Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock

As of September 30, 2013, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, authorizes the Company to issue 15.0 million shares of Class A junior preferred stock. Under the terms of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors may determine the rights, preferences and terms of the Company’s authorized shares of preferred stock.

Voting and Dividends

Each holder of Class A junior preferred stock is entitled to the number of votes equal to one-tenth of the number of shares of common stock into which they may be converted. The holders of Class A junior preferred stock are also entitled to receive dividends whenever funds are legally available and when and if declared by the Board of Directors on a pari passu basis. Such dividends are noncumulative.

Liquidation

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, either voluntary or involuntary, subject to payment in full of the liquidation preference of the Series G convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock and Series A convertible preferred stock, the holders of the then outstanding Class A junior preferred stock are first entitled to receive, prior and in preference to any payment or distribution, or setting aside for any payment or distribution, of any available funds and assets on any shares of the common stock, an amount equal to the greater of (a) $1.00 per share of Class A junior preferred stock, adjusted for stock splits, combinations, stock dividends or recapitalizations of the Class A junior preferred stock, plus all declared but unpaid dividends, or (b) the per share amount that would have been paid if it had been converted to common stock. If upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company and payment in full of the liquidation preference of the convertible senior preferred stock (Series A convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock), the available funds and assets to be distributed to the holders of the Class A junior preferred stock shall be insufficient to permit the payment to such stockholders of the full preferential amount, then all of the available funds and assets shall be distributed among the holders of the then outstanding Class A junior preferred stock pro rata based on the amounts to which such holders would otherwise be entitled.

Conversion

Each share of Class A junior preferred stock automatically converts into fully paid and non-assessable shares of common stock immediately upon the earlier of (1) the closing of a firm commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement filed covering the offer and sale of common stock in which the aggregated public offering price equals or exceeds $25 million, or (2) the receipt of the consent of at least 60% of the holders of then outstanding shares of senior preferred stock to convert the outstanding shares of Class A junior preferred stock into common stock provided that all outstanding shares of senior preferred stock are similarly converted into common stock upon such event. The Class A junior preferred stock is not convertible into common stock at the option of the stockholder.

The conversion price is initially defined as the Class A Junior Preferred Liquidation Preference of $1.00 per share and subject to the following adjustments: (a) issuance of common stock as dividends or distributions, and other dividends and distributions; (b) subdivision or combination of outstanding shares of common stock, without a corresponding combination of the convertible senior preferred stock

 

F-31


Table of Contents

and the Class A junior preferred stock; (c) reclassification, exchange and substitution, or (d) reorganization, consolidation and mergers. As of December 31, 2011, 2012 and September 30, 2013, each share of Class A junior preferred stock will convert into common stock on a one to one basis.

Redemption

At any time following November 18, 2018 and upon the written request from holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding shares of Class A junior preferred stock, the Company must redeem all outstanding shares of Class A junior preferred stock within 180 days following the receipt of request, provided that the Company will have outstanding one or more shares of one or more classes or series of stock immediately following the redemption. The redemption price for each share of Class A junior preferred stock redeemed would be a cash payment equal to the fair market value of such share as of the respective date of issuance of such share as determined by the Board of Directors or a committee in good faith.

Restricted Class A Junior Preferred Stock

The Company has granted restricted Class A junior preferred stock to certain key continuing employees in connection with acquisitions subject to a lapsing right of repurchase. The lapsing of the right of repurchase is dependent on the respective employee’s continued employment at the Company during the requisite service period, which is generally four years from the issuance date. The Company has the option to repurchase the unvested shares upon termination of employment prior to the right of repurchase lapsing. The fair value of the restricted Class A junior preferred stock issued to employees is recorded as compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period. These shares are included as part of other long-term liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of these shares is remeasured at each reporting period until the Class A junior preferred stock is settled through conversion or redemption or until the redemption feature expires, and the change in fair value is recorded as an addition to or reduction in compensation expense during the period of change. The fair value of these shares is determined based on the fair value of the underlying Class A junior preferred stock estimated as part of the Company’s capital stock and business enterprise valuation process. Refer to Note 5— Fair Value Measurements for further details.

The activities for the restricted Class A junior preferred stock issued to employees for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013 are summarized as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

 

    Number of Shares     Weighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair
Value Per Share
 

Unvested restricted Class A junior preferred stock at December 31, 2011

    135      $                 13.06   

Granted

                          704      $ 13.62   

Vested

    (22   $ 13.06   

Forfeited

    (12   $ 13.06   
 

 

 

   

Unvested restricted Class A junior preferred stock at December 31, 2012

    805      $ 13.55   

Vested (unaudited)

    (357   $ 13.65   

Forfeited (unaudited)

    (45   $ 13.06   
 

 

 

   

Unvested restricted Class A junior preferred stock at September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

    403      $ 13.52   
 

 

 

   

 

F-32


Table of Contents

In the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, the Company recognized $4.9 million, $3.0 million and $3.8 million of compensation expense, respectively, related to the restricted Class A junior preferred stock issued to employees inclusive of the effect of fair value remeasurement. The amount of compensation expense recorded in relation to restricted Class A junior preferred stock in the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2011 was not material. As of September 30, 2013, the unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to restricted Class A junior preferred stock was approximately $4.8 million with a weighted-average remaining requisite service period of 2.35 years.

Note 11. Convertible Preferred Stock

As of September 30, 2013, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, authorizes the Company to issue 329.7 million shares of convertible preferred stock. Under the terms of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Board of Directors may determine the rights, preferences and terms of the Company’s authorized shares of preferred stock.

Voting

The holders of Series A convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock have one vote for each share of common stock into which they may be converted.

Dividends

The holders of Series A convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock shall be entitled to receive, only when and as declared by the Board of Directors, but only out of funds that are legally available therefore, cash dividends on a pari passu basis. Such dividends shall be noncumulative.

Liquidation

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, either voluntary or involuntary, the holders of the then outstanding convertible preferred stock are first entitled to receive, prior and in preference to any payment or distribution of any available funds and assets to the holders of Class A junior preferred stock or common stock. The holders of convertible preferred stock are entitled to proceeds equal to the greater of original issue price plus declared and unpaid dividends or per share amount that would have been paid if it has been converted to common stock. The full preferential amount is first paid to the holders of the series of convertible preferred stock with the highest level of liquidation preference then to the stockholders of the next level of preference in order (Series G convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock and Series A convertible preferred stock; listed in the order of highest liquidation preference to the lowest). If the available funds and assets become insufficient to satisfy the full preferential payment for the stockholders of a particular series of convertible preferred stock in order, then all of the available funds and assets shall be distributed among the holders of that series of convertible preferred stock pro-rata based on the amounts to which such holders would otherwise be entitled.

Unless otherwise approved by a vote of 60% of holders of the Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible

 

F-33


Table of Contents

preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock voting as one class, and provided that no such approval or waiver shall be effective with respect to the rights of holders of Series G convertible preferred stock unless holders of least 65% of the Series G convertible preferred stock approve, a deemed liquidation event will occur upon (a) reorganization by share exchange, consolidation or merger where voting securities pre-transaction do not represent or are not converted into securities of the surviving entity that possess at least a majority of the voting power of all securities of the surviving corporation; or (b) sale of all or substantially all of assets of the Company.

If there are any available funds and assets remaining after the payment or distribution to holders of preferred stock of their full preferential amount described above, then all such remaining available funds and assets shall be distributed among the holders of the then outstanding common stock pro rata according to the number of common stock held by each holder thereof.

These liquidation features cause the Series A convertible preferred stock, Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock to be classified as mezzanine equity rather than as a component of stockholders’ deficit.

Conversion

Each share of preferred stock, at the option of the holder, is convertible into a number of fully paid shares of common stock. Conversion of preferred stock occurs automatically and immediately upon the earlier to occur of the closing of a firm commitment underwritten public offering pursuant to an effective registration statement filed covering the offer and sale of common stock in which (i) the aggregate public offering price equals or exceeds $25 million, (ii) with respect to the Series F convertible preferred stock only, the public offer price per share of which is not less than one times the original issue price of the Series F convertible preferred stock, (iii) with respect to the Series E convertible preferred stock only, the public offer price per share of which is not less than one times the original issue price of the Series E convertible preferred stock and (iv) with respect to the Series D convertible preferred stock only, the initial public offering price per share of which is not less than two times the original price of preferred stock, or the date specified by holders of at least 60% of the then outstanding Series B convertible preferred stock, Series C convertible preferred stock, Series D convertible preferred stock, Series E convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock and Series G convertible preferred stock, provided however, that in the event that the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding shares of holders Series G convertible preferred stock, at least a majority of the then outstanding shares of Series F convertible preferred stock or at least of 65% of the then outstanding share of Series E convertible preferred stock do not consent or agree to the conversion, conversion shall not be effective to any shares of the relevant series of Series G convertible preferred stock, Series F convertible preferred stock or Series E convertible preferred stock for which the approval threshold was not achieved.

The conversion price is initially defined as the original issue price of $0.001 for Series A convertible preferred stock, $0.11 for Series B convertible preferred stock, $0.35 for Series C convertible preferred stock, $0.72 for Series D convertible preferred stock, $2.67 for Series E convertible preferred stock, $7.63 for Series F convertible preferred stock and $16.09 for Series G convertible preferred stock, subject to adjustments: (a) issuance of common stock as dividends or distributions, and other dividends and distributions; (b) subdivision or combination of outstanding shares of common stock; (c) reclassification, exchange and substitution or (d) reorganization, consolidation and mergers. Additionally, the conversion price of all series of convertible preferred stock is subject to adjustment upon certain sale of shares of common or preferred stock below their then effective conversion price, as well as upon certain sales of rights, options or

 

F-34


Table of Contents

convertible securities whereupon the price of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of such rights, options or convertible securities is below their then effective conversion price. As of December 31, 2011 and 2012 and September 30, 2013, each share of preferred stock will convert into common stock on a one to one basis.

Note 12. Common Stock and Stockholders’ Deficit

Common Stock

As of September 30, 2013, the Company is authorized to issue 700.0 million shares of $0.000005 par value common stock in accordance with the Certificate of Incorporation, as amended.

Each share of common stock is entitled to one vote. The holders of common stock are also entitled to receive dividends whenever funds are legally available and when and if declared by the Board of Directors, subject to the prior rights of holders of all classes of stock outstanding. As of September 30, 2013, no dividends have been declared.

Restricted Common Stock

The Company has granted restricted common stock to certain key continuing employees in connection with the acquisitions. Vesting of this stock is dependent on the respective employee’s continued employment at the Company during the requisite service period, which is generally three to four years from the issuance date, and the Company has the option to repurchase the unvested shares upon termination of employment. The fair value of the restricted common stock issued to employees is recorded as compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

The activities for the restricted common stock issued to employees for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013 are summarized as follows (in thousands, except per share data):

 

    Number of Shares     Weighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair
Value Per Share
 

Unvested restricted common stock at December 31, 2011

                     2,391      $ 5.82   

Granted

    903      $ 18.40   

Vested

    (1,453   $ 2.99   

Canceled

    (382   $ 12.95   
 

 

 

   

Unvested restricted common stock at December 31, 2012

    1,459      $ 14.57   

Granted (unaudited)

    3,797      $ 17.35   

Vested (unaudited)

    (344   $ 4.15   

Canceled (unaudited)

    (83   $ 12.95   
 

 

 

   

Unvested restricted common stock at September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

    4,829      $                 17.52   
 

 

 

   

In the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Company recorded $0.1 million, $1.8 million and $6.3 million, respectively, of compensation expense related to restricted common stock issued to employees. In the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, the Company recorded $4.9 million and $20.3 million of compensation expense, respectively, in relation to the restricted common stock issued to employees. As of September 30, 2013, there was $55.8 million of unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to restricted common stock issued which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.10 years.

 

F-35


Table of Contents

Equity Incentive Plans

As of September 30, 2013, the Company’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan provides for the issuance of stock options, restricted stock and RSU grants for up to 179.4 million shares of common stock to eligible participants and there were 9.1 million shares available for future issuance.

Under the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, stock options may not be granted at less than 85% of the fair value of common stock on the date of the grant, provided that (i) the exercise price of an incentive stock option will not be less than 100% of the fair market value of common stock on the date of the grant and (ii) the exercise price of any option granted to a 10% stockholder will not be less than 110% of the fair market value of common stock on the date of the grant. Fair value is determined by the Board of Directors in good faith based on information available to it and the Company’s management at the time of grant if such common stock is not publicly-traded, listed or admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, nor reported in any newspaper or other source. Stock options become exercisable at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Board of Directors. Stock options generally vest over four years and have a maximum term of ten years.

Under the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, the Company has granted RSUs to domestic and international employees. RSUs granted to (i) international employees; and (ii) domestic employees prior to February 2013 (“Pre-2013 RSUs”) vest upon the satisfaction of both a service condition and a performance condition. The service condition for these awards is generally satisfied over four years. The performance condition is satisfied upon the occurrence of a qualifying event, defined as the earlier of (i) the date that is the earlier of (x) six months after the effective date of this offering or (y) March 8th of the calendar year following the effective date of this offering; and (ii) the date of a change in control.

RSUs granted to domestic employees starting in February 2013 (“Post-2013 RSUs”) are not subject to a performance condition in order to vest. The majority of Post-2013 RSUs vest over a service period of four years. Under the terms of the 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, the shares underlying Post-2013 RSUs that satisfy the service condition are to be delivered to holders no later than the fifteenth day of the third month following the end of the calendar year the service condition is satisfied, or if later, the end of the Company’s tax year, but no earlier than August 15, 2014.

The Company’s 2011 Acquisition Option Plan was adopted for the purpose of granting stock options to new employees in connection with the acquisition of TweetDeck, Inc. in May 2011. The 2011 Acquisition Option Plan provides for the issuance of 70,000 stock options to eligible participants. As of September 30, 2013, 13,000 stock options granted under this plan were outstanding and 7,000 stock options were available for future issuance.

The Company also assumed stock options of acquired entities in connection with the acquisitions of Mixer Labs, Inc., Crashlytics, Inc. and Bluefin Labs, Inc. While the respective stock plans were terminated on the closing of the acquisitions, they continue to govern the terms of stock options assumed in the respective acquisition. As of September 30, 2013, there were an aggregate of 922,000 outstanding stock options assumed in these acquisitions.

In addition to these equity compensation plans, there were 255,000 stock options outstanding as of September 30, 2013 under a stand-alone stock option agreement entered into with an employee in July 2009.

Early Exercise of Stock Options

The 2007 Equity Incentive Plan allows for grants of immediately exercisable stock options. The unvested shares of common stock exercised are subject to the Company’s right to repurchase at the original exercise price. As of December 31, 2011, 2012, and September 30, 2013, a total of 2.4 million,

 

F-36


Table of Contents

1.0 million and 0.4 million shares of unvested stock options exercised by the employees were subject to repurchase at an aggregate price of $2.3 million, $1.2 million and $0.8 million, respectively. These amounts are recorded as accrued and other current liabilities and other long-term liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and will be reclassified to additional paid-in capital as the Company’s repurchase right lapses. In the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company repurchased 142,000 and 39,000 shares, respectively, of common stock related to unvested stock options, at the original exercise price due to the termination of employees. In the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013, the Company issued 178,000 and 19,000 shares of common stock, respectively, in connection with the employees’ exercise of stock options prior to vesting.

Stock Option Activity

A summary of stock option activity for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013 is as follows (in thousands, except years and per share data):

 

     Options Outstanding  
     Number of
Shares
    Weighted-
Average Exercise
Price Per Share
     Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual Life
(in years)
     Aggregate
Intrinsic Value
 

Outstanding at December 31, 2011

     55,066      $ 1.25         8.29       $ 649,836   

Options granted

     1,997      $ 14.42         

Options exercised

     (5,577   $ 0.42         

Options canceled

     (2,699   $ 2.74         
  

 

 

         

Outstanding at December 31, 2012

     48,787      $ 1.80         7.38       $ 741,508   
  

 

 

         

Options assumed in connection with acquisitions (unaudited)

     822      $ 1.55         

Options exercised (unaudited)

     (5,861   $ 1.20         

Options canceled (unaudited)

     (1,039   $ 3.28         
  

 

 

         

Outstanding at September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

     42,709      $ 1.84         6.70       $ 801,934   
  

 

 

         

Vested and expected to vest  at September 30, 2013 (unaudited) (1)

     42,039      $ 1.76         6.68       $ 792,742   

Exercisable at September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

     32,311      $ 1.15         6.45       $ 629,112   

 

(1)

The expected to vest options are the result of applying pre-vesting forfeiture rate assumptions to unvested options outstanding.

The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the difference between the estimated fair value of common stock and the exercise price of outstanding, in-the-money stock options.

The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 were $7.1 million, $144.0 million, $84.6 million, $36.6 million and $95.3 million, respectively. The total fair value of stock options vested in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 were $2.4 million, $7.1 million, $11.7 million, $8.6 million and $8.7 million, respectively.

 

F-37


Table of Contents

RSU Activity

The following table summarizes the activity related to the Company’s Pre- and Post-2013 RSUs for the year ended December 31, 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013. For purposes of this table, vested RSUs represent the shares for which the service condition had been fulfilled as of each respective date (in thousands, except per share data):

 

     RSUs Outstanding  
     Shares     Weighted-
Average Grant-
Date Fair Value
Per Share
 

Unvested and outstanding at December 31, 2011

     9,468      $ 12.63   

Granted

     35,934      $ 14.60   

Vested

     (3,005   $ 12.48   

Canceled

     (2,943   $ 13.28   
  

 

 

   

Unvested and outstanding at December 31, 2012

     39,454      $  14.39   

Granted (unaudited)

     46,553      $ 19.12   

Vested (unaudited)

     (8,798   $ 13.66   

Canceled (unaudited)

     (3,421   $ 14.51   
  

 

 

   

Unvested and outstanding at September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

     73,788      $ 17.45   
  

 

 

   

Vested and outstanding at September 30, 2013 (unaudited)

     11,869      $ 13.36   
  

 

 

   

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

Total stock-based compensation expense recorded for employee and non-employee stock options, Post-2013 RSUs and restricted common and Class A junior preferred stock in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 is summarized as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Nine Months Ended September 30,  
       2010          2011          2012                2012                      2013          
                          (Unaudited)  

Employee

   $ 4,897       $ 54,582       $ 23,269       $ 18,232       $ 77,735   

Non-employee

     1,034         5,802         2,472         2,163         1,435   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 5,931       $ 60,384       $ 25,741       $ 20,395       $ 79,170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

The compensation expense is allocated based on the cost center the award holder belongs to. Total stock-based compensation expense by function is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,      Nine Months Ended September 30,  
       2010          2011          2012                2012                      2013          
                          (Unaudited)  

Cost of revenue

   $ 200       $ 1,820       $ 800       $ 618       $ 5,015   

Research and development

     3,409         33,559         12,622         9,013         53,377   

Sales and marketing

     249         1,553         1,346         985         10,356   

General and administrative

     2,073         23,452         10,973         9,779         10,422   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 5,931       $ 60,384       $ 25,741       $ 20,395       $ 79,170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

In connection with their participation in the Series G convertible preferred stock financing, the Series G convertible preferred stock investors also participated in a tender offer to purchase up to an aggregate of 24.9 million shares of additional common and Series A convertible preferred stock through Series F

 

F-38


Table of Contents

convertible preferred stock from the Company’s employees and existing stockholders with the maximum aggregate offer price of up to $396 million. In such tender offer, the Series G convertible preferred stock investors agreed to purchase outstanding shares of the Company’s capital stock, regardless of class or series of capital stock, at the same $16.09 per share purchase price paid to the Company for shares of Series G convertible preferred stock. The purchase price per share in the tender offer represented an excess to the fair value of the Company’s outstanding common stock and Series A through Series F convertible preferred stock, as determined by the Company’s most recent valuation of its capital stock at time of the transaction. At the time of the tender offer, the fair value of the Company’s common stock was $12.95 per share and the fair value of the Company’s Series A through F convertible preferred stock ranged from $12.95 to $14.51 per share. The tender offer closed in September 2011, and at the close of the transaction, the Company recorded $34.7 million as compensation expense related to the excess of the selling price per share of common stock paid to the Company’s employees and consultants over the fair value of the tendered share, and $35.8 million as deemed dividends in relation to excess of the selling price per share of common and preferred stock paid to existing investors in excess of the fair value of the shares tendered. These amounts represent the excess of the aggregate transaction price over the aggregate fair value of the shares purchased in the tender offer.

In the nine months ended September 30, 2013, a third-party investor offered to purchase up to $78.2 million worth of common and Class A junior preferred stock from the Company’s eligible employees at a price of $17.00 per share which management and the Board of Directors determined to represent the fair value of the shares tendered.

The Company modified the terms of stock options for certain employees upon their termination or change in employment status and recorded $1.1 million, $10.1 million and $4.4 million of incremental stock-based compensation expense in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively. During the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company recorded $4.4 million of stock-based compensation expense as a result of stock option modifications. The amount of stock-based compensation expense recorded in relation to stock options modified was not material for the nine months ended September 30, 2013.

No income tax benefits have been recognized for stock-based compensation arrangements as of September 30, 2013.

The Company capitalized zero, $0.7 million and $1.3 million of stock-based compensation expense associated with the cost for developing software for internal use in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively, and $0.9 million and $6.7 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

The weighted-average grant-date fair value of stock options granted to employees in the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013 was $0.55, $1.34, $7.42, $7.42 and $11.13 per share, respectively. The fair value of stock options granted to employees was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions:

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
       2010         2011         2012           2012             2013      
                       (Unaudited)  

Expected dividend yield

                                   

Risk-free interest rate

     2.21     2.36     1.30     1.30     1.07

Expected volatility

     50.08     42.57     51.79     51.79     53.77

Expected term (in years)

     6.07        6.06        6.56        6.56        5.63   

 

F-39


Table of Contents

During the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company granted 1.7 million shares of stock options to non-employees at a weighted-average grant-date fair value of $1.09 per share. No additional stock options were granted to non-employees in 2011 and 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013. Historical stock options granted to non-employees were valued on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes pricing model and are re-valued each reporting period as they vest. The fair value of stock options granted to non-employees was remeasured at each reporting period using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following range of assumptions:

 

     Year Ended December 31,     Nine Months Ended September 30,  
     2010     2011     2012             2012                     2013          
                       (Unaudited)  

Expected dividend yield

                                   

Risk-free interest rate

     2.29%-3.38     1.69%-3.04     1.22%-1.38     1.22%-1.40     1.32%-2.16

Expected volatility

     53.90%-65.66     44.64%-49.33     54.44%-54.80     52.08%-52.32     51.62%-52.96

Expected term (in years)

     8.13-10.01        7.63-9.48        7.71-8.02        7.96-8.27        7.04-7.76   

As of September 30, 2013, there was $22.0 million of unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to unvested stock options granted to employees and non-employee service providers which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.28 years. The unamortized stock-based compensation expense related to Post-2013 RSUs of $615.7 million as of September 30, 2013 is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 3.70 years.

As of September 30, 2013, no stock-based compensation expense had been recognized for Pre-2013 RSUs because a qualifying event for the awards’ vesting was not probable. In the quarter in which the Company’s initial public offering is completed, the Company will begin recording stock-based compensation expense using the accelerated attribution method, net of estimated forfeiture, based on the grant-date fair value of the RSUs. The following table summarizes, on an unaudited pro forma basis, the stock-based compensation expense related to the Pre-2013 RSUs that the Company would have incurred, assuming an initial public offering had occurred on September 30, 2013 (in thousands):

 

As of September 30, 2013

 

From Inception to September 30, 2013

“Vested” Pre-2013 RSUs

Outstanding (1)

 

“Unvested” Pre-2013 RSUs
Outstanding (2)

 

Pro Forma Stock-Based
Compensation Expense

11,852

 

32,072

  $                                           385,214

 

(1)  

For purposes of this table, “Vested” RSUs represent the shares underlying Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition had been satisfied as of September 30, 2013.

(2)  

For purposes of this table, “Unvested” RSUs represent the shares underlying Pre-2013 RSUs for which the service condition had not been satisfied as of September 30, 2013 and exclude estimated forfeitures of RSUs.

The Company estimates that the remaining unrecognized stock-based compensation expense relating to the Pre-2013 RSUs would be approximately $199.6 million, after giving effect to estimated forfeitures and would be recognized in the remainder of 2013 and thereafter if an initial public offering had occurred on September 30, 2013.

Note 13. Income Taxes

The domestic and foreign components of pre-tax loss for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010     2011     2012  

Domestic

   $ (67,605   $ (46,510   $ (53,699

Foreign

     64        (83,236     (25,471
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before income taxes

   $ (67,541   $ (129,746   $ (79,170
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-40


Table of Contents

The components of the provision (benefit) for income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
           2010                 2011                 2012        

Current:

      

Federal

   $      $      $   

State

     3        536        (300

Foreign

            272        1,627   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current provision for income taxes

     3        808        1,327   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred:

      

Federal

     (188     (1,861     (608

State

     (32     (391     (89

Foreign

                   (401
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred benefit for income taxes

     (220     (2,252     (1,098
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Provision (benefit) for income taxes

   $      (217   $     (1,444   $       229   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following is a reconciliation of the statutory federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
           2010                 2011                 2012        

Tax at federal statutory rate

        34.0       35.0         35.0

State taxes, net of federal benefit

     0.1        (0.1     0.5   

Stock-based compensation

     (1.6     (6.9     (1.9

Research and development credits

               1.6                  3.6          

Valuation Allowance

     (30.7     8.8        (10.1

Nondeductible expenses

     (1.4     (2.0     (8.7

Foreign rate differential

            (22.7     (12.7

Change in tax positions

     (0.8     (14.6     (2.8

Other

     (0.9                     0.4   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effective tax rate

     0.3     1.1     (0.3 )% 
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

F-41


Table of Contents

The tax effects of temporary differences and related deferred tax assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 are as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
           2011                 2012        

Deferred tax assets:

    

Net operating losses carryforwards

   $ 46,661      $ 68,431   

Accruals and reserves

     1,851        6,698   

Stock-based compensation expense

     3,960        5,376   

Research and development credits

     7,862        10,052   

Other

     1,788        610   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax assets

     62,122        91,167   

Valuation allowance

     (24,895     (42,175
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowance

     37,227        48,992   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities:

    

Fixed assets and intangible assets

     (21,542     (35,991

Other

     (2,671     (754
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total deferred tax liabilities

     (24,213     (36,745
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net deferred tax assets

   $     13,014      $     12,247   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Based on the available objective evidence, management believes it is more-likely-than-not that the net U.S. deferred tax assets was not fully realizable as of the year ended December 31, 2012. Accordingly, the Company has established a full valuation allowance against its U.S. deferred tax assets to the extent not offset by liabilities from uncertain tax positions.

For the year ended December 31, 2012, the Company has not provided for income taxes on $2.5 million of its undistributed earnings for certain foreign subsidiaries because these earnings are intended to be permanently reinvested in operations outside the U.S. Determining the unrecognized deferred tax liabilities associated with these earnings is not practicable.

At December 31, 2012, the Company had $298.8 million of federal and $216.7 million of state net operating loss carryforwards available to reduce future taxable income, which will begin to expire in 2027 for federal and 2017 for state tax purposes, and $106.6 million of net operating loss carryforwards for both federal and state income tax purposes are attributable to employee stock option deductions, the benefit from which will be allocated to additional paid-in capital rather than current income when recognized.

The Company also has research credit carryforwards of $6.6 million and $10.5 million for federal and state income tax purposes, respectively. The federal credit carryforward will begin to expire in 2027. The state tax credits have no expiration date. On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act (“Act”) of 2012 was enacted, which includes a reinstatement of the federal research and development credit for the tax year ended December 31, 2012. Pursuant to the guidance of ASC Topic 740 Income Taxes , the consolidated financial statements reflect the effect of the Act in the first quarter of 2013, the reporting period of enactment. The Act had no material effect on the consolidated financial statements in the nine months ended September 30, 2013 due to the Company’s U.S. valuation allowance position.

Utilization of the net operating loss carryforwards and credits may be subject to an annual limitation due to the ownership change limitations provided by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and similar state provisions. Any annual limitation may result in the expiration of net operating losses and credits before utilization.

 

F-42


Table of Contents

As of December 31, 2012, the unrecognized tax benefit was $23.4 million, all of which would result in corresponding adjustments to valuation allowance. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefit is as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2010      2011     2012  

Balance at the beginning of the year

   $ 394       $ 1,275      $ 25,845   

Reductions related to prior year tax positions

             (344     (3,612

Additions related to current year tax positions

     881         24,914        1,119   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance at the end of the year

   $     1,275       $     25,845      $  23,352   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total unrecognized tax benefits increased by $5.8 million in the period from December 31, 2012 to September 30, 2013. The total unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2011 and 2012 includes $12.2 million and $11.2 million, respectively, of unrecognized tax benefit that have been netted against the related deferred tax assets. The remaining balances are recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as follows (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
          2011               2012       

Total unrecognized tax benefits balance

   $ 25,845      $ 23,352   

Amounts netted against related deferred tax assets

     (12,228     (11,196
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Unrecognized tax benefits recorded on consolidated balance sheets

   $     13,617      $     12,156   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The net unrecognized tax benefit of $13.6 million and $12.2 million as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, respectively, was included in the other long-term liabilities on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. The Company does not believe that its unrecognized tax benefits will significantly change within the next 12 months.

The Company recognizes interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters as a component of income tax expense. As of December 31, 2012 there were no significant accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

The Company is subject to taxation in the United States and various state and foreign jurisdictions. The material jurisdictions in which the Company is subject to potential examination by taxing authorities include the United States, California and Ireland. During the three months ended September 30, 2013, the California Franchise Tax Board commenced an audit of the Company’s income tax for the 2010 and 2011 tax years. The Company believes that adequate amounts have been reserved in these jurisdictions. The Company’s 2007 to 2012 tax years remain subject to examination by the United States and California, and its 2011 to 2012 tax years remain subject to examination in Ireland. The Company remains subject to possible examination in various other jurisdictions that are not expected to result in material tax adjustments.

Note 14. Related Party Transactions

One of the Company’s directors has a direct ownership interest in a vendor that provides marketing and communication services to the Company. For the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, the Company incurred zero, $0.3 million and $1.9 million, respectively, of expense for services rendered, and during the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company incurred $1.5 million. No expense was incurred in relation to this arrangement during the nine months ended September 30, 2013. There was no outstanding payable balance associated with the vendor as of September 30, 2013.

 

F-43


Table of Contents

Note 15. Employee Benefit Plan

The Company adopted a 401(k) Plan that qualifies as a deferred compensation arrangement under Section 401 of the Code. Under the 401(k) Plan, participating employees may defer a portion of their pretax earnings not to exceed the maximum amount allowable. The Company has not made any matching contributions to date.

Note 16. Commitments and Contingencies

Operating and Capital Leases

The Company has entered into various non-cancelable operating lease agreements for certain offices and data center facilities with contractual lease periods expiring between 2013 and 2031. In 2011, the Company entered into an office space lease for its headquarters in San Francisco with a 6-year term, renewable for an additional period of 5 years. In 2012, the Company entered into a lease amendment for additional office space in its headquarters with an 8-year term. Total lease commitments under the lease, as amended, amount to $67.7 million. Under the terms of the lease, as amended, the Company is responsible for certain taxes, insurance, maintenance and management expenses.

In addition, the Company entered into lease amendments in 2013 for capacity expansion of existing data center facilities through 2020 and increased the total commitments to $230.3 million as of September 30, 2013.

A summary of gross and net lease commitments as of December 31, 2012 is as follows (unaudited, in thousands):

 

     Operating Leases      Capital Leases  

Years ending December 31,

     

2013

   $ 26,906       $ 52,861   

2014

     29,261         42,439   

2015

     29,263         23,454   

2016

     28,070         2,612   

2017

     22,021           

Due after 5 years

     24,570           
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 160,091         121,366   
  

 

 

    

Less: Amounts representing interest

        6,798   
     

 

 

 

Total capital lease obligation

        114,568   

Less: Short-term portion

        48,836   
     

 

 

 

Long-term portion

      $ 65,732   
     

 

 

 

 

F-44


Table of Contents

A summary of gross and net lease commitments as of September 30, 2013 is as follows (unaudited, in thousands):

 

     Operating Leases      Capital Leases  

Remaining three months ending December 31, 2013

   $ 11,482       $ 20,433   

Years ending December 31,

     

2014

     55,647         74,445   

2015

     61,232         55,459   

2016

     59,687         17,926   

2017

     59,423         2,630   

Due after 5 years

     124,793           
  

 

 

    

 

 

 
   $ 372,264         170,893   
  

 

 

    

Less: Amounts representing interest

        10,415   
     

 

 

 

Total capital lease obligation

        160,478   

Less: Short-term portion

        70,778   
     

 

 

 

Long-term portion

      $ 89,700   
     

 

 

 

Rent expense under the Company’s operating leases, including co-location arrangements for the Company’s data centers, was $2.2 million, $8.6 million and $19.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively, and $13.8 million and $23.0 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2013, respectively. The Company also had $18.5 million of non-cancelable contractual commitments as of December 31, 2012, primarily related to our bandwidth and other services arrangements. These commitments are generally due within one to three years.

Legal Proceedings

The Company is currently involved in, and may in the future be involved in, legal proceedings, claims and governmental investigations in the normal course of business. Legal fees and other costs associated with such actions are expensed as incurred. The Company assesses, in conjunction with its legal counsel, the need to record a liability for litigation and contingencies. Litigation accruals are recorded when and if it is determined that a loss related matter is both probable and reasonably estimable. Material loss contingencies that are reasonably possible of occurrence, if any, are subject to disclosure. As of December 31, 2012 and September 30, 2013, there was no litigation or contingency with at least a reasonable possibility of a material loss. No losses have been recorded during years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2013 with respect to litigation or loss contingencies.

Indemnification

In the ordinary course of business, the Company often includes standard indemnification provisions in its arrangements with its customers, partners, suppliers and vendors. Pursuant to these provisions, the Company may be obligated to indemnify such parties for losses or claims suffered or incurred in connection with its service, breach of representations or covenants, intellectual property infringement or other claims made against such parties. These provisions may limit the time within which an indemnification claim can be made. It is not possible to determine the maximum potential amount under these indemnification obligations due to the limited history of prior indemnification claims and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. The Company has never incurred significant expense defending its licensees against third party claims, nor has it ever incurred significant expense under its standard service warranties or arrangements with its customers, partners, suppliers and vendors. Accordingly, the Company had no liabilities recorded for these provisions as of December 31, 2011 and 2012, and September 30, 2013.

 

F-45


Table of Contents

Note 17. Segment Information and Operations by Geographic Area

The Company has a single operating segment and reporting unit structure. The Company’s chief operating decision-maker is the chief executive officer who reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by disaggregated information about revenue by geographic region for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance.

Revenue

Revenue by geography is based on the billing addresses of the customers. The following table sets forth revenue by geographic area (in thousands):

 

     Year Ended
December 31,
     Nine Months Ended
September 30,
 
     2010      2011      2012      2012      2013  
                          (Unaudited)  

Revenue:

              

United States

   $ 26,346       $ 102,225       $ 263,917       $ 177,257       $ 315,486   

International

     1,932         4,088         53,016         27,429         106,729   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total Revenue

   $ 28,278       $ 106,313       $ 316,933       $ 204,686       $ 422,215   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

No individual country from the international markets contributed in excess of 10% of the total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the nine months ended September 30, 2012. The United Kingdom accounted for $43.0 million or 10% of the total revenue during the nine months ended September 30, 2013.

Long-Lived Assets

The following table sets forth long-lived assets by geographic area (in thousands):

 

     As of December 31,      September 30,  
     2011      2012      2013  
                   (Unaudited)  

Long-lived assets:

        

United States

   $ 61,978       $ 183,319       $ 279,418   

International

     5         2,255         4,606   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total long-lived assets

   $ 61,983       $ 185,574       $ 284,024   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Note 18. Subsequent Events

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through July 12, 2013, the date the consolidated financial statements were available for issuance.

From January 1, 2013 through July 12, 2013, the Company granted 19.6 million RSUs to its employees, and the unrecognized stock-based compensation expense relating to these RSUs as of their grant date was $274.4 million, after giving effect to estimated forfeitures.

Note 19. Subsequent Events (unaudited)

The Company has evaluated subsequent events through October 15, 2013, the date the unaudited interim consolidated financial statements were available for issuance.

 

F-46


Table of Contents

In September 2013, the Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held MoPub Inc., a mobile-focused advertising exchange. Upon closing of the proposed transaction all of the issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of MoPub, and all equity awards to purchase shares of MoPub common stock held by individuals who will continue to provide service to the Company, will be converted into the right to receive an aggregate of up to 14.8 million shares of the Company’s common stock. The definitive agreement contains certain termination rights for both MoPub and the Company, including for the failure to consummate the transaction by December 20, 2013.

In October 2013, the Company entered into a revolving credit agreement with certain lenders which provides for a $1.0 billion revolving unsecured credit facility maturing on October 22, 2018. Loans under the credit facility bear interest, at the Company’s option, at (i) a base rate based on the highest of the prime rate, the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and an adjusted LIBOR rate for a one-month interest period plus 1.00%, in each case plus a margin ranging from 0.00% to 0.75% or (ii) an adjusted LIBOR rate plus a margin ranging from 1.00% to 1.75%. This margin is determined based on the Company’s total leverage ratio for the preceding four fiscal quarter period, but will be at the highest level at least until the Company consummates its initial public offering. The Company is also obligated to pay other customary fees for a credit facility of this size and type, including an upfront fee and an unused commitment fee. The Company’s obligations under the credit facility are guaranteed by one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. As of October 22, 2013, no amounts were drawn under the credit facility.

In October 2013, the board of directors of the Company adopted the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which are subject to the approval of the Company’s stockholders. A total of 68,300,000 shares of common stock have been reserved for issuance under the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. A total of 12,000,000 shares of common stock are available for sale under the 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

 

F-47


Table of Contents

SCHEDULE II

VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2010, 2011 AND 2012

 

     Balance at
Beginning of
Year
     Changes to
Expenses
    Charged/
Credited
to Other
Accounts
     Balance at
End of Year
 
     (In thousands)  

Allowance for Deferred Tax Assets:

          

Year ended December 31, 2010

   $ 12,329       $ 23,925      $  —       $ 36,254   

Year ended December 31, 2011

   $ 36,254       $ (11,878   $ 519       $ 24,895   

Year ended December 31, 2012

   $ 24,895       $ 15,250      $ 2,030       $ 42,175   

 

     Balance at
Beginning of
Year
     Additions
(Reductions)
     Write-off/
Adjustments
    Balance at
End of Year
 
     (In thousands)  

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts:

          

Year ended December 31, 2010

   $       $       $      $   

Year ended December 31, 2011

   $       $ 1,828       $      $ 1,828   

Year ended December 31, 2012

   $ 1,828       $ 1,844       $ (2,392   $ 1,280   

 

F-48


Table of Contents

LOGO


Table of Contents

 

 

 

LOGO

 

 

 

 


Table of Contents

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

ITEM 13. OTHER EXPENSES OF ISSUANCE AND DISTRIBUTION.

The following table sets forth all expenses to be paid by us, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, upon completion of this offering. All amounts shown are estimates except for the SEC registration fee and the FINRA filing fee.

 

SEC registration fee

   $ 128,800   

FINRA filing fee

     150,500   

Exchange listing fee

           *         

Printing and engraving expenses

           *         

Legal fees and expenses

           *         

Accounting fees and expenses

           *         

Blue sky fees and expenses

           *         

Transfer agent and registrar fees

           *         

Miscellaneous expenses

           *         
  

 

 

 

Total

   $     *         
  

 

 

 

 

* To be filed by amendment.

ITEM 14. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law authorizes a corporation’s board of directors to grant, and authorizes a court to award, indemnity to officers, directors and other corporate agents.

We expect to adopt an amended and restated certificate of incorporation, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and which will contain provisions that limit the liability of our directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for the following:

 

  Ÿ  

any breach of their duty of loyalty to our company or our stockholders;

 

  Ÿ  

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

  Ÿ  

unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or

 

  Ÿ  

any transaction from which they derived an improper personal benefit.

Any amendment to, or repeal of, these provisions will not eliminate or reduce the effect of these provisions in respect of any act, omission or claim that occurred or arose prior to that amendment or repeal. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to provide for further limitations on the personal liability of directors of corporations, then the personal liability of our directors will be further limited to the greatest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law.

In addition, we expect to adopt amended and restated bylaws, which will become effective immediately prior to the completion of this offering, and which will provide that we will indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any person who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was one of our directors or

 

II-1


Table of Contents

officers or is or was serving at our request as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. Our amended and restated bylaws are expected to provide that we may indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law any person who is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any action, suit or proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was one of our employees or agents or is or was serving at our request as an employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise. Our amended and restated bylaws will also provide that we must advance expenses incurred by or on behalf of a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, subject to limited exceptions.

Further, we have entered into or will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the Delaware General Corporation Law. These indemnification agreements require us, among other things, to indemnify our directors and executive officers against liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service. These indemnification agreements also require us to advance all expenses incurred by the directors and executive officers in investigating or defending any such action, suit or proceeding. We believe that these agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions that are expected to be included in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and in indemnification agreements that we have entered into or will enter into with our directors and executive officers may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and executive officers for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and executive officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and executive officers as required by these indemnification provisions. At present, we are not aware of any pending litigation or proceeding involving any person who is or was one of our directors, officers, employees or other agents or is or was serving at our request as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, for which indemnification is sought, and we are not aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

We have obtained insurance policies under which, subject to the limitations of the policies, coverage is provided to our directors and executive officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of fiduciary duty or other wrongful acts as a director or executive officer, including claims relating to public securities matters, and to us with respect to payments that may be made by us to these directors and executive officers pursuant to our indemnification obligations or otherwise as a matter of law.

Certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their employers, be insured and/or indemnified against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as members of our board of directors.

The underwriting agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this registration statement will provide for indemnification by the underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act or otherwise.

 

II-2


Table of Contents

ITEM 15. RECENT SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES.

Since July 1, 2010, we issued the following unregistered securities (after giving effect to a two-for-one stock split effected in May 2011):

Preferred Stock Issuances

From December 2010 through January 2011, we sold an aggregate of 26,197,896 shares of our Series F convertible preferred stock to nine accredited investors at a purchase price of approximately $7.63 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $199,999,978.

During July 2011, we sold an aggregate of 10,097,159 shares of our Series G-1 convertible preferred stock to two accredited investors at a purchase price of approximately $16.09 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $162,499,987.

During July 2011, we sold an aggregate of 14,757,386 shares of our Series G-2 convertible preferred stock to 21 accredited investors at a purchase price of approximately $16.09 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $237,499,978.

Option and RSU Issuances

Since July 1, 2010, we granted to our directors, officers, employees, consultants and other service providers options to purchase an aggregate of 32,651,260 shares of our common stock under our equity compensation plans at exercise prices ranging from approximately $0.05 to $14.42 per share.

Since July 1, 2010, we assumed options to purchase an aggregate of 822,069 shares of our common stock under the equity compensation plans we assumed in connection with certain of our acquisitions at exercise prices ranging from approximately $0.24 to $3.02 per share.

Since July 1, 2010, we granted to our directors, officers, employees, consultants and other service providers an aggregate of 92,720,637 RSUs to be settled in shares of our common stock under our equity compensation plans.

Shares Issued in Connection with Acquisitions

Since July 1, 2010, we issued an aggregate of 17,541,606 shares of our common stock, 2,038,950 shares of our Series C convertible preferred stock and 3,590,948 shares of our Class A Junior preferred stock in connection with our acquisitions of certain companies or their assets and as consideration to individuals and entities who were former service providers and/or stockholders of such companies.

None of the foregoing transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, or any public offering. We believe the offers, sales and issuances of the above securities were exempt from registration under the Securities Act by virtue of Section 4(2) of the Securities Act because the issuance of securities to the recipients did not involve a public offering, or in reliance on Rule 701 because the transactions were pursuant to compensatory benefit plans or contracts relating to compensation as provided under such rule. The recipients of the securities in each of these transactions represented their intentions to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were placed upon the stock certificates issued in these transactions. All recipients had adequate access, through their relationships with us, to information about us. The sales of these securities were made without any general solicitation or advertising.

 

II-3


Table of Contents

ITEM 16. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.

 

  (a) Exhibits .

 

Exhibit Number

  

Description

  1.1*

   Form of Underwriting Agreement.

  2.1**

   Agreement and Plan of Reorganization among the Registrant, Raptor Merger Inc., MoPub Inc. and Fortis Advisors LLC, as Stockholders’ Agent, dated as of September 9, 2013.

  3.1**

   Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, as currently in effect.

  3.2

   Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  3.3**

   Bylaws of the Registrant, as currently in effect.

  3.4

   Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  4.1

   Form of common stock certificate of the Registrant.

  4.2**

   Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement among the Registrant and certain holders of its capital stock, amended as of October 4, 2013.

  4.3**

   Warrant to purchase shares of Series C convertible preferred stock issued to Silicon Valley Bank, dated as of December 16, 2008.

  5.1*

   Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

10.1+**

   Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its directors and executive officers.

10.2+

   Twitter, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and related form agreements.

10.3+

   Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan and related form agreements.

10.4+**

   Twitter, Inc. 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and related form agreements.

10.5+**

   Twitter, Inc. 2011 Acquisition Option Plan.

10.6+**

  

Bluefin Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan.

10.7+**

  

Crashlytics, Inc. 2011 Stock Plan.

10.8+**

   Mixer Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan.

10.9+**

   Twitter, Inc. Executive Incentive Compensation Plan.

10.10+**

   Twitter, Inc. Change of Control Severance Policy.

10.11+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Richard Costolo, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.12+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Ali Rowghani, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.13+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Mike Gupta, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.14+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Adam Bain, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.15+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Christopher Fry, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.16+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Vijaya Gadde, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.17+**

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Peter Chernin, dated as of October 16, 2012.

10.18**

   Office Lease between the Registrant and Sri Nine Market Square LLC, dated as of April 20, 2011, as amended on May 16, 2011, September 30, 2011 and June 1, 2012.

 

II-4


Table of Contents

Exhibit Number

  

Description

10.19**

   Form of Innovator’s Patent Agreement.

10.20+

   Twitter, Inc. 2013 Target Commission Plan.

10.21

   Revolving Credit Agreement among the Registrant, the lenders party thereto and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent, dated as of October 22, 2013.

21.1**

   List of subsidiaries of the Registrant.

23.1

   Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*

   Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1**

   Power of Attorney (see page II-7 to the original filing of this Registration Statement on Form S-1 on October 3, 2013).

99.1**

   Consent of The Nielsen Company.

 

* To be filed by amendment.
** Previously filed.
+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.

 

  (b) Financial Statement Schedules .

All financial statement schedules are omitted because the information called for is not required or is shown either in the consolidated financial statements or in the notes thereto.

ITEM 17. UNDERTAKINGS.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 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 Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the 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 Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

  (1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

  (2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

 

II-5


Table of Contents

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant has duly caused this registration statement on Form S-1 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in San Francisco, California, on the 22 nd day of October, 2013.

 

TWITTER, INC.

By:

 

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo
  Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement on Form S-1 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature

  

Title

 

Date

/s/ Richard Costolo

Richard Costolo

  

Chief Executive Officer and Director

( Principal Executive Officer )

  October 22, 2013

/s/ Mike Gupta

Mike Gupta

  

Chief Financial Officer

( Principal Financial Officer )

  October 22, 2013

/s/ Luca Baratta

Luca Baratta

  

Vice President, Finance

( Principal Accounting Officer )

  October 22, 2013

*

Jack Dorsey

   Chairman and Director   October 22, 2013

*

Peter Chernin

  

Director

  October 22, 2013

*

Peter Currie

  

Director

  October 22, 2013

*

Peter Fenton

  

Director

  October 22, 2013

*

David Rosenblatt

  

Director

  October 22, 2013

*

Evan Williams

  

Director

  October 22, 2013

 

*By:

 

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo
  Attorney-in-Fact

 

II-6


Table of Contents

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit Number

  

Description

  1.1*

   Form of Underwriting Agreement.

  2.1**

   Agreement and Plan of Reorganization among the Registrant, Raptor Merger Inc., MoPub Inc. and Fortis Advisors LLC, as Stockholders’ Agent, dated as of September 9, 2013.

  3.1**

   Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, as currently in effect.

  3.2

   Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  3.3**

   Bylaws of the Registrant, as currently in effect.

  3.4

   Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant, to be in effect upon the completion of this offering.

  4.1

   Form of common stock certificate of the Registrant.

  4.2**

   Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement among the Registrant and certain holders of its capital stock, amended as of October 4, 2013.

  4.3**

   Warrant to purchase shares of Series C convertible preferred stock issued to Silicon Valley Bank, dated as of December 16, 2008.

  5.1*

   Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

10.1+**

   Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its directors and executive officers.

10.2+

   Twitter, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan and related form agreements.

10.3+

   Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan and related form agreements.

10.4+**

   Twitter, Inc. 2007 Equity Incentive Plan and related form agreements.

10.5+**

   Twitter, Inc. 2011 Acquisition Option Plan.

10.6+**

  

Bluefin Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan.

10.7+**

   Crashlytics, Inc. 2011 Stock Plan.

10.8+**

   Mixer Labs, Inc. 2008 Stock Plan.

10.9+**

   Twitter, Inc. Executive Incentive Compensation Plan.

10.10+**

   Twitter, Inc. Change of Control Severance Policy.

10.11+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Richard Costolo, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.12+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Ali Rowghani, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.13+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Mike Gupta, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.14+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Adam Bain, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.15+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Christopher Fry, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.16+

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Vijaya Gadde, dated as of October 1, 2013.

10.17+**

   Offer Letter between the Registrant and Peter Chernin, dated as of October 16, 2012.

10.18**

   Office Lease between the Registrant and Sri Nine Market Square LLC, dated as of April 20, 2011, as amended on May 16, 2011, September 30, 2011 and June 1, 2012.

10.19**

   Form of Innovator’s Patent Agreement.

10.20+

  

Twitter, Inc. 2013 Target Commission Plan.


Table of Contents

Exhibit Number

  

Description

10.21

   Revolving Credit Agreement among the Registrant, the lenders party thereto and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent, dated as of October 22, 2013.

21.1**

   List of subsidiaries of the Registrant.

23.1

   Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

23.2*

   Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1).

24.1**

   Power of Attorney (see page II-7 to the original filing of this Registration Statement on Form S-1 on October 3, 2013).

99.1**

   Consent of The Nielsen Company.

 

* To be filed by amendment.
** Previously filed.
+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.

Exhibit 3.2

TWITTER, INC.

AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

Twitter, Inc. (the “ Corporation ”), a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, hereby certifies as follows:

A. The original Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on April 19, 2007.

B. This Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was duly adopted in accordance with Sections 242 and 245 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “ DGCL ”), and has been duly approved by the written consent of the stockholders of the Corporation in accordance with Section 228 of the DGCL.

C. The Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as follows:

ARTICLE I

The name of the Corporation is Twitter, Inc.

ARTICLE II

The address of the Corporation’s registered office in the State of Delaware is 3500 South DuPont Highway, City of Dover, County of Kent, Delaware 19901. The name of its registered agent at such address is Incorporating Services, Ltd.

ARTICLE III

The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the DGCL.

ARTICLE IV

A. Classes of Stock . The total number of shares of stock that the Corporation shall have authority to issue is 5,200,000,000, consisting of 5,000,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.000005 per share, and 200,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.000005 per share.

B. Increase or Decrease in Authorized Capital Stock . The Board of Directors is further authorized to increase (but not above the total number of authorized shares of the class) or decrease (but not below the number of shares of any such series then outstanding) the number of shares of any series, the number of which was fixed by it, subsequent to the issuance of shares of such series then outstanding, subject to the powers, preferences and rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof stated in the Certificate of Incorporation or the resolution of the Board of Directors originally fixing the number of shares of such series. If the number of shares of any series is so decreased, then the shares constituting such decrease shall resume the status which they had prior to the adoption of the resolution originally fixing the number of shares of such series.


C. Rights of Preferred Stock . The Board of Directors is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by law, to provide for the issuance of shares of Preferred Stock in series and to fix by resolution or resolutions the designations, powers, preferences and rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of any wholly unissued series of Preferred Stock, including without limitation authority to fix by resolution or resolutions the dividend rights, dividend rate, conversion rights, voting rights, rights and terms of redemption (including sinking fund provisions), redemption price or prices, and liquidation preferences of any such series, and the number of shares constituting any such series and the designation thereof, or any of the foregoing.

D. Rights of Common Stock . Each share of Common Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to one (1) vote on each matter submitted to a vote of holders of Common Stock at a meeting of stockholders.

ARTICLE V

A. General Powers . The business and affairs of the Corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the Board of Directors.

B. Number of Directors; Election . Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to the election of directors, the number of directors that constitutes the entire Board of Directors of the Corporation shall be fixed solely by resolution of the Board of Directors. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to the election of directors, each director of the Corporation shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which he or she is elected and until his or her successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier resignation, death or removal.

C. Classified Board Structure . Effective upon the acceptance of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation for filing by the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “ Effective Date ”), and subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to the election of directors, the directors of the Corporation shall be divided into three classes as nearly equal in size as is practicable, hereby designated Class I, Class II and Class III. The Board of Directors may assign members of the Board of Directors already in office to such classes at the time such classification becomes effective. The term of office of the initial Class I directors shall expire at the first regularly-scheduled annual meeting of stockholders following the Effective Date, the term of office of the initial Class II directors shall expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders following the Effective Date and the term of office of the initial Class III directors shall expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders following the Effective Date. At each annual meeting of stockholders, commencing with the first regularly-scheduled annual meeting of stockholders following the Effective Date, each of the successors elected to replace the directors of a Class whose term shall have expired at such annual meeting shall be elected to hold office until the third annual meeting next succeeding his or her election and until his or her respective successor shall have been duly elected and qualified.

 

2


Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, and subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to the election of directors, each director shall serve until his or her successor is duly elected and qualified or until his or her death, resignation, or removal. Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to the election of directors, if the number of directors is hereafter changed, any newly created directorships or decrease in directorships shall be so apportioned among the classes as to make all classes as nearly equal in number as is practicable, provided that no decrease in the number of directors constituting the Board of Directors shall shorten the term of any incumbent director.

D. Removal; Vacancies . Subject to the rights of holders of any series of Preferred Stock with respect to the election of directors, any director may be removed from office by the stockholders of the Corporation only for cause. Vacancies occurring on the Board of Directors for any reason and newly created directorships resulting from an increase in the authorized number of directors may be filled only by vote of a majority of the remaining members of the Board of Directors, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director, at any meeting of the Board of Directors. A person so elected by the Board of Directors to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been chosen and until his or her successor shall be duly elected and qualified.

ARTICLE VI

A. Amendment of Bylaws . In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute, the Board of Directors of the Corporation is expressly authorized to adopt, amend or repeal the Bylaws of the Corporation.

B. Written Ballot . Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws of the Corporation shall so provide.

C. No Stockholder Action by Written Consent . Except as otherwise expressly provided by the terms of any series of Preferred Stock or other class of stock permitting the holders of such series to act by written consent, no action shall be taken by the stockholders of the Corporation except at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders called in accordance with the Bylaws, and no action shall be taken by the stockholders by written consent.

D. Special Meetings . Special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the (i) Board of Directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the Board; (ii) the chairman of the Board of Directors; (iii) the chief executive officer of the Corporation; or (iv) the president of the Corporation (in the absence of a chief executive officer).

E. No Cumulative Voting . No stockholder will be permitted to cumulate votes at any election of directors.

ARTICLE VII

To the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended from time to time, a director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director. If

 

3


the DGCL is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as so amended.

Neither any amendment nor repeal of this Article, nor the adoption of any provision of the Corporation’s Certificate of Incorporation inconsistent with this Article, shall eliminate or reduce the effect of this Article in respect of any matter occurring, or any cause of action, suit or proceeding accruing or arising or that, but for this Article, would accrue or arise, prior to such amendment, repeal or adoption of an inconsistent provision.

ARTICLE VIII

Subject to any provisions in the Bylaws of the Corporation related to indemnification of directors or officers of the Corporation, the Corporation shall indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any director or officer of the Corporation who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “ Proceeding ”) by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was 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 service with respect to employee benefit plans, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such Proceeding.

The Corporation shall have the power to indemnify, to the extent permitted by the DGCL, as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended from time to time, any employee or agent of the Corporation who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any Proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation or is or was 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 service with respect to employee benefit plans, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any such Proceeding.

A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or a bylaw of the Corporation shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or the Bylaws of the Corporation after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.

ARTICLE IX

If any provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation becomes or is declared on any ground by a court of competent jurisdiction to be illegal, unenforceable or void, portions of such provision, or such provision in its entirety, to the extent necessary, shall be severed

 

4


from this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, and the court will replace such illegal, void or unenforceable provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with a valid and enforceable provision that most accurately reflects the Corporation’s intent, in order to achieve, to the maximum extent possible, the same economic, business and other purposes of the illegal, void or unenforceable provision. The balance of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation shall be enforceable in accordance with its terms.

Except as provided in ARTICLE VII and ARTICLE VIII above, 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; provided, however, that, notwithstanding any other provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation or any provision of law that might otherwise permit a lesser vote or no vote, but in addition to any vote of the holders of any class or series of the stock of this Corporation required by law or by this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least eighty percent (80%) of the voting power of the outstanding shares of stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, shall be required to amend or repeal, or adopt any provision of this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation inconsistent with, ARTICLE V, ARTICLE VI, ARTICLE VII, ARTICLE VIII or this ARTICLE IX.

***

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Twitter, Inc. has caused this Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation to be signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation on this     day of              2013.

 

By:  

 

  Richard Costolo
  Chief Executive Officer

 

6

Exhibit 3.4

AMENDED AND RESTATED BYLAWS OF

TWITTER, INC.

(initially adopted on May 17, 2007)

(as amended on October 19, 2013 and effective as of the

closing of the corporation’s initial public offering)


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

ARTICLE I - CORPORATE OFFICES

     1   

1.1

 

REGISTERED OFFICE

     1   

1.2

 

OTHER OFFICES

     1   

ARTICLE II - MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

     1   

2.1

 

PLACE OF MEETINGS

     1   

2.2

 

ANNUAL MEETING

     1   

2.3

 

SPECIAL MEETING

     1   

2.4

 

ADVANCE NOTICE PROCEDURES

     2   

2.5

 

NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS

     6   

2.6

 

QUORUM

     6   

2.7

 

ADJOURNED MEETING; NOTICE

     6   

2.8

 

CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

     7   

2.9

 

VOTING

     7   

2.10

 

STOCKHOLDER ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING

     7   

2.11

 

RECORD DATES

     7   

2.12

 

PROXIES

     8   

2.13

 

LIST OF STOCKHOLDERS ENTITLED TO VOTE

     8   

2.14

 

INSPECTORS OF ELECTION

     9   

ARTICLE III - DIRECTORS

     10   

3.1

 

POWERS

     10   

3.2

 

NUMBER OF DIRECTORS

     10   

3.3

 

ELECTION, QUALIFICATION AND TERM OF OFFICE OF DIRECTORS

     10   

3.4

 

RESIGNATION AND VACANCIES

     10   

3.5

 

PLACE OF MEETINGS; MEETINGS BY TELEPHONE

     11   

3.6

 

REGULAR MEETINGS

     11   

3.7

 

SPECIAL MEETINGS; NOTICE

     11   

3.8

 

QUORUM; VOTING

     12   

3.9

 

BOARD ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING

     12   

3.10

 

FEES AND COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

     12   

3.11

 

REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS

     12   

ARTICLE IV - COMMITTEES

     13   

4.1

 

COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS

     13   

4.2

 

COMMITTEE MINUTES

     13   

4.3

 

MEETINGS AND ACTION OF COMMITTEES

     13   

4.4

 

SUBCOMMITTEES

     14   

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS

     14   

5.1

 

OFFICERS

     14   

5.2

 

APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS

     14   

5.3

 

SUBORDINATE OFFICERS

     14   

5.4

 

REMOVAL AND RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS

     14   

 

-i-


TABLE OF CONTENTS

(continued)

 

     Page  

5.5

 

VACANCIES IN OFFICES

     15   

5.6

 

REPRESENTATION OF SHARES OF OTHER CORPORATIONS

     15   

5.7

 

AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS

     15   

ARTICLE VI - STOCK

     15   

6.1

 

STOCK CERTIFICATES; PARTLY PAID SHARES

     15   

6.2

 

SPECIAL DESIGNATION ON CERTIFICATES

     16   

6.3

 

LOST CERTIFICATES

     16   

6.4

 

DIVIDENDS

     16   

6.5

 

TRANSFER OF STOCK

     17   

6.6

 

STOCK TRANSFER AGREEMENTS

     17   

6.7

 

REGISTERED STOCKHOLDERS

     17   

ARTICLE VII - MANNER OF GIVING NOTICE AND WAIVER

     17   

7.1

 

NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS

     17   

7.2

 

NOTICE BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

     18   

7.3

 

NOTICE TO STOCKHOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS

     18   

7.4

 

NOTICE TO PERSON WITH WHOM COMMUNICATION IS UNLAWFUL

     19   

7.5

 

WAIVER OF NOTICE

     19   

ARTICLE VIII - FORUM FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS

     19   

ARTICLE IX - INDEMNIFICATION

     20   

9.1

 

INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS IN THIRD PARTY PROCEEDINGS

     20   

9.2

 

INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS IN ACTIONS BY OR IN THE RIGHT OF THE CORPORATION

     20   

9.3

 

SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE

     20   

9.4

 

INDEMNIFICATION OF OTHERS

     21   

9.5

 

ADVANCE PAYMENT OF EXPENSES

     21   

9.6

 

LIMITATION ON INDEMNIFICATION

     21   

9.7

 

DETERMINATION; CLAIM

     22   

9.8

 

NON-EXCLUSIVITY OF RIGHTS

     22   

9.9

 

INSURANCE

     22   

9.10

 

SURVIVAL

     23   

9.11

 

EFFECT OF REPEAL OR MODIFICATION

     23   

9.12

 

CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

     23   

ARTICLE X - GENERAL MATTERS

     23   

10.1

 

EXECUTION OF CORPORATE CONTRACTS AND INSTRUMENTS

     23   

10.2

 

FISCAL YEAR

     24   

10.3

 

SEAL

     24   

10.4

 

CONSTRUCTION; DEFINITIONS

     24   

ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENTS

     24   

 

-ii-


BYLAWS OF TWITTER, INC.

 

 

ARTICLE I - CORPORATE OFFICES

1.1 REGISTERED OFFICE

The registered office of Twitter, Inc. shall be fixed in the corporation’s certificate of incorporation, as the same may be amended from time to time.

1.2 OTHER OFFICES

The corporation’s board of directors may at any time establish other offices at any place or places where the corporation is qualified to do business.

ARTICLE II - MEETINGS OF STOCKHOLDERS

2.1 PLACE OF MEETINGS

Meetings of stockholders shall be held at any place, within or outside the State of Delaware, designated by the board of directors. The board of directors may, in its sole discretion, determine that a meeting of stockholders shall not be held at any place, but may instead be held solely by means of remote communication as authorized by Section 211(a)(2) of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “ DGCL ”). In the absence of any such designation or determination, stockholders’ meetings shall be held at the corporation’s principal executive office.

2.2 ANNUAL MEETING

The annual meeting of stockholders shall be held on such date, at such time, and at such place (if any) within or without the State of Delaware as shall be designated from time to time by the board of directors and stated in the corporation’s notice of the meeting. At the annual meeting, directors shall be elected and any other proper business, brought in accordance with Section 2.4 of these bylaws, may be transacted. The board of directors may cancel, postpone or reschedule any previously scheduled annual meeting at any time, before or after the notice for such meeting has been sent to the stockholders.

2.3 SPECIAL MEETING

(i) A special meeting of the stockholders, other than those required by statute, may be called at any time by (A) the board of directors, (B) the chairperson of the board of directors, or (C) the chief executive officer, but a special meeting may not be called by any other person or persons. The board of directors may cancel, postpone or reschedule any previously scheduled special meeting at any time, before or after the notice for such meeting has been sent to the stockholders.

(ii) The notice of a special meeting shall include the purpose for which the meeting is called. Only such business shall be conducted at a special meeting of stockholders as shall have been brought


before the meeting by or at the direction of the board of directors, chairperson of the board of directors or chief executive officer. Nothing contained in this Section 2.3(ii) shall be construed as limiting, fixing or affecting the time when a meeting of stockholders called by action of the board of directors may be held.

2.4 ADVANCE NOTICE PROCEDURES

(i) Advance Notice of Stockholder Business. At an annual meeting of the stockholders, only such business shall be conducted as shall have been properly brought before the meeting. To be properly brought before an annual meeting, business must be brought: (A) pursuant to the corporation’s proxy materials with respect to such meeting, (B) by or at the direction of the board of directors, or (C) by a stockholder of the corporation who (1) is a stockholder of record at the time of the giving of the notice required by this Section 2.4(i) and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting and (2) has timely complied in proper written form with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.4(i). In addition, for business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, such business must be a proper matter for stockholder action pursuant to these bylaws and applicable law. For the avoidance of doubt, except for proposals properly made in accordance with Rule 14a-8 under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or any successor thereto (the “ 1934 Act ”), and the regulations thereunder (or any successor rule and in any case as so amended), clause (C) above shall be the exclusive means for a stockholder to bring business before an annual meeting of stockholders.

(a) To comply with clause (C) of Section 2.4(i) above, a stockholder’s notice must set forth all information required under this Section 2.4(i) and must be timely received by the secretary of the corporation. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received by the secretary at the principal executive offices of the corporation not later than the 45th day nor earlier than the 75th day before the one-year anniversary of the date on which the corporation first mailed its proxy materials or a notice of availability of proxy materials (whichever is earlier) for the preceding year’s annual meeting; provided , however , that in the event that no annual meeting was held in the previous year or if the date of the annual meeting is advanced by more than 30 days prior to or delayed by more than 60 days after the one-year anniversary of the date of the previous year’s annual meeting, then, for notice by the stockholder to be timely, it must be so received by the secretary not earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such annual meeting and not later than the close of business on the later of (i) the 90th day prior to such annual meeting, or (ii) the tenth day following the day on which Public Announcement (as defined below) of the date of such annual meeting is first made. In no event shall any adjournment, rescheduling or postponement of an annual meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice as described in this Section 2.4(i)(a). “ Public Announcement ” shall mean disclosure made via a Tweet from a verified account operated by the corporation (e.g. @Twitter), in a press release reported by the Dow Jones News Service, Associated Press or a comparable national news service or in a document publicly filed by the corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section 13, 14 or 15(d) of the 1934 Act.

(b) To be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the secretary must set forth as to each matter of business the stockholder intends to bring before the annual meeting: (1) a brief description of the business intended to be brought before the annual meeting and the reasons for conducting such business at the annual meeting, (2) the name and address, as they appear on the corporation’s books, of the stockholder proposing such business and any Stockholder Associated Person (as defined below), (3) the class and number of shares of the corporation that are held of record or are beneficially owned by the stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person and any derivative positions held or beneficially held by the stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person, (4) whether and the extent to which any hedging or

 

-2-


other transaction or series of transactions has been entered into by or on behalf of such stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person with respect to any securities of the corporation, and a description of any other agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares), the effect or intent of which is to mitigate loss to, or to manage the risk or benefit from share price changes for, or to increase or decrease the voting power of, such stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person with respect to any securities of the corporation, (5) any material interest of the stockholder or a Stockholder Associated Person in such business, and (6) a statement whether either such stockholder or any Stockholder Associated Person will deliver a proxy statement and form of proxy to holders of at least the percentage of the voting power of the corporation’s voting shares required under applicable law to carry the proposal (such information provided and statements made as required by clauses (1) through (6), a “ Business Solicitation Statement ”). In addition, to be in proper written form, a stockholder’s notice to the secretary must be supplemented not later than ten days following the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting to disclose the information contained in clauses (3) and (4) above as of the record date. For purposes of this Section 2.4, a “ Stockholder Associated Person ” of any stockholder shall mean (i) any person controlling, directly or indirectly, or acting in concert with, such stockholder, (ii) any beneficial owner of shares of stock of the corporation owned of record or beneficially by such stockholder and on whose behalf the proposal or nomination, as the case may be, is being made, or (iii) any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such person referred to in the preceding clauses (i) and (ii).

(c) Without exception, no business shall be conducted at any annual meeting except in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Section 2.4(i) and, if applicable, Section 2.4(ii). In addition, business proposed to be brought by a stockholder may not be brought before the annual meeting if such stockholder or a Stockholder Associated Person, as applicable, takes action contrary to the representations made in the Business Solicitation Statement applicable to such business or if the Business Solicitation Statement applicable to such business contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The chairperson of the annual meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare at the annual meeting that business was not properly brought before the annual meeting and in accordance with the provisions of this Section 2.4(i), and, if the chairperson should so determine, he or she shall so declare at the annual meeting that any such business not properly brought before the annual meeting shall not be conducted.

(ii) Advance Notice of Director Nominations at Annual Meetings. Notwithstanding anything in these bylaws to the contrary, only persons who are nominated in accordance with the procedures set forth in this Section 2.4(ii) shall be eligible for election or re-election as directors at an annual meeting of stockholders. Nominations of persons for election to the board of directors of the corporation shall be made at an annual meeting of stockholders only (A) by or at the direction of the board of directors or (B) by a stockholder of the corporation who (1) was a stockholder of record at the time of the giving of the notice required by this Section 2.4(ii) and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting and (2) has complied with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.4(ii). In addition to any other applicable requirements, for a nomination to be made by a stockholder, the stockholder must have given timely notice thereof in proper written form to the secretary of the corporation.

(a) To comply with clause (B) of Section 2.4(ii) above, a nomination to be made by a stockholder must set forth all information required under this Section 2.4(ii) and must be received by the secretary of the corporation at the principal executive offices of the corporation at the time set forth in, and in accordance with, the final three sentences of Section 2.4(i)(a) above; provided additionally, however, that in the event that the number of directors to be elected to the board of directors is increased and there is no Public

 

-3-


Announcement naming all of the nominees for director or specifying the size of the increased board made by the corporation at least ten days before the last day a stockholder may deliver a notice of nomination pursuant to the foregoing provisions, a stockholder’s notice required by this Section 2.4(ii) shall also be considered timely, but only with respect to nominees for any new positions created by such increase, if it shall be received by the secretary of the corporation at the principal executive offices of the corporation not later than the close of business on the tenth day following the day on which such Public Announcement is first made by the corporation.

(b) To be in proper written form, such stockholder’s notice to the secretary must set forth:

(1) as to each person (a “ nominee ”) whom the stockholder proposes to nominate for election or re-election as a director: (A) the name, age, business address and residence address of the nominee, (B) the principal occupation or employment of the nominee, (C) the class and number of shares of the corporation that are held of record or are beneficially owned by the nominee and any derivative positions held or beneficially held by the nominee, (D) whether and the extent to which any hedging or other transaction or series of transactions has been entered into by or on behalf of the nominee with respect to any securities of the corporation, and a description of any other agreement, arrangement or understanding (including any short position or any borrowing or lending of shares), the effect or intent of which is to mitigate loss to, or to manage the risk or benefit of share price changes for, or to increase or decrease the voting power of the nominee, (E) a description of all arrangements or understandings between or among any of the stockholder, each nominee and/or any other person or persons (naming such person or persons) pursuant to which the nominations are to be made by the stockholder or relating to the nominee’s potential service on the board of directors, (F) a written statement executed by the nominee acknowledging that as a director of the corporation, the nominee will owe a fiduciary duty under Delaware law with respect to the corporation and its stockholders, and (G) any other information relating to the nominee that would be required to be disclosed about such nominee if proxies were being solicited for the election of the nominee as a director, or that is otherwise required, in each case pursuant to Regulation 14A under the 1934 Act (including without limitation the nominee’s written consent to being named in the proxy statement, if any, as a nominee and to serving as a director if elected); and

(2) as to such stockholder giving notice, (A) the information required to be provided pursuant to clauses (2) through (5) of Section 2.4(i)(b) above, and the supplement referenced in the second sentence of Section 2.4(i)(b) above (except that the references to “business” in such clauses shall instead refer to nominations of directors for purposes of this paragraph), and (B) a statement whether either such stockholder or Stockholder Associated Person will deliver a proxy statement and form of proxy to holders at least the percentage of the corporation’s voting shares reasonably believed by such stockholder or Stockholder Associated Person to be necessary to elect such nominee(s) (such information provided and statements made as required by clauses (A) and (B) above, a “ Nominee Solicitation Statement ”).

(c) At the request of the board of directors, any person nominated by a stockholder for election as a director must furnish to the secretary of the corporation (1) that information required to be set forth in the stockholder’s notice of nomination of such person as a director as of a date subsequent to the date on which the notice of such person’s nomination was given and (2) such other information as may reasonably be required by the corporation to determine the eligibility of such proposed nominee to serve as an independent director of the corporation or that could be material to a reasonable stockholder’s understanding of the independence, or lack thereof, of such nominee; in the absence of the furnishing of such information if requested, such stockholder’s nomination shall not be considered in proper form pursuant to this Section 2.4(ii).

 

-4-


(d) Without exception, no person shall be eligible for election or re-election as a director of the corporation at an annual meeting of stockholders unless nominated in accordance with the provisions set forth in this Section 2.4(ii). In addition, a nominee shall not be eligible for election or re-election if a stockholder or Stockholder Associated Person, as applicable, takes action contrary to the representations made in the Nominee Solicitation Statement applicable to such nominee or if the Nominee Solicitation Statement applicable to such nominee contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The chairperson of the annual meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare at the annual meeting that a nomination was not made in accordance with the provisions prescribed by these bylaws, and if the chairperson should so determine, he or she shall so declare at the annual meeting, and the defective nomination shall be disregarded.

(iii) Advance Notice of Director Nominations for Special Meetings .

(a) For a special meeting of stockholders at which directors are to be elected pursuant to Section 2.3, nominations of persons for election to the board of directors shall be made only (1) by or at the direction of the board of directors or (2) by any stockholder of the corporation who (A) is a stockholder of record at the time of the giving of the notice required by this Section 2.4(iii) and on the record date for the determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the special meeting and (B) delivers a timely written notice of the nomination to the secretary of the corporation that includes the information set forth in Sections 2.4(ii)(b) and (ii)(c) above. To be timely, such notice must be received by the secretary at the principal executive offices of the corporation not later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such special meeting or the tenth day following the day on which Public Announcement is first made of the date of the special meeting and of the nominees proposed by the board of directors to be elected at such meeting. In no event shall any adjournment, rescheduling or postponement of a special meeting or the announcement thereof commence a new time period for the giving of a stockholder’s notice. A person shall not be eligible for election or re-election as a director at a special meeting unless the person is nominated (i) by or at the direction of the board of directors or (ii) by a stockholder in accordance with the notice procedures set forth in this Section 2.4(iii). In addition, a nominee shall not be eligible for election or re-election if a stockholder or Stockholder Associated Person, as applicable, takes action contrary to the representations made in the Nominee Solicitation Statement applicable to such nominee or if the Nominee Solicitation Statement applicable to such nominee contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omits to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

(b) The chairperson of the special meeting shall, if the facts warrant, determine and declare at the meeting that a nomination or business was not made in accordance with the procedures prescribed by these bylaws, and if the chairperson should so determine, he or she shall so declare at the meeting, and the defective nomination or business shall be disregarded.

(iv) Other Requirements and Rights . In addition to the foregoing provisions of this Section 2.4, a stockholder must also comply with all applicable requirements of state law and of the 1934 Act and the rules and regulations thereunder with respect to the matters set forth in this Section 2.4, including, with respect to business such stockholder intends to bring before the annual meeting that involves a proposal that such stockholder requests to be included in the corporation’s proxy statement, the requirements of Rule 14a-8 (or any successor provision) under the 1934 Act. Nothing in this Section 2.4 shall be deemed to affect any right of the corporation to omit a proposal from the corporation’s proxy statement pursuant to Rule 14a-8 (or any successor provision) under the 1934 Act.

 

-5-


2.5 NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS

Whenever stockholders are required or permitted to take any action at a meeting, a written notice of the meeting 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 the meeting, if such date is different from the record date for determining stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting, and, in the case of a special meeting, the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is called. Except as otherwise provided in the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, the written notice of any meeting of stockholders shall be given not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting to each stockholder entitled to vote at such meeting as of the record date for determining the stockholders entitled to notice of the meeting.

2.6 QUORUM

The holders of a majority of the voting power of the stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at all meetings of the stockholders, unless otherwise required by law, the certificate of incorporation, these bylaws or the rules of any applicable stock exchange. Where a separate vote by a class or series or classes or series is required, a majority of the voting power of the issued and outstanding shares of such class or series or classes or series, present in person or represented by proxy, shall constitute a quorum entitled to take action with respect to that vote on that matter, except as otherwise required by law, the certificate of incorporation, these bylaws or the rules of any applicable stock exchange.

Whether or not a quorum is present at a meeting of stockholders, the chairperson of the meeting shall have power to adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting. At such adjourned meeting at which a quorum is present or represented, any business may be transacted that might have been transacted at the original meeting.

2.7 ADJOURNED MEETING; NOTICE

When a meeting is adjourned to another time or place, unless these bylaws otherwise require, notice need not be given of the adjourned meeting if the time, 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 meeting are announced at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken. At the adjourned meeting, the corporation may transact any business which might have been transacted at the original meeting. If the adjournment is for more than 30 days, a notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at the meeting. If after the adjournment a new record date for stockholders entitled to vote is fixed for the adjourned meeting, the board of directors shall fix a new record date for notice of such adjourned meeting in accordance with Section 213(a) of the DGCL and Section 2.11 of these bylaws, and shall give notice of the adjourned meeting to each stockholder of record entitled to vote at such adjourned meeting as of the record date fixed for notice of such adjourned meeting.

 

-6-


2.8 CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

The chairperson of any meeting of stockholders shall determine the order of business and the procedure at the meeting, including such regulation of the manner of voting and the conduct of business. The chairperson of any meeting of stockholders shall be designated by the board of directors; in the absence of such designation, the chairperson of the board, if any, the chief executive officer (in the absence of the chairperson) or the lead independent director (in the absence of the chairperson of the board and the chief executive officer), or in their absence any other executive officer of the corporation, shall serve as chairperson of the stockholder meeting.

2.9 VOTING

The stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.11 of these bylaws, subject to Section 217 (relating to voting rights of fiduciaries, pledgors and joint owners of stock) and Section 218 (relating to voting trusts and other voting agreements) of the DGCL.

Except as may be otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, each stockholder shall be entitled to one vote for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder.

Except as otherwise required by law, the certificate of incorporation, these bylaws or the rules of any applicable stock exchange, in all matters other than the election of directors, the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the subject matter shall be the act of the stockholders. Except as otherwise required by law, the certificate of incorporation, these bylaws or the rules of any applicable stock exchange, directors shall be elected by a plurality of the voting power of the shares present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote on the election of directors. Where a separate vote by a class or series or classes or series is required, in all matters other than the election of directors, the affirmative vote of the majority of the voting power of shares of such class or series or classes or series present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting shall be the act of such class or series or classes or series, except as otherwise provided by law, the certificate of incorporation, these bylaws or the rules of any applicable stock exchange.

2.10 STOCKHOLDER ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING

Subject to the rights of the holders of the shares of any series of Preferred Stock or any other class of stock or series thereof that have been expressly granted the right to take 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 may not be effected by any consent in writing by such stockholders.

2.11 RECORD DATES

In order that the corporation may determine the stockholders entitled to notice of any meeting of 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 60 nor less than 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.

 

-7-


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 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 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 in accordance with the provisions of Section 213 of the DGCL and this Section 2.11 at the adjourned meeting.

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 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.

2.12 PROXIES

Each stockholder entitled to vote at a meeting of stockholders may authorize another person or persons to act for such stockholder by proxy authorized by an instrument in writing or by a transmission permitted by law filed in accordance with the procedure established for the meeting, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. The revocability of a proxy that states on its face that it is irrevocable shall be governed by the provisions of Section 212 of the DGCL. A written proxy may be in the form of a telegram, cablegram, or other means of electronic transmission which sets forth or is submitted with information from which it can be determined that the telegram, cablegram, or other means of electronic transmission was authorized by the stockholder.

2.13 LIST OF STOCKHOLDERS ENTITLED TO VOTE

The officer who has charge of the stock ledger of the corporation shall prepare and make, at least 10 days before every meeting of 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 10 days before the meeting date, the list shall reflect the stockholders entitled to vote as of the tenth day before the meeting date, arranged in alphabetical order, and showing the address of each stockholder and the number of shares registered in the name of each stockholder. 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 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 corporation’s principal place of business. 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

 

-8-


is available only to stockholders of the corporation. If the meeting is to be held at a place, then the list 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. Such list shall presumptively determine the identity of the stockholders entitled to vote at the meeting and the number of shares held by each of them.

2.14 INSPECTORS OF ELECTION

Before any meeting of stockholders, the board of directors shall appoint an inspector or inspectors of election to act at the meeting or its adjournment. The number of inspectors shall be either one (1) or three (3). If any person appointed as inspector fails to appear or fails or refuses to act, then the chairperson of the meeting may, and upon the request of any stockholder or a stockholder’s proxy shall, appoint a person to fill that vacancy; provided further that, in any case, if no inspector or alternate is able to act at a meeting of stockholders, the chairperson of the meeting shall appoint at least one (1) inspector to act at the meeting.

Each inspector, before entering upon the discharge of his or her duties, shall take and sign an oath to execute faithfully the duties of inspector with strict impartiality and according to the best of his or her ability. Such inspectors shall:

(i) determine the number of shares outstanding and the voting power of each, the number of shares represented at the meeting, the existence of a quorum, and the authenticity, validity, and effect of proxies;

(ii) receive votes, ballots or consents;

(iii) hear and determine all challenges and questions in any way arising in connection with the right to vote;

(iv) count and tabulate all votes or consents;

(v) determine when the polls shall close;

(vi) determine the result; and

(vii) do any other acts that may be proper to conduct the election or vote with fairness to all stockholders.

The inspectors of election shall perform their duties impartially, in good faith, to the best of their ability and as expeditiously as is practical. If there are three (3) inspectors of election, the decision, act or certificate of a majority is effective in all respects as the decision, act or certificate of all. Any report or certificate made by the inspectors of election is prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

 

-9-


ARTICLE III - DIRECTORS

3.1 POWERS

The business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed by or under the direction of the board of directors, except as may be otherwise provided in the DGCL or the certificate of incorporation.

3.2 NUMBER OF DIRECTORS

The board of directors shall consist of one or more members, each of whom shall be a natural person. Unless the certificate of incorporation fixes the number of directors, the number of directors shall be determined from time to time by resolution of the board of directors. No reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of removing any director before that director’s term of office expires.

3.3 ELECTION, QUALIFICATION AND TERM OF OFFICE OF DIRECTORS

Except as provided in Section 3.4 of these bylaws, each director, including a director elected to fill a vacancy, shall hold office until the expiration of the term for which elected and until such director’s successor is elected and qualified or until such director’s earlier death, resignation or removal. Directors need not be stockholders unless so required by the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws. The certificate of incorporation or these bylaws may prescribe other qualifications for directors.

In accordance with the provisions of the certificate of incorporation, the directors of the corporation shall be divided into three classes.

3.4 RESIGNATION AND VACANCIES

Any director may resign at any time upon notice given in writing or by electronic transmission to the corporation. A resignation is effective when the resignation is delivered unless the resignation specifies a later effective date or an effective date determined upon the happening of an event or events. 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. Unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, when one or more directors resign from the board of directors, effective at a future date, a majority of the directors then in office, including those who have so resigned, shall have power to fill such vacancy or vacancies, the vote thereon to take effect when such resignation or resignations shall become effective.

Unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, vacancies and newly created directorships resulting from any increase in the authorized number of directors elected by all of the stockholders having the right to vote as a single class shall be filled only by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director. If the directors are divided into classes, a person so elected by the directors then in office to fill a vacancy or newly created directorship shall hold office until the next election of the class for which such director shall have been chosen and until his or her successor shall have been duly elected and qualified.

If at any time, by reason of death or resignation or other cause, the corporation should have no directors in office, then any officer or any stockholder or an executor, administrator, trustee or guardian of a stockholder, or other fiduciary entrusted with like responsibility for the person or estate of a stockholder, may call a special meeting of stockholders in accordance with the provisions of the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, or may apply to the Delaware Court of Chancery for a decree summarily ordering an election as provided in Section 211 of the DGCL.

 

-10-


If, at the time of filling any vacancy or any newly created directorship, the directors then in office constitute less than a majority of the whole board of directors (as constituted immediately prior to any such increase), the Court of Chancery may, upon application of any stockholder or stockholders holding at least 10% of the voting power of the voting stock at the time outstanding having the right to vote for such directors, summarily order an election to be held to fill any such vacancies or newly created directorships, or to replace the directors chosen by the directors then in office as aforesaid, which election shall be governed by the provisions of Section 211 of the DGCL as far as applicable.

3.5 PLACE OF MEETINGS; MEETINGS BY TELEPHONE

The board of directors may hold meetings, both regular and special, either within or outside the State of Delaware.

Unless otherwise restricted by the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, members of the board of directors, or any committee designated by the board of directors, may participate in a meeting of the board of directors, or any committee, by means of conference telephone or other communications equipment by means of which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation in a meeting shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.

3.6 REGULAR MEETINGS

Regular meetings of the board of directors may be held without notice at such time and at such place as shall from time to time be determined by the board of directors.

3.7 SPECIAL MEETINGS; NOTICE

Special meetings of the board of directors for any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the chairperson of the board of directors, the chief executive officer, the secretary or a majority of the authorized number of directors, at such times and places as he or she or they shall designate.

Notice of the time and place of special meetings shall be:

(i) delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone;

(ii) sent by United States first-class mail, postage prepaid;

(iii) sent by facsimile; or

(iv) sent by electronic mail,

directed to each director at that director’s address, telephone number, facsimile number or electronic mail address, as the case may be, as shown on the corporation’s records.

If the notice is (i) delivered personally by hand, by courier or by telephone, (ii) sent by facsimile or (iii) sent by electronic mail, it shall be delivered or sent at least 24 hours before the time of the holding of the

 

-11-


meeting. If the notice is sent by United States mail, it shall be deposited in the United States mail at least four days before the time of the holding of the meeting. Any oral notice may be communicated to the director. The notice need not specify the place of the meeting (if the meeting is to be held at the corporation’s principal executive office) nor the purpose of the meeting.

3.8 QUORUM; VOTING

At all meetings of the board of directors, a majority of the total authorized number of directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. If a quorum is not present at any meeting of the board of directors, then the directors present thereat may adjourn the meeting from time to time, without notice other than announcement at the meeting, until a quorum is present. A meeting at which a quorum is initially present may continue to transact business notwithstanding the withdrawal of directors, if any action taken is approved by at least a majority of the required quorum for that meeting.

The vote of a majority of the directors present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board of directors, except as may be otherwise specifically provided by statute, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws.

If the certificate of incorporation provides that one or more directors shall have more or less than one vote per director on any matter, every reference in these bylaws to a majority or other proportion of the directors shall refer to a majority or other proportion of the votes of the directors.

3.9 BOARD ACTION BY WRITTEN CONSENT WITHOUT A MEETING

Unless otherwise restricted by 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 members of the board of directors or committee, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission and the writing or writings or electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the board of directors or committee. Such filing shall be in paper form if the minutes are maintained in paper form and shall be in electronic form if the minutes are maintained in electronic form.

3.10 FEES AND COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS

Unless otherwise restricted by the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, the board of directors shall have the authority to fix the compensation of directors.

3.11 REMOVAL OF DIRECTORS

Unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, any director may be removed from office by the stockholders of the corporation only for cause.

No reduction of the authorized number of directors shall have the effect of removing any director prior to the expiration of such director’s term of office.

 

-12-


ARTICLE IV - COMMITTEES

4.1 COMMITTEES OF DIRECTORS

The board of directors may designate one or more committees, each committee to consist of one or more of the directors of the corporation. 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 the committee. In the absence or disqualification of a member of a committee, 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 member of the board of directors to act at the meeting in the place of any such absent or disqualified member. Any such committee, to the extent provided in the resolution of the board of directors or in these bylaws, 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 that may require it; but no such committee shall have the power or authority to (i) approve or 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 bylaw of the corporation.

4.2 COMMITTEE MINUTES

Each committee shall keep regular minutes of its meetings and report the same to the board of directors when required.

4.3 MEETINGS AND ACTION OF COMMITTEES

Meetings and actions of committees shall be governed by, and held and taken in accordance with, the provisions of:

(i) Section 3.5 (place of meetings and meetings by telephone);

(ii) Section 3.6 (regular meetings);

(iii) Section 3.7 (special meetings and notice);

(iv) Section 3.8 (quorum; voting);

(v) Section 7.5 (waiver of notice); and

(vi) Section 3.9 (action without a meeting)

with such changes in the context of those bylaws as are necessary to substitute the committee and its members for the board of directors and its members. However :

(i) the time of regular meetings of committees may be determined either by resolution of the board of directors or by resolution of the committee;

(ii) special meetings of committees may also be called by resolution of the board of directors; and

(iii) notice of special meetings of committees shall also be given to all alternate members, who shall have the right to attend all meetings of the committee. The board of directors or a committee may adopt rules for the government of any committee not inconsistent with the provisions of these bylaws.

 

-13-


Any provision in the certificate of incorporation providing that one or more directors shall have more or less than one vote per director on any matter shall apply to voting in any committee or subcommittee, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws.

4.4 SUBCOMMITTEES

Unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, these bylaws or the resolutions of the board of directors designating the committee, a 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.

ARTICLE V - OFFICERS

5.1 OFFICERS

The officers of the corporation shall be a chief executive officer and/or president and a secretary. The corporation may also have, at the discretion of the board of directors, a chairperson of the board of directors, a vice chairperson of the board of directors, a chief executive officer, a chief financial officer or treasurer, one or more vice presidents, one or more assistant vice presidents, one or more assistant treasurers, one or more assistant secretaries, and any such other officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of these bylaws. Any number of offices may be held by the same person.

5.2 APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS

The board of directors shall appoint the officers of the corporation, except such officers as may be appointed in accordance with the provisions of Sections 5.3 of these bylaws, subject to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract of employment.

5.3 SUBORDINATE OFFICERS

The board of directors may appoint, or empower the chief executive officer or, in the absence of a chief executive officer, another officer, to appoint, such other officers and agents as the business of the corporation may require. Each of such officers and agents shall hold office for such period, have such authority, and perform such duties as are provided in these bylaws or as the board of directors may from time to time determine.

5.4 REMOVAL AND RESIGNATION OF OFFICERS

Subject to the rights, if any, of an officer under any contract of employment, any officer may be removed, either with or without cause, by an affirmative vote of the majority of the board of directors at any regular or special meeting of the board of directors or, except in the case of an officer chosen by the board of directors, by any officer upon whom such power of removal may be conferred by the board of directors.

 

-14-


Any officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the corporation. Any resignation shall take effect at the date of the receipt of that notice or at any later time specified in that notice. Unless otherwise specified in the notice of resignation, the acceptance of the resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. Any resignation is without prejudice to the rights, if any, of the corporation under any contract to which the officer is a party.

5.5 VACANCIES IN OFFICES

Any vacancy occurring in any office of the corporation shall be filled by the board of directors or as provided in Section 5.3.

5.6 REPRESENTATION OF SHARES OF OTHER CORPORATIONS

The chairperson of the board of directors, the chief executive officer and/or president, any vice president, the treasurer, the secretary or assistant secretary of this corporation, or any other person authorized by the board of directors or the chief executive officer and/or president or a vice president, is authorized to vote, represent, and exercise on behalf of this corporation all rights incident to any and all shares of any other corporation or corporations standing in the name of this corporation. The authority granted herein may be exercised either by such person directly or by any other person authorized to do so by proxy or power of attorney duly executed by such person having the authority.

5.7 AUTHORITY AND DUTIES OF OFFICERS

All officers of the corporation shall respectively have such authority and perform such duties in the management of the business of the corporation as may be designated from time to time by the board of directors or the stockholders and, to the extent not so provided, as generally pertain to their respective offices, subject to the control of the board of directors.

ARTICLE VI - STOCK

6.1 STOCK CERTIFICATES; PARTLY PAID SHARES

The shares of the corporation shall be represented by certificates, provided that the board of directors may provide by resolution or resolutions that some or all of any or all classes or series of its stock shall be uncertificated shares. Any such resolution shall not apply to shares represented by a certificate until such certificate is surrendered to the corporation. Every holder of stock represented by certificates shall be entitled to have a certificate signed by, or in the name of the corporation by the chairperson of the board of directors or vice-chairperson of the board of directors, or the chief executive officer and/or president or a vice-president, and by the treasurer or an assistant treasurer, or the secretary or an assistant secretary of the corporation representing the number of shares registered in certificate form. Any or all of the signatures on the 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 has 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. The corporation shall not have power to issue a certificate in bearer form.

 

-15-


The corporation may issue the whole or any part of its shares as partly paid and subject to call for the remainder of the consideration to be paid therefor. Upon the face or back of each stock certificate issued to represent any such partly-paid shares, or upon the books and records of the corporation in the case of uncertificated partly-paid shares, the total amount of the consideration to be paid therefor and the amount paid thereon shall be stated. Upon the declaration of any dividend on fully-paid shares, the corporation shall declare a dividend upon partly-paid shares of the same class, but only upon the basis of the percentage of the consideration actually paid thereon.

6.2 SPECIAL DESIGNATION ON CERTIFICATES

If the corporation is authorized to issue more than one class of stock or more than one series of any class, then the powers, the designations, the preferences, and the relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights shall be set forth in full or summarized on the face or back of the certificate that the corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock; provided, however , that, except as otherwise provided in Section 202 of the DGCL, in lieu of the foregoing requirements there may be set forth on the face or back of the certificate that the corporation shall issue to represent such class or series of stock, a statement that the corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights. Within a reasonable time after the issuance or transfer of uncertificated stock, the corporation shall send to the registered owner thereof a written notice containing the information required to be set forth or stated on certificates pursuant to this section 6.2 or Sections 151, 156, 202(a) or 218(a) of the DGCL or with respect to this section 6.2 a statement that the corporation will furnish without charge to each stockholder who so requests the powers, designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights of each class of stock or series thereof and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions of such preferences and/or rights. Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, the rights and obligations of the holders of uncertificated stock and the rights and obligations of the holders of certificates representing stock of the same class and series shall be identical.

6.3 LOST CERTIFICATES

Except as provided in this Section 6.3, no new certificates for shares shall be issued to replace a previously issued certificate unless the latter is surrendered to the corporation and cancelled at the same time. The corporation may issue a new certificate of stock or uncertificated shares in the place of any certificate theretofore issued by it, alleged to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, and the corporation may require the owner of the lost, stolen or destroyed certificate, or such owner’s legal representative, to give the corporation a bond sufficient to indemnify it against any claim that may be made against it on account of the alleged loss, theft or destruction of any such certificate or the issuance of such new certificate or uncertificated shares.

6.4 DIVIDENDS

The board of directors, subject to any restrictions contained in the certificate of incorporation or applicable law, may declare and pay dividends upon the shares of the corporation’s capital stock.

The board of directors may set apart out of any of the funds of the corporation available for dividends a reserve or reserves for any proper purpose and may abolish any such reserve. Such purposes shall include but not be limited to equalizing dividends, repairing or maintaining any property of the corporation, and meeting contingencies.

 

-16-


6.5 TRANSFER OF STOCK

Transfers of record of shares of stock of the corporation shall be made only upon its books by the holders thereof, in person or by an attorney duly authorized, and, subject to Section 6.3 of these bylaws, if such stock is certificated, upon the surrender of a certificate or certificates for a like number of shares, properly endorsed or accompanied by proper evidence of succession, assignation or authority to transfer.

6.6 STOCK TRANSFER AGREEMENTS

The corporation shall have power to enter into and perform any agreement with any number of stockholders of any one or more classes of stock of the corporation to restrict the transfer of shares of stock of the corporation of any one or more classes owned by such stockholders in any manner not prohibited by the DGCL.

6.7 REGISTERED STOCKHOLDERS

The corporation:

(i) 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;

(ii) shall be entitled to hold liable for calls and assessments the person registered on its books as the owner of shares; and

(iii) shall not be bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such share or shares on the part of another person, whether or not it shall have express or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by the laws of Delaware.

ARTICLE VII - MANNER OF GIVING NOTICE AND WAIVER

7.1 NOTICE OF STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS

Notice of any meeting of stockholders, if mailed, is given when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, directed to the stockholder at such stockholder’s address as it appears on the corporation’s records. An affidavit of the secretary or an assistant secretary of the corporation or of the transfer agent or other agent of the corporation that the notice has been given shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

 

-17-


7.2 NOTICE BY ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

Without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders pursuant to the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, any notice to stockholders given by the corporation under any provision of the DGCL, 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 to the corporation. Any such consent shall be deemed revoked if:

(i) the corporation is unable to deliver by electronic transmission two consecutive notices given by the corporation in accordance with such consent; 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.

However, the inadvertent failure to treat such inability as a revocation shall not invalidate any meeting or other action.

Any notice given pursuant to the preceding paragraph shall be deemed given:

 

  (i) if by facsimile telecommunication, when directed to a number at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice;

 

  (ii) if by electronic mail, when directed to an electronic mail address at which the stockholder has consented to receive notice;

 

  (iii) 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

 

  (iv) if by any other form of electronic transmission, when directed to the stockholder.

An affidavit of the secretary or an assistant secretary or of the transfer agent or other agent of the corporation that the notice has been given by a form of electronic transmission shall, in the absence of fraud, be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

An “ electronic transmission ” means any form of communication, not directly involving the physical transmission of paper, that creates a record that may be retained, retrieved, and reviewed by a recipient thereof, and that may be directly reproduced in paper form by such a recipient through an automated process.

Notice by a form of electronic transmission shall not apply with respect to Sections 164, 296, 311, 312 or 324 of the DGCL.

7.3 NOTICE TO STOCKHOLDERS SHARING AN ADDRESS

Except as otherwise prohibited under the DGCL, without limiting the manner by which notice otherwise may be given effectively to stockholders, any notice to stockholders given by the corporation under the provisions of the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws shall be effective if given by a

 

-18-


single written notice to stockholders who share an address if consented to by the stockholders at that address to whom such notice is given. Any such consent shall be revocable by the stockholder by written notice to the corporation. Any stockholder who fails to object in writing to the corporation, within 60 days of having been given written notice by the corporation of its intention to send the single notice, shall be deemed to have consented to receiving such single written notice.

7.4 NOTICE TO PERSON WITH WHOM COMMUNICATION IS UNLAWFUL

Whenever notice is required to be given, under the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, to any person with whom communication is unlawful, the giving of such notice to such person shall not be required and there shall be no duty to apply to any governmental authority or agency for a license or permit to give such notice to such person. Any action or meeting which shall be taken or held without notice to any such person with whom communication is unlawful shall have the same force and effect as if such notice had been duly given. In the event that the action taken by the corporation is such as to require the filing of a certificate under the DGCL, the certificate shall state, if such is the fact and if notice is required, that notice was given to all persons entitled to receive notice except such persons with whom communication is unlawful.

7.5 WAIVER OF NOTICE

Whenever notice is required to be given under any provision of the DGCL, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, a written waiver, signed by the person entitled to notice, or a waiver by electronic transmission by the person entitled to notice, whether before or after the time of the event for which notice is to be given, shall be deemed equivalent to notice. Attendance of a person at a meeting shall constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except when the person attends a 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 regular or special meeting of the stockholders need be specified in any written waiver of notice or any waiver by electronic transmission unless so required by the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws.

ARTICLE VIII - FORUM FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS

Unless the corporation consents in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, 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 fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the corporation to the corporation or the corporation’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be a state or federal court located within the state of Delaware, in all cases subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of the corporation shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the provisions of this bylaw.

 

-19-


ARTICLE IX - INDEMNIFICATION

9.1 INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS IN THIRD PARTY PROCEEDINGS

Subject to the other provisions of this Article IX, the corporation shall indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as now or hereinafter in effect, any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “ Proceeding ”) (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that such person 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 expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such 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 such person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any Proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which such 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 reasonable cause to believe that such person’s conduct was unlawful.

9.2 INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS IN ACTIONS BY OR IN THE RIGHT OF THE CORPORATION

Subject to the other provisions of this Article IX, the corporation shall indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as now or hereinafter in effect, any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person 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 expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation; except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

9.3 SUCCESSFUL DEFENSE

To the extent that a present or former director or officer of the corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding described in Section 9.1 or Section 9.2, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.

 

-20-


9.4 INDEMNIFICATION OF OTHERS

Subject to the other provisions of this Article IX, the corporation shall have power to indemnify its employees and agents to the extent not prohibited by the DGCL or other applicable law. The board of directors shall have the power to delegate to such person or persons as the board shall in its discretion determine the determination of whether employees or agents shall be indemnified.

9.5 ADVANCE PAYMENT OF EXPENSES

Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by an officer or director of the corporation in defending any Proceeding shall be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such Proceeding upon receipt of a written request therefor (together with documentation reasonably evidencing such expenses) and an undertaking by or on behalf of the person to repay such amounts if it shall ultimately be determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified under this Article IX or the DGCL. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents of the corporation or by persons serving at the request of the corporation as directors, officers, employees or agents of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate. The right to advancement of expenses shall not apply to any claim for which indemnity is excluded pursuant to these bylaws, but shall apply to any Proceeding referenced in Section 9.6(ii) or 9.6(iii) prior to a determination that the person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation.

9.6 LIMITATION ON INDEMNIFICATION

Subject to the requirements in Section 9.3 and the DGCL, the corporation shall not be obligated to indemnify any person pursuant to this Article IX in connection with any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding):

(i) for which payment has actually been made to or on behalf of such person under any statute, insurance policy, indemnity provision, vote or otherwise, except with respect to any excess beyond the amount paid;

(ii) for an accounting or disgorgement of profits pursuant to Section 16(b) of the 1934 Act, or similar provisions of federal, state or local statutory law or common law, if such person is held liable therefor (including pursuant to any settlement arrangements);

(iii) for any reimbursement of the corporation by such person of any bonus or other incentive-based or equity-based compensation or of any profits realized by such person from the sale of securities of the corporation, as required in each case under the 1934 Act (including any such reimbursements that arise from an accounting restatement of the corporation pursuant to Section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “ Sarbanes-Oxley Act ”), or the payment to the corporation of profits arising from the purchase and sale by such person of securities in violation of Section 306 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), if such person is held liable therefor (including pursuant to any settlement arrangements);

(iv) initiated by such person, including any Proceeding (or any part of any Proceeding) initiated by such person against the corporation or its directors, officers, employees, agents or other indemnitees, unless (a) the board of directors authorized the Proceeding (or the relevant part of the Proceeding) prior to its initiation, (b) the corporation provides the indemnification, in its sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in the corporation under applicable law, (c) otherwise required to be made under Section 9.7 or (d) otherwise required by applicable law; or

 

-21-


(v) if prohibited by applicable law; provided, however, that if any provision or provisions of this Article IX shall be held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason whatsoever: (1) the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Article IX (including, without limitation, each portion of any paragraph or clause containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, that is not itself held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby; and (2) to the fullest extent possible, the provisions of this Article IX (including, without limitation, each such portion of any paragraph or clause containing any such provision held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable) shall be construed so as to give effect to the intent manifested by the provision held invalid, illegal or unenforcebable.

9.7 DETERMINATION; CLAIM

If a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses under this Article IX is not paid in full within 90 days after receipt by the corporation of the written request therefor, the claimant shall be entitled to an adjudication by a court of competent jurisdiction of his or her entitlement to such indemnification or advancement of expenses. The corporation shall indemnify such person against any and all expenses that are incurred by such person in connection with any action for indemnification or advancement of expenses from the corporation under this Article IX, to the extent such person is successful in such action, and to the extent not prohibited by law. In any such suit, the corporation shall, to the fullest extent not prohibited by law, have the burden of proving that the claimant is not entitled to the requested indemnification or advancement of expenses.

9.8 NON-EXCLUSIVITY OF RIGHTS

The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this Article IX shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under the certificate of incorporation or any statute, bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. The corporation is specifically authorized to enter into individual contracts with any or all of its directors, officers, employees or agents respecting indemnification and advancement of expenses, to the fullest extent not prohibited by the DGCL or other applicable law.

9.9 INSURANCE

The corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was 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 to indemnify such person against such liability under the provisions of the DGCL.

 

-22-


9.10 SURVIVAL

The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses conferred by this Article IX shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.

9.11 EFFECT OF REPEAL OR MODIFICATION

A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the certificate of incorporation or a bylaw shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.

9.12 CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

For purposes of this Article IX, references to the “ corporation ” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under the provisions of this Article IX with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued. For purposes of this Article IX, references to “ other enterprises ” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “ fines ” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to an employee benefit plan; and references to “ serving at the request of the corporation ” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “ not opposed to the best interests of the corporation ” as referred to in this Article IX.

ARTICLE X - GENERAL MATTERS

10.1 EXECUTION OF CORPORATE CONTRACTS AND INSTRUMENTS

Except as otherwise provided by law, the certificate of incorporation or these bylaws, the board of directors may authorize any officer or officers, or agent or agents, to enter into any contract or execute any document or instrument in the name of and on behalf of the corporation; such authority may be general or confined to specific instances. Unless so authorized or ratified by the board of directors or within the agency power of an officer, no officer, agent or employee shall have any power or authority to bind the corporation by any contract or engagement or to pledge its credit or to render it liable for any purpose or for any amount.

 

-23-


10.2 FISCAL YEAR

The fiscal year of the corporation shall be fixed by resolution of the board of directors and may be changed by the board of directors.

10.3 SEAL

The corporation may adopt a corporate seal, which shall be adopted and which may be altered by the board of directors. The corporation may use the corporate seal by causing it or a facsimile thereof to be impressed or affixed or in any other manner reproduced.

10.4 CONSTRUCTION; DEFINITIONS

Unless the context requires otherwise, the general provisions, rules of construction, and definitions in the DGCL shall govern the construction of these bylaws. Without limiting the generality of this provision, the singular number includes the plural, the plural number includes the singular, and the term “ person ” includes both a corporation and a natural person.

ARTICLE XI - AMENDMENTS

These bylaws may be adopted, amended or repealed by the stockholders entitled to vote; provided, however, that the affirmative vote of the holders of at least eighty percent (80%) of the total voting power of outstanding voting securities, voting together as a single class, shall be required for the stockholders of the Corporation to alter, amend or repeal, or adopt any provision of these bylaws. The board of directors shall also have the power to adopt, amend or repeal bylaws.

A bylaw amendment 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.

 

-24-


TWITTER, INC.

CERTIFICATE OF AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

 

 

The undersigned hereby certifies that he or she is the duly elected, qualified, and acting Secretary or Assistant Secretary of Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation and that the foregoing bylaws, comprising [    ] pages, were amended and restated on [                      ] by the corporation’s board of directors.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has hereunto set his or her hand this      day of             , 2013.

 

 

Secretary

Exhibit 4.1

LOGO

 

ZQ|CERT#|COY|CLS|RGSTRY|ACCT#|TRANSTYPE|RUN#|TRANS#

COMMON STOCK COMMON STOCK

PAR VALUE $0.000005 THIS CERTIFICATE IS TRANSFERABLE

IN CANTON, MA, JERSEY CITY, NJ AND

COLLEGE STATION, TX

TWITTER, INC.

INCORPORATED UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE

Certificate

Number

ZQ00000000

Shares

* * 000000 ******************

* * * 000000 *****************

**** 000000 ****************

***** 000000 ***************

****** 000000 **************

CUSIP 90184L 10 2

SEE REVERSE FOR CERTAIN DEFINITIONS

THIS CERTIFIES THAT

MR. SAMPLE & MRS. SAMPLE&

MR. SAMPLE & MRS. SAMPLE

is the owner of

***ZERO HUNDRED THOUSAND

ZERO HUNDRED AND ZERO***

FULLY-PAID AND NON-ASSESSABLE SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF

Twitter, Inc. (hereinafter called the “Company”), transferable on the books of the Company in person or by duly authorized attorney, upon surrender of this Certificate properly endorsed. This Certificate and the shares represented hereby, are issued and shall be held subject to all of the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, and the By-Laws, as amended, of the Company (copies of which are on file with the Company and with the Transfer Agent), to all of which each holder, by acceptance hereof, assents. This Certificate is not valid unless countersigned and registered by the Transfer Agent and Registrar.

Witness the facsimile seal of the Company and the facsimile signatures of its duly authorized officers.

DATED DD-MMM-YYYY

COUNTERSIGNED AND REGISTERED:

COMPUTERSHARE TRUST COMPANY, N.A.

TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR,

Chief Executive Officer

By

General Counsel and Secretary AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

Twitter, Inc.

PO BOX 43004, Providence, Rl 02940-3004

MR A SAMPLE

DESIGNATION (IF ANY)

ADD 1

ADD 2

ADD 3

ADD 4

CUSIP Holder ID Insurance Value Number of Shares DTC

Certificate Numbers

1234567890/1234567890 1234567890/1234567890 1234567890/1234567890 1234567890/1234567890 1234567890/1234567890 1234567890/1234567890 Total Transaction

xxxxxx xx x xxxxxxxxxx

1,000,000.00 123456 12345678 123456789012345

Num/No. Denom. Total

1 1 1

2 2 2

3 3 3

4 4 4

6 6 6

7


LOGO

TWITTER, INC.

THE COMPANY WILL FURNISH WITHOUT CHARGE TO EACH SHAREHOLDER WHO SO REQUESTS, A SUMMARY OF THE POWERS, DESIGNATIONS, PREFERENCES AND RELATIVE, PARTICIPATING, OPTIONAL OR OTHER SPECIAL RIGHTS OF EACH CLASS OF STOCK OF THE COMPANY AND THE QUALIFICATIONS, LIMITATIONS OR RESTRICTIONS OF SUCH PREFERENCES AND RIGHTS, AND THE VARIATIONS IN RIGHTS, PREFERENCES AND LIMITATIONS DETERMINED FOR EACH SERIES, WHICH ARE FIXED BY THE CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION OF THE COMPANY, AS AMENDED, AND THE RESOLUTIONS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE COMPANY, AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO DETERMINE VARIATIONS FOR FUTURE SERIES. SUCH REQUEST MAY BE MADE TO THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY OR TO THE TRANSFER AGENT. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAY REQUIRE THE OWNER OF A LOST OR DESTROYED STOCK CERTIFICATE, OR HIS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES, TO GIVE THE COMPANY A BOND TO INDEMNIFY IT AND ITS TRANSFER AGENTS AND REGISTRARS AGAINST ANY CLAIM THAT MAY BE MADE AGAINST THEM ON ACCOUNT OF THE ALLEGED LOSS OR DESTRUCTION OF ANY SUCH CERTIFICATE.

The following abbreviations, when used in the inscription on the face of this certificate, shall be construed as though they were written out in full

according to applicable laws or regulations:

TEN COM - as tenants in common UNIF GIFT MIN ACT - Custodian

(Cust) (Minor)

TEN ENT - as tenants by the entireties under Uniform Gifts to Minors Act

(State)

JT TEN - as joint tenants with right of survivorship UNIF TRF MIN ACT - Custodian (until age )

and not as tenants in common (Cust)

under Uniform Transfers to Minors Act

(Minor) (State)

Additional abbreviations may also be used though not in the above list.

PLEASE INSERT SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER OF ASSIGNEE

For value received,                     hereby sell, assign and transfer unto

(PLEASE PRINT OR TYPEWRITE NAME AND ADDRESS, INCLUDING POSTAL ZIP CODE, OF ASSIGNEE)

Shares

of the common stock represented by the within Certificate, and do hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint

Attorney

to transfer the said stock on the books of the within-named Company with full power of substitution in the premises.

Dated:                     20 Signature(s) Guaranteed: Medallion Guarantee Stamp

THE SIGNATURE(S) SHOULD BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (Banks,

Stockbrokers, Savings and Loan Associations and Credit Unions) WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED

SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO S.E.C. RULE 17Ad-15.

Signature:

Signature:

Notice: The signature to this assignment must correspond with the name

as written upon the face of the certificate, in every particular,

without alteration or enlargement, or any change whatever.

The IRS requires that we report the cost basis of certain shares acquired after January 1, 2011. If your shares were covered by the legislation and you have sold or transferred the shares and requested a specific cost basis calculation method, we have processed as requested. If you did not specify a cost basis calculation method, we have defaulted to the first in, first out (FIFO) method. Please visit our website or consult your tax advisor if you need additional information about cost basis.

If you do not keep in contact with us or do not have any activity in your account for the time periods specified by state law, your property could become subject to state unclaimed property laws and transferred to the appropriate state.

Exhibit 10.2

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

1. Purposes of the Plan . The purposes of this Plan are:

 

   

to attract and retain the best available personnel for positions of substantial responsibility,

 

   

to provide additional incentive to Employees, Directors and Consultants, and

 

   

to promote the success of the Company’s business.

The Plan permits the grant of Incentive Stock Options, Nonstatutory Stock Options, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Stock Appreciation Rights, Performance Units and Performance Shares.

2. Definitions . As used herein, the following definitions will apply:

(a) “ Administrator ” means the Board or any of its Committees as will be administering the Plan, in accordance with Section 4 of the Plan.

(b) “ Applicable Laws ” means the requirements relating to the administration of equity-based awards and the related issuance of Shares under U.S. state corporate laws, U.S. federal and state securities laws, the Code, any stock exchange or quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted and the applicable securities or exchange control laws of any foreign country or jurisdiction where Awards are, or will be, granted under the Plan.

(c) “ Award ” means, individually or collectively, a grant under the Plan of Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Units or Performance Shares.

(d) “ Award Agreement ” means the written or electronic agreement setting forth the terms and provisions applicable to each Award granted under the Plan. The Award Agreement is subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan.

(e) “ Board ” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(f) “ Change in Control ” means the occurrence of any of the following events:

(i) A change in the ownership of the Company which occurs on the date that any one person, or more than one person acting as a group (“ Person ”), acquires ownership of the stock of the Company that, together with the stock held by such Person, constitutes more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the stock of the Company; provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection, the acquisition of additional stock by any one Person, who is considered to own more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the stock of the Company will not be considered a Change in Control; or


(ii) A change in the effective control of the Company which occurs on the date that a majority of members of the Board is replaced during any twelve (12) month period by Directors whose appointment or election is not endorsed by a majority of the members of the Board prior to the date of the appointment or election. For purposes of this subsection (ii), if any Person is considered to be in effective control of the Company, the acquisition of additional control of the Company by the same Person will not be considered a Change in Control; or

(iii) A change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the Company’s assets which occurs on the date that any Person acquires (or has acquired during the twelve (12) month period ending on the date of the most recent acquisition by such person or persons) assets from the Company that have a total gross fair market value equal to or more than fifty percent (50%) of the total gross fair market value of all of the assets of the Company immediately prior to such acquisition or acquisitions; provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection (iii), the following will not constitute a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the Company’s assets: (A) a transfer to an entity that is controlled by the Company’s stockholders immediately after the transfer, or (B) a transfer of assets by the Company to: (1) a stockholder of the Company (immediately before the asset transfer) in exchange for or with respect to the Company’s stock, (2) an entity, fifty percent (50%) or more of the total value or voting power of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company, (3) a Person, that owns, directly or indirectly, fifty percent (50%) or more of the total value or voting power of all the outstanding stock of the Company, or (4) an entity, at least fifty percent (50%) of the total value or voting power of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by a Person described in this subsection (iii)(B)(3). For purposes of this subsection (iii), gross fair market value means the value of the assets of the Company, or the value of the assets being disposed of, determined without regard to any liabilities associated with such assets.

For purposes of this definition, persons will be considered to be acting as a group if they are owners of a corporation that enters into a merger, consolidation, purchase or acquisition of stock, or similar business transaction with the Company.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a transaction will not be deemed a Change in Control unless the transaction qualifies as a change in control event within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as it has been and may be amended from time to time, and any proposed or final Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance that has been promulgated or may be promulgated thereunder from time to time.

Further and for the avoidance of doubt, a transaction will not constitute a Change in Control if: (i) its sole purpose is to change the state of the Company’s incorporation, or (ii) its sole purpose is to create a holding company that will be owned in substantially the same proportions by the persons who held the Company’s securities immediately before such transaction.

(g) “ Code ” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Reference to a specific section of the Code or regulation thereunder shall include such section or regulation, any valid regulation promulgated under such section, and any comparable provision of any future legislation or regulation amending, supplementing or superseding such section or regulation.

 

-2-


(h) “ Committee ” means a committee of Directors or of other individuals satisfying Applicable Laws appointed by the Board, or a duly authorized committee of the Board, in accordance with Section 4 hereof.

(i) “ Common Stock ” means the common stock of the Company.

(j) “ Company ” means Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor thereto.

(k) “ Consultant ” means any person, including an advisor, engaged by the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary to render services to such entity.

(l) “ Director ” means a member of the Board.

(m) “ Disability ” means total and permanent disability as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code, provided that in the case of Awards other than Incentive Stock Options, the Administrator in its discretion may determine whether a permanent and total disability exists in accordance with uniform and non-discriminatory standards adopted by the Administrator from time to time.

(n) “ Employee ” means any person, including Officers and Directors, employed by the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company. Neither service as a Director nor payment of a director’s fee by the Company will be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company.

(o) “ Exchange Act ” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

(p) “ Exchange Program ” means a program under which (i) outstanding Awards are surrendered or cancelled in exchange for awards of the same type (which may have higher or lower exercise prices and different terms), awards of a different type, and/or cash, (ii) Participants would have the opportunity to transfer any outstanding Awards to a financial institution or other person or entity selected by the Administrator, and/or (iii) the exercise price of an outstanding Award is increased or reduced. The Administrator will determine the terms and conditions of any Exchange Program in its sole discretion.

(q) “ Fair Market Value ” means, as of any date, the value of Common Stock determined as follows:

(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange or a national market system, including without limitation the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Global Select Market, the NASDAQ Global Market or the NASDAQ Capital Market of The NASDAQ Stock Market, its Fair Market Value will be the closing sales price for such stock (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on such exchange or system on the day of determination, as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable;

 

-3-


(ii) If the Common Stock is regularly quoted by a recognized securities dealer but selling prices are not reported, the Fair Market Value of a Share will be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Common Stock on the day of determination (or, if no bids and asks were reported on that date, as applicable, on the last trading date such bids and asks were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable;

(iii) For purposes of any Awards granted on the Registration Date, the Fair Market Value will be the initial price to the public as set forth in the final prospectus included within the registration statement in Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of the Company’s Common Stock; or

(iv) In the absence of an established market for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value will be determined in good faith by the Administrator.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the determination date for the Fair Market Value occurs on a weekend or holiday, the Fair Market Value will be the price as determined in accordance with subsections (i) through (iv) above (as applicable) on the immediately preceeding business day, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator.

(r) “ Fiscal Year ” means the fiscal year of the Company.

(s) “ Incentive Stock Option ” means an Option intended to qualify as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

(t) “ Inside Director ” means a Director who is an Employee.

(u) “ Nonstatutory Stock Option ” means an Option that by its terms does not qualify or is not intended to qualify as an Incentive Stock Option.

(v) “ Officer ” means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(w) “ Option ” means a stock option granted pursuant to the Plan.

(x) “ Outside Director ” means a Director who is not an Employee.

(y) “ Parent ” means a “parent corporation,” whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code.

(z) “ Participant ” means the holder of an outstanding Award.

 

-4-


(aa) “ Performance Share ” means an Award denominated in Shares which may be earned in whole or in part upon attainment of performance goals or other vesting criteria as the Administrator may determine pursuant to Section 10.

(bb) “ Performance Unit ” means an Award which may be earned in whole or in part upon attainment of performance goals or other vesting criteria as the Administrator may determine and which may be settled for cash, Shares or other securities or a combination of the foregoing pursuant to Section 10.

(cc) “ Period of Restriction ” means the period during which the transfer of Shares of Restricted Stock are subject to restrictions and therefore, the Shares are subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. Such restrictions may be based on the passage of time, the achievement of target levels of performance, or the occurrence of other events as determined by the Administrator.

(dd) “ Plan ” means this 2013 Equity Incentive Plan.

(ee) “ Registration Date ” means the effective date of the first registration statement that is filed by the Company and declared effective pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, with respect to any class of the Company’s securities.

(ff) “ Restricted Stock ” means Shares issued pursuant to a Restricted Stock award under Section 7 of the Plan, or issued pursuant to the early exercise of an Option.

(gg) “ Restricted Stock Unit ” means a bookkeeping entry representing an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of one Share, granted pursuant to Section 8. Each Restricted Stock Unit represents an unfunded and unsecured obligation of the Company.

(hh) “ Rule 16b-3 ” means Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect when discretion is being exercised with respect to the Plan.

(ii) “ Section 16(b) ” means Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act.

(jj) “ Service Provider ” means an Employee, Director or Consultant.

(kk) “ Share ” means a share of the Common Stock, as adjusted in accordance with Section 14 of the Plan.

(ll) “ Stock Appreciation Right ” means an Award, granted alone or in connection with an Option, that pursuant to Section 9 is designated as a Stock Appreciation Right.

(mm) “ Subsidiary ” means a “subsidiary corporation,” whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code.

3. Stock Subject to the Plan .

(a) Stock Subject to the Plan . Subject to the provisions of Section 14 of the Plan, the maximum aggregate number of Shares that may be issued under the Plan is 68,300,000 Shares, plus any Shares subject to stock options, restricted stock units or other outstanding awards granted

 

-5-


under the Company’s 2007 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “ 2007 Plan ”) that, after the Registration Date, expire or otherwise terminate without having been exercised in full and Shares issued pursuant to awards granted under the 2007 Plan that, after the Registration Date, are forfeited to or repurchased by the Company, with the maximum number of Shares to be added to the Plan from the 2007 Plan equal to 137,000,000 Shares. The Shares may be authorized, but unissued, or reacquired Common Stock.

(b) Automatic Share Reserve Increase . The number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan will be increased on the first day of each Fiscal Year beginning with the 2014 Fiscal Year, in an amount equal to the least of (i) 60,000,000 Shares, (ii) 5% of the outstanding Shares on the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Year or (iii) such number of Shares determined by the Board.

(c) Lapsed Awards . If an Award expires or becomes unexercisable without having been exercised in full, is surrendered pursuant to an Exchange Program, or, with respect to Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Units or Performance Shares, is forfeited to or repurchased by the Company due to failure to vest, the unpurchased Shares (or for Awards other than Options or Stock Appreciation Rights the forfeited or repurchased Shares), which were subject thereto will become available for future grant or sale under the Plan (unless the Plan has terminated). With respect to Stock Appreciation Rights, only Shares actually issued (i.e., the net Shares issued) pursuant to a Stock Appreciation Right will cease to be available under the Plan; all remaining Shares under Stock Appreciation Rights will remain available for future grant or sale under the Plan (unless the Plan has terminated). Shares that have actually been issued under the Plan under any Award will not be returned to the Plan and will not become available for future distribution under the Plan; provided, however, that if Shares issued pursuant to Awards of Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Shares or Performance Units are repurchased by the Company or are forfeited to the Company, such Shares will become available for future grant under the Plan. Shares used to pay the exercise price of an Award or to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to an Award will become available for future grant or sale under the Plan. To the extent an Award under the Plan is paid out in cash rather than Shares, such cash payment will not result in reducing the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing and, subject to adjustment as provided in Section 14, the maximum number of Shares that may be issued upon the exercise of Incentive Stock Options will equal the aggregate Share number stated in Section 3(a), plus, to the extent allowable under Section 422 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, any Shares that become available for issuance under the Plan pursuant to Sections 3(b) and 3(c).

(d) Share Reserve . The Company, during the term of this Plan, will at all times reserve and keep available such number of Shares as will be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Plan.

4. Administration of the Plan .

(a) Procedure .

(i) Multiple Administrative Bodies . Different Committees with respect to different groups of Service Providers may administer the Plan.

 

-6-


(ii) Section 162(m) . To the extent that the Administrator determines it to be desirable to qualify Awards granted hereunder as “performance-based compensation” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code, the Plan will be administered by a Committee of two (2) or more “outside directors” within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code.

(iii) Rule 16b-3 . To the extent desirable to qualify transactions hereunder as exempt under Rule 16b-3, the transactions contemplated hereunder will be structured to satisfy the requirements for exemption under Rule 16b-3.

(iv) Other Administration . Other than as provided above, the Plan will be administered by (A) the Board or (B) a Committee, which committee will be constituted to satisfy Applicable Laws.

(b) Powers of the Administrator . Subject to the provisions of the Plan, and in the case of a Committee, subject to the specific duties delegated by the Board to such Committee, the Administrator will have the authority, in its discretion:

(i) to determine the Fair Market Value;

(ii) to select the Service Providers to whom Awards may be granted hereunder;

(iii) to determine the number of Shares to be covered by each Award granted hereunder;

(iv) to approve forms of Award Agreements for use under the Plan;

(v) to determine the terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, of any Award granted hereunder. Such terms and conditions include, but are not limited to, the exercise price, the time or times when Awards may be exercised (which may be based on performance criteria), any vesting acceleration or waiver of forfeiture restrictions, and any restriction or limitation regarding any Award or the Shares relating thereto, based in each case on such factors as the Administrator will determine;

(vi) to institute and determine the terms and conditions of an Exchange Program;

(vii) to construe and interpret the terms of the Plan and Awards granted pursuant to the Plan;

(viii) to prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to the Plan, including rules and regulations relating to sub-plans established for the purpose of satisfying applicable foreign laws or for qualifying for favorable tax treatment under applicable foreign laws;

(ix) to modify or amend each Award (subject to Section 19 of the Plan), including but not limited to the discretionary authority to extend the post-termination exercisability period of Awards and to extend the maximum term of an Option (subject to Section 6(b) of the Plan regarding Incentive Stock Options);

 

-7-


(x) to allow Participants to satisfy withholding tax obligations in such manner as prescribed in Section 15 of the Plan;

(xi) to authorize any person to execute on behalf of the Company any instrument required to effect the grant of an Award previously granted by the Administrator;

(xii) to allow a Participant to defer the receipt of the payment of cash or the delivery of Shares that would otherwise be due to such Participant under an Award; and

(xiii) to make all other determinations deemed necessary or advisable for administering the Plan.

(c) Effect of Administrator’s Decision . The Administrator’s decisions, determinations and interpretations will be final and binding on all Participants and any other holders of Awards.

5. Eligibility . Nonstatutory Stock Options, Stock Appreciation Rights, Restricted Stock, Restricted Stock Units, Performance Shares and Performance Units may be granted to Service Providers. Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Employees.

6. Stock Options .

(a) Limitations . Each Option will be designated in the Award Agreement as either an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonstatutory Stock Option. However, notwithstanding such designation, to the extent that the aggregate Fair Market Value of the Shares with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by the Participant during any calendar year (under all plans of the Company and any Parent or Subsidiary) exceeds one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), such Options will be treated as Nonstatutory Stock Options. For purposes of this Section 6(a), Incentive Stock Options will be taken into account in the order in which they were granted. The Fair Market Value of the Shares will be determined as of the time the Option with respect to such Shares is granted.

(b) Term of Option . The term of each Option will be stated in the Award Agreement. In the case of an Incentive Stock Option, the term will be ten (10) years from the date of grant or such shorter term as may be provided in the Award Agreement. Moreover, in the case of an Incentive Stock Option granted to a Participant who, at the time the Incentive Stock Option is granted, owns stock representing more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary, the term of the Incentive Stock Option will be five (5) years from the date of grant or such shorter term as may be provided in the Award Agreement.

 

-8-


(c) Option Exercise Price and Consideration .

(i) Exercise Price . The per share exercise price for the Shares to be issued pursuant to exercise of an Option will be determined by the Administrator, subject to the following:

(1) In the case of an Incentive Stock Option

(A) granted to an Employee who, at the time the Incentive Stock Option is granted, owns stock representing more than ten percent (10%) of the voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary, the per Share exercise price will be no less than one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant.

(B) granted to any Employee other than an Employee described in paragraph (A) immediately above, the per Share exercise price will be no less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant.

(2) In the case of a Nonstatutory Stock Option, the per Share exercise price will be no less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant.

(3) Notwithstanding the foregoing, Options may be granted with a per Share exercise price of less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant pursuant to a transaction described in, and in a manner consistent with, Section 424(a) of the Code.

(ii) Waiting Period and Exercise Dates . At the time an Option is granted, the Administrator will fix the period within which the Option may be exercised and will determine any conditions that must be satisfied before the Option may be exercised.

(iii) Form of Consideration . The Administrator will determine the acceptable form of consideration for exercising an Option, including the method of payment. In the case of an Incentive Stock Option, the Administrator will determine the acceptable form of consideration at the time of grant. Such consideration may consist entirely of: (1) cash; (2) check; (3) promissory note, to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, (4) other Shares, provided that such Shares have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Shares as to which such Option will be exercised and provided that accepting such Shares will not result in any adverse accounting consequences to the Company, as the Administrator determines in its sole discretion; (5) consideration received by the Company under a broker-assisted (or other) cashless exercise program (whether through a broker or otherwise) implemented by the Company in connection with the Plan; (6) by net exercise; (7) such other consideration and method of payment for the issuance of Shares to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws; or (8) any combination of the foregoing methods of payment.

(d) Exercise of Option .

(i) Procedure for Exercise; Rights as a Stockholder . Any Option granted hereunder will be exercisable according to the terms of the Plan and at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Administrator and set forth in the Award Agreement. An Option may not be exercised for a fraction of a Share.

An Option will be deemed exercised when the Company receives: (i) a notice of exercise (in such form as the Administrator may specify from time to time) from the person entitled to exercise the Option, and (ii) full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Option is exercised (together with applicable withholding taxes). Full payment may consist of any

 

-9-


consideration and method of payment authorized by the Administrator and permitted by the Award Agreement and the Plan. Shares issued upon exercise of an Option will be issued in the name of the Participant or, if requested by the Participant, in the name of the Participant and his or her spouse. Until the Shares are issued (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company), no right to vote or receive dividends or any other rights as a stockholder will exist with respect to the Shares subject to an Option, notwithstanding the exercise of the Option. The Company will issue (or cause to be issued) such Shares promptly after the Option is exercised. No adjustment will be made for a dividend or other right for which the record date is prior to the date the Shares are issued, except as provided in Section 14 of the Plan.

Exercising an Option in any manner will decrease the number of Shares thereafter available, both for purposes of the Plan and for sale under the Option, by the number of Shares as to which the Option is exercised.

(ii) Termination of Relationship as a Service Provider . If a Participant ceases to be a Service Provider, other than upon the Participant’s termination as the result of the Participant’s death or Disability, the Participant may exercise his or her Option within such period of time as is specified in the Award Agreement to the extent that the Option is vested on the date of termination (but in no event later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement). In the absence of a specified time in the Award Agreement, the Option will remain exercisable for three (3) months following the Participant’s termination. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if on the date of termination the Participant is not vested as to his or her entire Option, the Shares covered by the unvested portion of the Option will revert to the Plan. If after termination the Participant does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified by the Administrator, the Option will terminate, and the Shares covered by such Option will revert to the Plan.

(iii) Disability of Participant . If a Participant ceases to be a Service Provider as a result of the Participant’s Disability, the Participant may exercise his or her Option within such period of time as is specified in the Award Agreement to the extent the Option is vested on the date of termination (but in no event later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement). In the absence of a specified time in the Award Agreement, the Option will remain exercisable for twelve (12) months following the Participant’s termination. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if on the date of termination the Participant is not vested as to his or her entire Option, the Shares covered by the unvested portion of the Option will revert to the Plan. If after termination the Participant does not exercise his or her Option within the time specified herein, the Option will terminate, and the Shares covered by such Option will revert to the Plan.

(iv) Death of Participant . If a Participant dies while a Service Provider, the Option may be exercised following the Participant’s death within such period of time as is specified in the Award Agreement to the extent that the Option is vested on the date of death (but in no event may the option be exercised later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement), by the Participant’s designated beneficiary, provided the right to designate a beneficiary is set forth in the Award Agreement and such beneficiary has been designated prior to Participant’s death in a form acceptable to the Administrator. If no such beneficiary has been designated by the Participant, then such Option may be exercised by the personal representative of

 

-10-


the Participant’s estate or by the person(s) to whom the Option is transferred pursuant to the Participant’s will or in accordance with the laws of descent and distribution. In the absence of a specified time in the Award Agreement, the Option will remain exercisable for twelve (12) months following Participant’s death. Unless otherwise provided by the Administrator, if at the time of death Participant is not vested as to his or her entire Option, the Shares covered by the unvested portion of the Option will immediately revert to the Plan. If the Option is not so exercised within the time specified herein, the Option will terminate, and the Shares covered by such Option will revert to the Plan.

(v) Extension if Exercise Prevented by Law . Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the exercise of an Option within the applicable time periods set forth in Section 7(d) is prevented by the provisions of Section 20 below, the Option shall remain exercisable until thirty (30) days (or such longer period of time as determined by the Administrator, in its discretion) after the date the Participant is notified by the Company that the Option is exercisable (but in no event later than the expiration of the term of such Option as set forth in the Award Agreement).

7. Restricted Stock.

(a) Grant of Restricted Stock . Subject to the terms and provisions of the Plan, the Administrator, at any time and from time to time, may grant Shares of Restricted Stock to Service Providers in such amounts as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine.

(b) Restricted Stock Agreement . Each Award of Restricted Stock will be evidenced by an Award Agreement that will specify the Period of Restriction, the number of Shares granted, and such other terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine. Unless the Administrator determines otherwise, the Company as escrow agent will hold Shares of Restricted Stock until the restrictions on such Shares have lapsed.

(c) Transferability . Except as provided in this Section 7 or the Award Agreement, Shares of Restricted Stock may not be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned, or otherwise alienated or hypothecated until the end of the applicable Period of Restriction.

(d) Other Restrictions . The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may impose such other restrictions on Shares of Restricted Stock as it may deem advisable or appropriate.

(e) Removal of Restrictions . Except as otherwise provided in this Section 7, Shares of Restricted Stock covered by each Restricted Stock grant made under the Plan will be released from escrow as soon as practicable after the last day of the Period of Restriction or at such other time as the Administrator may determine. The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the time at which any restrictions will lapse or be removed.

(f) Voting Rights . During the Period of Restriction, Service Providers holding Shares of Restricted Stock granted hereunder may exercise full voting rights with respect to those Shares, unless the Administrator determines otherwise.

(g) Dividends and Other Distributions . During the Period of Restriction, Service Providers holding Shares of Restricted Stock will be entitled to receive all dividends and other distributions paid with respect to such Shares, unless the Administrator provides otherwise. If any

 

-11-


such dividends or distributions are paid in Shares, the Shares will be subject to the same restrictions on transferability and forfeitability as the Shares of Restricted Stock with respect to which they were paid.

(h) Return of Restricted Stock to Company . On the date set forth in the Award Agreement, the Restricted Stock for which restrictions have not lapsed will revert to the Company and again will become available for grant under the Plan.

8. Restricted Stock Units .

(a) Grant . Restricted Stock Units may be granted at any time and from time to time as determined by the Administrator. After the Administrator determines that it will grant Restricted Stock Units under the Plan, it will advise the Participant in an Award Agreement of the terms, conditions, and restrictions related to the grant, including the number of Restricted Stock Units.

(b) Vesting Criteria and Other Terms . The Administrator will set vesting criteria in its discretion, which, depending on the extent to which the criteria are met, will determine the number of Restricted Stock Units that will be paid out to the Participant. The Administrator may set vesting criteria based upon the achievement of Company-wide, divisional, business unit, or individual goals (including, but not limited to, continued employment or service), applicable federal or state securities laws or any other basis determined by the Administrator in its discretion.

(c) Earning Restricted Stock Units . Upon meeting the applicable vesting criteria, the Participant will be entitled to receive a payout as determined by the Administrator. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time after the grant of Restricted Stock Units, the Administrator, in its sole discretion, may reduce or waive any vesting criteria that must be met to receive a payout.

(d) Form and Timing of Payment . Payment of earned Restricted Stock Units will be made as soon as practicable after the date(s) determined by the Administrator and set forth in the Award Agreement. The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may only settle earned Restricted Stock Units in cash, Shares, or a combination of both.

(e) Cancellation . On the date set forth in the Award Agreement, all unearned Restricted Stock Units will be forfeited to the Company.

9. Stock Appreciation Rights .

(a) Grant of Stock Appreciation Rights . Subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan, a Stock Appreciation Right may be granted to Service Providers at any time and from time to time as will be determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion.

(b) Number of Shares . The Administrator will have complete discretion to determine the number of Stock Appreciation Rights granted to any Service Provider.

(c) Exercise Price and Other Terms . The per share exercise price for the Shares to be issued pursuant to exercise of a Stock Appreciation Right will be determined by the

 

-12-


Administrator and will be no less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value per Share on the date of grant. Otherwise, the Administrator, subject to the provisions of the Plan, will have complete discretion to determine the terms and conditions of Stock Appreciation Rights granted under the Plan.

(d) Stock Appreciation Right Agreement . Each Stock Appreciation Right grant will be evidenced by an Award Agreement that will specify the exercise price, the term of the Stock Appreciation Right, the conditions of exercise, and such other terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine.

(e) Expiration of Stock Appreciation Rights . A Stock Appreciation Right granted under the Plan will expire upon the date determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion, and set forth in the Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the rules of Section 6(b) relating to the maximum term and Section 6(d) relating to exercise also will apply to Stock Appreciation Rights.

(f) Payment of Stock Appreciation Right Amount . Upon exercise of a Stock Appreciation Right, a Participant will be entitled to receive payment from the Company in an amount determined by multiplying:

(i) The difference between the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of exercise over the exercise price; times

(ii) The number of Shares with respect to which the Stock Appreciation Right is exercised.

At the discretion of the Administrator, the payment upon Stock Appreciation Right exercise may be in cash, in Shares of equivalent value, or in some combination thereof.

10. Performance Units and Performance Shares .

(a) Grant of Performance Units/Shares . Performance Units and Performance Shares may be granted to Service Providers at any time and from time to time, as will be determined by the Administrator, in its sole discretion. The Administrator will have complete discretion in determining the number of Performance Units and Performance Shares granted to each Participant.

(b) Value of Performance Units/Shares . Each Performance Unit will have an initial value that is established by the Administrator on or before the date of grant. Each Performance Share will have an initial value equal to the Fair Market Value of a Share on the date of grant.

(c) Performance Objectives and Other Terms . The Administrator will set performance objectives or other vesting provisions (including, without limitation, continued status as a Service Provider) in its discretion which, depending on the extent to which they are met, will determine the number or value of Performance Units/Shares that will be paid out to the Service Providers. The time period during which the performance objectives or other vesting provisions must be met will be called the “Performance Period.” Each Award of Performance Units/Shares will be evidenced by an Award Agreement that will specify the Performance Period, and such other

 

-13-


terms and conditions as the Administrator, in its sole discretion, will determine. The Administrator may set performance objectives based upon the achievement of Company-wide, divisional, business unit or individual goals (including, but not limited to, continued employment or service), applicable federal or state securities laws, or any other basis determined by the Administrator in its discretion.

(d) Earning of Performance Units/Shares . After the applicable Performance Period has ended, the holder of Performance Units/Shares will be entitled to receive a payout of the number of Performance Units/Shares earned by the Participant over the Performance Period, to be determined as a function of the extent to which the corresponding performance objectives or other vesting provisions have been achieved. After the grant of a Performance Unit/Share, the Administrator, in its sole discretion, may reduce or waive any performance objectives or other vesting provisions for such Performance Unit/Share.

(e) Form and Timing of Payment of Performance Units/Shares . Payment of earned Performance Units/Shares will be made as soon as practicable after the expiration of the applicable Performance Period. The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may pay earned Performance Units/Shares in the form of cash, in Shares (which have an aggregate Fair Market Value equal to the value of the earned Performance Units/Shares at the close of the applicable Performance Period) or in a combination thereof.

(f) Cancellation of Performance Units/Shares . On the date set forth in the Award Agreement, all unearned or unvested Performance Units/Shares will be forfeited to the Company, and again will be available for grant under the Plan.

11. Outside Director Limitations .

(a) Cash-Settled Awards . No Outside Director may be granted, in any fiscal year of the Company, cash-settled Awards with a grant date fair value (determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) of more than $4,000,000, increased to $8,000,000 in connection with his or her initial service.

(b) Stock-Settled Awards . No Outside Director may be granted, in any fiscal year of the Company, stock-settled Awards with a grant date fair value (determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles) of more than $4,000,000, increased to $8,000,000 in connection with his or her initial service.

12. Leaves of Absence/Transfer Between Locations . Unless the Administrator provides otherwise, vesting of Awards granted hereunder will be suspended during any unpaid leave of absence. A Participant will not cease to be an Employee in the case of (i) any leave of absence approved by the Company or (ii) transfers between locations of the Company or between the Company, its Parent, or any Subsidiary. For purposes of Incentive Stock Options, no such leave may exceed three (3) months, unless reemployment upon expiration of such leave is guaranteed by statute or contract. If reemployment upon expiration of a leave of absence approved by the Company is not so guaranteed, then six (6) months following the first (1st) day of such leave any Incentive Stock Option held by the Participant will cease to be treated as an Incentive Stock Option and will be treated for tax purposes as a Nonstatutory Stock Option.

 

-14-


13. Transferability of Awards . Unless determined otherwise by the Administrator, an Award may not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred, or disposed of in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent or distribution and may be exercised, during the lifetime of the Participant, only by the Participant. If the Administrator makes an Award transferable, such Award will contain such additional terms and conditions as the Administrator deems appropriate.

14. Adjustments; Dissolution or Liquidation; Merger or Change in Control .

(a) Adjustments . In the event that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Shares, other securities, or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up, spin-off, combination, repurchase, or exchange of Shares or other securities of the Company, or other change in the corporate structure of the Company affecting the Shares occurs, the Administrator, in order to prevent diminution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan, will adjust the number and class of Shares that may be delivered under the Plan and/or the number, class, and price of Shares covered by each outstanding Award, and the numerical Share limits in Section 3 of the Plan.

(b) Dissolution or Liquidation . In the event of the proposed dissolution or liquidation of the Company, the Administrator will notify each Participant as soon as practicable prior to the effective date of such proposed transaction. To the extent it has not been previously exercised, an Award will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed action.

(c) Change in Control . In the event of a merger of the Company with or into another corporation or other entity or a Change in Control, each outstanding Award will be treated as the Administrator determines, including, without limitation, that (i) Awards may be assumed, or substantially equivalent Awards will be substituted, by the acquiring or succeeding corporation (or an affiliate thereof) with appropriate adjustments as to the number and kind of shares and prices; (ii) upon written notice to a Participant, that the Participant’s Awards will terminate upon or immediately prior to the consummation of such merger or Change in Control; (iii) outstanding Awards will vest and become exercisable, realizable, or payable, or restrictions applicable to an Award will lapse, in whole or in part prior to or upon consummation of such merger or Change in Control, and, to the extent the Administrator determines, terminate upon or immediately prior to the effectiveness of such merger or Change in Control; (iv) (A) the termination of an Award in exchange for an amount of cash and/or property, if any, equal to the amount that would have been attained upon the exercise of such Award or realization of the Participant’s rights as of the date of the occurrence of the transaction (and, for the avoidance of doubt, if as of the date of the occurrence of the transaction the Administrator determines in good faith that no amount would have been attained upon the exercise of such Award or realization of the Participant’s rights, then such Award may be terminated by the Company without payment), or (B) the replacement of such Award with other rights or property selected by the Administrator in its sole discretion; or (v) any combination of the foregoing. In taking any of the actions permitted under this subsection 14(c), the Administrator will not be required to treat all Awards similarly in the transaction.

In the event that the successor corporation does not assume or substitute for the Award, the Participant will fully vest in and have the right to exercise all of his or her outstanding Options and Stock Appreciation Rights, including Shares as to which such Awards would not

 

-15-


otherwise be vested or exercisable, all restrictions on Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units will lapse, and, with respect to Awards with performance-based vesting, all performance goals or other vesting criteria will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met. In addition, if an Option or Stock Appreciation Right is not assumed or substituted in the event of a Change in Control, the Administrator will notify the Participant in writing or electronically that the Option or Stock Appreciation Right will be exercisable for a period of time determined by the Administrator in its sole discretion, and the Option or Stock Appreciation Right will terminate upon the expiration of such period.

For the purposes of this subsection (c), an Award will be considered assumed if, following the Change in Control, the Award confers the right to purchase or receive, for each Share subject to the Award immediately prior to the Change in Control, the consideration (whether stock, cash, or other securities or property) received in the Change in Control by holders of Common Stock for each Share held on the effective date of the transaction (and if holders were offered a choice of consideration, the type of consideration chosen by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Shares); provided, however, that if such consideration received in the Change in Control is not solely common stock of the successor corporation or its Parent, the Administrator may, with the consent of the successor corporation, provide for the consideration to be received upon the exercise of an Option or Stock Appreciation Right or upon the payout of a Restricted Stock Unit, Performance Unit or Performance Share, for each Share subject to such Award, to be solely common stock of the successor corporation or its Parent equal in fair market value to the per share consideration received by holders of Common Stock in the Change in Control.

Notwithstanding anything in this Section 14(c) to the contrary, an Award that vests, is earned or paid-out upon the satisfaction of one or more performance goals will not be considered assumed if the Company or its successor modifies any of such performance goals without the Participant’s consent; provided, however, a modification to such performance goals only to reflect the successor corporation’s post-Change in Control corporate structure will not be deemed to invalidate an otherwise valid Award assumption.

(d) Outside Director Awards . With respect to Awards granted to an Outside Director that are assumed or substituted for, if on the date of or following such assumption or substitution the Participant’s status as a Director or a director of the successor corporation, as applicable, is terminated other than upon a voluntary resignation by the Participant (unless such resignation is at the request of the acquirer), then the Participant will fully vest in and have the right to exercise Options and/or Stock Appreciation Rights as to all of the Shares underlying such Award, including those Shares which would not otherwise be vested or exercisable, all restrictions on Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units will lapse, and, with respect to Awards with performance-based vesting, all performance goals or other vesting criteria will be deemed achieved at one hundred percent (100%) of target levels and all other terms and conditions met.

 

-16-


15. Tax .

(a) Withholding Requirements . Prior to the delivery of any Shares or cash pursuant to an Award (or exercise thereof) or such earlier time as any tax withholding obligations are due, the Company will have the power and the right to deduct or withhold, or require a Participant to remit to the Company, an amount sufficient to satisfy federal, state, local, foreign or other taxes (including the Participant’s FICA obligation) required to be withheld with respect to such Award (or exercise thereof).

(b) Withholding Arrangements . The Administrator, in its sole discretion and pursuant to such procedures as it may specify from time to time, may permit a Participant to satisfy such tax withholding obligation, in whole or in part by (without limitation) (a) paying cash, (b) electing to have the Company withhold otherwise deliverable cash (including cash from the sale of Shares issued to Participant) or Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum statutory amount required to be withheld, or (c) delivering to the Company already-owned Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum statutory amount required to be withheld. The Fair Market Value of the Shares to be withheld or delivered will be determined as of the date that the taxes are required to be withheld.

(c) Compliance With Code Section 409A . Awards will be designed and operated in such a manner that they are either exempt from the application of, or comply with, the requirements of Code Section 409A such that the grant, payment, settlement or deferral will not be subject to the additional tax or interest applicable under Code Section 409A, except as otherwise determined in the sole discretion of the Administrator. The Plan and each Award Agreement under the Plan is intended to meet the requirements of Code Section 409A and will be construed and interpreted in accordance with such intent, except as otherwise determined in the sole discretion of the Administrator. To the extent that an Award or payment, or the settlement or deferral thereof, is subject to Code Section 409A the Award will be granted, paid, settled or deferred in a manner that will meet the requirements of Code Section 409A, such that the grant, payment, settlement or deferral will not be subject to the additional tax or interest applicable under Code Section 409A.

16. No Effect on Employment or Service . Neither the Plan nor any Award will confer upon a Participant any right with respect to continuing the Participant’s relationship as a Service Provider with the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, nor will they interfere in any way with the Participant’s right or the Company’s right, or Parent’s or Subsidiary’s right, to terminate such relationship at any time, with or without cause, to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws.

17. Date of Grant . The date of grant of an Award will be, for all purposes, the date on which the Administrator makes the determination granting such Award, or such other later date as is determined by the Administrator. Notice of the determination will be provided to each Participant within a reasonable time after the date of such grant.

 

-17-


18. Term of Plan . Subject to Section 22 of the Plan, the Plan will become effective upon the later to occur of (i) its adoption by the Board or (ii) the business day immediately prior to the Registration Date. It will continue in effect for a term of ten (10) years from the date adopted by the Board, unless terminated earlier under Section 19 of the Plan.

19. Amendment and Termination of the Plan .

(a) Amendment and Termination . The Administrator may at any time amend, alter, suspend or terminate the Plan.

(b) Stockholder Approval . The Company will obtain stockholder approval of any Plan amendment to the extent necessary and desirable to comply with Applicable Laws.

(c) Effect of Amendment or Termination . No amendment, alteration, suspension or termination of the Plan will materially impair the rights of any Participant, unless mutually agreed otherwise between the Participant and the Administrator, which agreement must be in writing and signed by the Participant and the Company. Termination of the Plan will not affect the Administrator’s ability to exercise the powers granted to it hereunder with respect to Awards granted under the Plan prior to the date of such termination.

20. Conditions Upon Issuance of Shares .

(a) Legal Compliance . Shares will not be issued pursuant to the exercise of an Award unless the exercise of such Award and the issuance and delivery of such Shares will comply with Applicable Laws and will be further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such compliance.

(b) Investment Representations . As a condition to the exercise of an Award, the Company may require the person exercising such Award to represent and warrant at the time of any such exercise that the Shares are being purchased only for investment and without any present intention to sell or distribute such Shares if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such a representation is required.

21. Inability to Obtain Authority . The inability of the Company to obtain authority from any regulatory body having jurisdiction or to complete or comply with the requirements of any registration or other qualification of the Shares under any state, federal or foreign law or under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the stock exchange on which Shares of the same class are then listed, or any other governmental or regulatory body, which authority, registration, qualification or rule compliance is deemed by the Company’s counsel to be necessary or advisable for the issuance and sale of any Shares hereunder, will relieve the Company of any liability in respect of the failure to issue or sell such Shares as to which such requisite authority, registration, qualification or rule compliance will not have been obtained.

22. Stockholder Approval . The Plan will be subject to approval by the stockholders of the Company within twelve (12) months after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board. Such stockholder approval will be obtained in the manner and to the degree required under Applicable Laws.

 

-18-


TWITTER, INC.

2013 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT

Unless otherwise defined herein, the terms defined in the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) will have the same defined meanings in this Stock Option Agreement (the “Agreement”), including the Notice of Stock Option Grant (the “Notice of Grant”) and Terms and Conditions of Stock Option Grant, attached hereto as Exhibit A .

NOTICE OF STOCK OPTION GRANT

 

Participant:  

 

  
Address:  

 

  
 

 

  

Participant has been granted an Option to purchase Common Stock of Twitter, Inc. (the “Company”), subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Agreement, as follows:

 

Grant Number  

 

  
Date of Grant  

 

  
Vesting Commencement Date  

 

  
Number of Shares Granted  

 

  
Exercise Price per Share  

$

  
Total Exercise Price  

$

  
Type of Option        Incentive Stock Option   
       Nonstatutory Stock Option   
Term/Expiration Date  

 

  

Vesting Schedule :

Subject to accelerated vesting as set forth below or in the Plan, this Option will be exercisable, in whole or in part, in accordance with the following schedule:

[Twenty-five percent (25%) of the Shares subject to the Option shall vest on the one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Commencement Date, and one forty-eighth (1/48 th ) of the Shares subject

 

- 1 -


to the Option shall vest each month thereafter on the same day of the month as the Vesting Commencement Date (and if there is no corresponding day, on the last day of the month), subject to Participant continuing to be a Service Provider through each such date.]

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the vesting of the Shares subject to the Option shall be subject to any vesting acceleration provisions applicable to this Option contained in the Plan and/or any employment or service agreement, offer letter, change in control severance agreement or policy, or any other agreement or policy that, prior to and effective as of the date of this Agreement, has been entered into or agreed upon, as the case may be, between Participant and the Company or any parent or subsidiary corporation of the Company (such agreement or policy, a “Separate Agreement”) to the extent not otherwise duplicative of the vesting terms described above (by way of example, if a Separate Agreement provides for different acceleration of vesting provisions for all of Participant’s stock options upon a termination of Participant as a Service Provider for “good reason” that is defined differently, and the Participant’s status as a Service Provider terminates in a manner that would trigger “good reason” under the Separate Agreement but not under this Agreement, the Participant would remain entitled to the acceleration of vesting under the Separate Agreement).

Termination Period :

Except as provided in a Separate Agreement, this Option will be exercisable for three (3) months after Participant ceases to be a Service Provider, unless such termination is due to Participant’s death or Disability, in which case this Option will be exercisable for twelve (12) months after Participant ceases to be a Service Provider. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if the exercise of the Option within the applicable time periods set forth in the preceding sentence is prevented by Section 20 of the Plan, the Option shall remain exercisable until thirty (30) days (or such longer period of time as determined by the Administrator, in its discretion) after the date Participant is notified by the Company that the Option is exercisable, but in any event no later than the expiration of the term of the Option as set forth in the Notice of Grant. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in no event may this Option be exercised after the Term/Expiration Date as provided above and may be subject to earlier termination as provided in Section 14(c) of the Plan.

 

- 2 -


By Participant’s signature and the signature of the Company’s representative below, Participant and the Company agree that this Option is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Agreement, including exhibits hereto, all of which are made a part of this document. Participant has reviewed the Plan and this Agreement in their entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing this Agreement and fully understands all provisions of the Plan and Agreement. Participant hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator upon any questions relating to the Plan and Agreement. Participant further agrees to notify the Company upon any change in the residence address indicated below.

 

PARTICIPANT      TWITTER, INC.

 

    

 

Signature      By

 

    

 

Print Name      Title
Address :     

 

    

 

    

 

- 3 -


EXHIBIT A

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF STOCK OPTION GRANT

1. Grant of Option . The Company hereby grants to the Participant named in the Notice of Grant (the “Participant”) an option (the “Option”) to purchase the number of Shares, as set forth in the Notice of Grant, at the exercise price per Share set forth in the Notice of Grant (the “Exercise Price”), subject to all of the terms and conditions in this Agreement, the Plan, and the Separate Agreement (as applicable), which are incorporated herein by reference. Subject to Section 18(c) of the Plan, in the event of a conflict between the terms and conditions of the Plan and the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Plan will prevail.

(a) The following paragraph applies only if the Participant is a U.S. taxpayer or otherwise subject to U.S. taxation: The Option will be designated as either an Incentive Stock Option (“ISO”) or a Nonstatutory Stock Option (“NSO”). If designated in the Notice of Grant as an ISO, this Option is intended to qualify as an ISO under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). However, if this Option is intended to be an Incentive Stock Option, to the extent that it exceeds the $100,000 rule of Code Section 422(d) it will be treated as an NSO. Further, if for any reason this Option (or portion thereof) will not qualify as an ISO, then, to the extent of such nonqualification, such Option (or portion thereof) shall be regarded as a NSO granted under the Plan. In no event will the Administrator, the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary or any of their respective employees or directors have any liability to Participant (or any other person) due to the failure of the Option to qualify for any reason as an ISO.

(b) For non-U.S. taxpayers and Participants not subject to U.S. taxation, the Option will be designated as an NSO.

2. Vesting Schedule . Except as provided in Section 3, the Option awarded by this Agreement will vest in accordance with the vesting provisions set forth in the Notice of Grant. Shares scheduled to vest on a certain date or upon the occurrence of a certain condition will not vest in Participant in accordance with any of the provisions of this Agreement, unless Participant will have been continuously a Service Provider from the Date of Grant until the date such vesting occurs.

3. Administrator Discretion . The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the unvested Option at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan. If so accelerated, such Option will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator.

4. Exercise of Option .

(a) Right to Exercise . This Option may be exercised only within the term set out in the Notice of Grant, and may be exercised during such term only in accordance with the Plan and the terms of this Agreement.

 

- 4 -


(b) Method of Exercise . This Option is exercisable by delivery of an exercise notice, in the form attached as Exhibit C (the “Exercise Notice”) or in a manner and pursuant to such procedures as the Administrator may determine, which will state the election to exercise the Option, the number of Shares in respect of which the Option is being exercised (the “Exercised Shares”), and such other representations and agreements as may be required by the Company pursuant to the provisions of the Plan. The Exercise Notice will be completed by Participant and delivered to the Company. The Exercise Notice will be accompanied by payment of the aggregate Exercise Price as to all Exercised Shares together and of any Tax-Related Items (as defined in Section 6(a)). This Option will be deemed to be exercised upon receipt by the Company of such fully executed Exercise Notice accompanied by the aggregate Exercise Price.

5. Method of Payment . Payment of the aggregate Exercise Price will be by any of the following, or a combination thereof, at the election of Participant:

(a) cash;

(b) check;

(c) consideration received by the Company under a formal cashless exercise program adopted by the Company in connection with the Plan; or

(d) if Participant is a U.S. employee, surrender of other Shares which have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate Exercise Price of the Exercised Shares, provided that accepting such Shares, in the sole discretion of the Administrator, will not result in any adverse accounting consequences to the Company.

6. Tax Obligations .

(a) Responsibility for Taxes . Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Agreement, no certificate representing the Shares will be issued to Participant, unless and until satisfactory arrangements (as determined by the Administrator) will have been made by Participant with respect to the payment of income, employment, social insurance, National Insurance Contributions, payroll tax, fringe benefit tax, payment on account or other tax-related items related to Participant’s participation in the Plan and legally applicable to Participant including, without limitation, in connection with the grant, vesting or exercise of the Option, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired under the Plan and/or the receipt of any dividends on such Shares which the Company determines must be withheld (“Tax-Related Items”). To the extent determined appropriate by the Company in its discretion, it will have the right (but not the obligation) to satisfy any Tax-Related Items by reducing the number of Shares otherwise deliverable to Participant. If Participant fails to make satisfactory arrangements for the payment of any required Tax-Related Items hereunder at the time of the Option exercise, Participant acknowledges and agrees that the Company may refuse to honor the exercise and refuse to deliver the Shares if such amounts are not delivered at the time of exercise. Participant authorizes the Company and/or the Employer to withhold any Tax-Related Items legally payable by Participant from his or her wages or other cash compensation paid to Participant by the Company and/or the Employer or from proceeds of the sale of Shares. Further, if Participant is subject to tax in more than one jurisdiction between the Date of Grant and the date of

 

- 5 -


any relevant taxable or tax withholding event, as applicable, Participant acknowledges and agrees that the Company and/or Participant’s employer (the “Employer”), or former employer, as applicable, may be required to withhold or account for tax in more than one jurisdiction. Regardless of any action of the Company or the Employer, Participant acknowledges that the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items is and remains Participant’s responsibility and may exceed the amount actually withheld by the Company or the Employer. Participant further acknowledges that the Company and the Employer (1) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the Option; and (2) do not commit to and are under no obligation to structure the terms of the grant or any aspect of the Option to reduce or eliminate Participant’s liability for Tax-Related Items or achieve any particular tax result.

(b) Notice of Disqualifying Disposition of ISO Shares . If the Option granted to Participant herein is an ISO, and if Participant sells or otherwise disposes of any of the Shares acquired pursuant to the ISO on or before the later of (i) the date two (2) years after the Date of Grant, or (ii) the date one (1) year after the date of exercise, Participant will immediately notify the Company in writing of such disposition. Participant agrees that Participant may be subject to income tax withholding by the Company on the compensation income recognized by Participant.

(c) Code Section 409A . Under Code Section 409A, an option that vests after December 31, 2004 (or that vested on or prior to such date but which was materially modified after October 3, 2004) that was granted with a per share exercise price that is determined by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) to be less than the fair market value of a share on the date of grant (a “Discount Option”) may be considered “deferred compensation.” A Discount Option may result in (i) income recognition by Participant prior to the exercise of the option, (ii) an additional twenty percent (20%) federal income tax, and (iii) potential penalty and interest charges. The Discount Option may also result in additional state income, penalty and interest charges to Participant. Participant acknowledges that the Company cannot and has not guaranteed that the IRS will agree that the per Share Exercise Price of this Option equals or exceeds the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Date of Grant in a later examination. Participant agrees that if the IRS determines that the Option was granted with a per Share Exercise Price that was less than the Fair Market Value of a Share on the Date of Grant, Participant will be solely responsible for Participant’s costs related to such a determination.

7. Rights as Stockholder . Neither Participant nor any person claiming under or through Participant will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company in respect of any Shares deliverable hereunder unless and until certificates representing such Shares will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to Participant. After such issuance, recordation and delivery, Participant will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

8. No Guarantee of Continued Service . PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THE VESTING OF SHARES PURSUANT TO THE VESTING SCHEDULE HEREOF IS EARNED ONLY BY CONTINUING AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AT THE WILL OF THE COMPANY (OR THE PARENT OR SUBSIDIARY EMPLOYING OR RETAINING

 

- 6 -


PARTICIPANT) AND NOT THROUGH THE ACT OF BEING HIRED, BEING GRANTED THIS OPTION OR ACQUIRING SHARES HEREUNDER. PARTICIPANT FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THIS AGREEMENT, THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREUNDER AND THE VESTING SCHEDULE SET FORTH HEREIN DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN EXPRESS OR IMPLIED PROMISE OF CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT AS A SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE VESTING PERIOD, FOR ANY PERIOD, OR AT ALL, AND WILL NOT INTERFERE IN ANY WAY WITH PARTICIPANT’S RIGHT OR THE RIGHT OF THE COMPANY (OR THE PARENT OR SUBSIDIARY EMPLOYING OR RETAINING PARTICIPANT) TO TERMINATE PARTICIPANT’S RELATIONSHIP AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AT ANY TIME, WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE, SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAWS.

9. Service Acknowledgments . In accepting the Option, Participant acknowledges, understands and agrees that:

(a) the Plan is established voluntarily by the Company, it is discretionary in nature, and may be amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time, to the extent permitted by the Plan;

(b) the grant of the Option is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of options, or benefits in lieu of options, even if options have been granted in the past;

(c) all decisions with respect to future option or other grants, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;

(d) Participant is voluntarily participating in the Plan;

(e) the Option and any Shares acquired under the Plan are not intended to replace any pension rights or compensation;

(f) the Option and Shares acquired under the Plan and the income and value of same, are not part of normal or expected compensation for purposes of calculating any severance, resignation, termination, redundancy, dismissal, end-of-service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments;

(g) the future value of the Shares underlying the Option is unknown, indeterminable, and cannot be predicted with certainty;

(h) if the underlying Shares do not increase in value, the Option will have no value;

(i) if Participant exercises the Option and acquires Shares, the value of such Shares may increase or decrease in value, even below the Exercise Price;

 

- 7 -


(j) for purposes of the Option, Participant’s engagement as a Service Provider will be considered terminated as of the date Participant is no longer actively providing services to the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary (regardless of the reason for such termination and whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is a Service Provider or the terms of Participant’s engagement agreement, if any), and unless otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement or determined by the Administrator, (i) Participant’s right to vest in the Option under the Plan, if any, will terminate as of such date and will not be extended by any notice period ( e.g ., Participant’s period of service would not include any contractual notice period or any period of “garden leave” or similar period mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is a Service Provider or Participant’s engagement agreement, if any, unless Participant is providing bona fide services during such time); and (ii) the period (if any) during which Participant may exercise the Option after such termination of Participant’s engagement as a Service Provider will commence on the date Participant ceases to actively provide services and will not be extended by any notice period mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is employed or terms of Participant’s engagement agreement, if any; the Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Participant is no longer actively providing services for purposes of his or her Option grant (including whether Participant may still be considered to be providing services while on a leave of absence);

(k) unless otherwise provided in the Plan or by the Company in its discretion, the Option and the benefits evidenced by this Agreement do not create any entitlement to have the Option or any such benefits transferred to, or assumed by, another company nor to be exchanged, cashed out or substituted for, in connection with any corporate transaction affecting the Shares; and

(l) the following provisions apply only if Participant is providing services outside the United States:

 

  (i) the Option and the Shares subject to the Option are not part of normal or expected compensation or salary for any purpose;

 

  (ii) Participant acknowledges and agrees that none of the Company, the Employer, or any Parent or Subsidiary shall be liable for any foreign exchange rate fluctuation between Participant’s local currency and the United States Dollar that may affect the value of the Option or of any amounts due to Participant pursuant to the exercise of the Option or the subsequent sale of any Shares acquired upon exercise; and

 

  (iii)

no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from forfeiture of the Option resulting from the termination of Participant’s engagement as a Service Provider (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is a Service Provider or the terms of Participant’s engagement agreement, if any), and in consideration of the grant of the Option to which Participant is otherwise not entitled, Participant irrevocably agrees never to institute any claim against the

 

- 8 -


  Company, any Parent, any Subsidiary or the Employer, waives his or her ability, if any, to bring any such claim, and releases the Company, any Subsidiary and the Employer from any such claim; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is allowed by a court of competent jurisdiction, then, by participating in the Plan, Participant shall be deemed irrevocably to have agreed not to pursue such claim and agrees to execute any and all documents necessary to request dismissal or withdrawal of such claim.

10. No Advice Regarding Grant . The Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations or assessments regarding Participant’s participation in the Plan, or Participant’s acquisition or sale of the underlying Shares. Participant is hereby advised to consult with his or her own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding his or her participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.

11. Data Privacy . Participant understands that the Company and the Employer may collect, where permissible under applicable law, certain personal information about Participant, including, but not limited to, Participant’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any shares of stock or directorships held in the Company, details of all Options or any other entitlement to stock awarded, canceled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding in Participant’s favor (“Data”), for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan. Participant understands that Company may transfer Participant’s Data to the United States, which is not considered by the European Commission to have data protection laws equivalent to the laws in Participant’s country. The Company therefore maintains an EU-US Safe Harbor certification to protect any data consistent with data protection laws of the EU. Participant understands that the Company will transfer Participant’s Data to a stock plan service provider as may be selected by the Company in the future, which is assisting the Company with the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. Participant understands that the recipients of the Data may be located in the United States or elsewhere, and that the recipient’s country (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws that the European Commission or Participant’s jurisdiction does not consider to be equivalent to the protections in Participant’s country. Participant understands that if he or she resides outside the United States, he or she may request a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of the Data by contacting his or her local human resources representative. Participant authorizes the Company and any other possible recipients which may assist the Company with implementing, administering and managing the Plan to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the sole purposes of implementing, administering and managing Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that Data will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that if he or she resides outside the United States, he or she may, at any time, view Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Data, require any necessary amendments to Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, in any case without cost, by contacting in writing his or her local human resources representative. Further, Participant understands that he or she is providing the consents herein on a purely voluntary

 

- 9 -


basis. If Participant does not consent, or if Participant later seeks to revoke his or her consent, his or her engagement as a Service Provider and career with the Employer will not be adversely affected; the only adverse consequence of refusing or withdrawing Participant’s consent is that the Company would not be able to grant Participant Options or other equity awards or administer or maintain such awards. Therefore, Participant understands that refusing or withdrawing his or her consent may affect Participant’s ability to participate in the Plan. For more information on the consequences of Participant’s refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, Participant understands that he or she may contact his or her local human resources representative. Participant understands that Participant has the right to access, and to request a copy of, the Data held about Participant. Participant also understands that Participant has the right to discontinue the collection, processing, or use of Participant’s Data, or supplement, correct, or request deletion of any of Participant’s Data. To exercise Participant’s rights, Participant may contact Participant’s local human resources representative. Participant hereby explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of Participant’s personal data as described in this Agreement and any other Option grant materials by and among, as applicable, the Employer, the Company and any Parent or Subsidiary for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that Participant’s consent will be sought and obtained for any processing or transfer of Particpant’s Data for any purpose other than as described in the Agreement and any other Plan materials.

12. Address for Notices . Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Agreement will be addressed to the Company at Twitter, Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

13. Non-Transferability of Option . This Option may not be transferred in any manner otherwise than by will or by the laws of descent or distribution and may be exercised during the lifetime of Participant only by Participant.

14. Binding Agreement . Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this grant contained herein, this Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto.

15. Additional Conditions to Issuance of Stock . If at any time the Company will determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration, qualification or rule compliance of the Shares upon any securities exchange or under any state, federal or foreign law, the tax code and related regulations or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory authority is necessary or desirable as a condition to the purchase by, or issuance of Shares to, Participant (or his or her estate) hereunder, such purchase or issuance will not occur unless and until such listing, registration, qualification, rule compliance, consent or approval will have been completed, effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Company. The Company will make all reasonable efforts to meet the requirements of any such state, federal or foreign law or securities exchange and to obtain any such consent or approval of any such governmental authority or securities exchange. Assuming such compliance, for income tax purposes the Exercised Shares will be considered transferred to Participant on the date the Option is exercised with respect to such Exercised Shares.

 

- 10 -


16. Plan Governs . This Agreement is subject to all terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Plan will govern. Capitalized terms used and not defined in this Agreement will have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

17. Administrator Authority . The Administrator will have the power to interpret the Plan and this Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith and to interpret or revoke any such rules (including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any Shares subject to the Option have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon Participant, the Company and all other interested persons. No member of the Administrator will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Agreement.

18. Electronic Delivery and Acceptance . The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to Options awarded under the Plan or future options that may be awarded under the Plan by electronic means or request Participant’s consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. Participant hereby consents to receive such documents by such means of electronic delivery and agrees to participate in the Plan through any on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company which may, but do not necessarily, include the delivery of a link to a Company intranet or the Internet site of a third party involved in administering the Plan, the delivery of the document via e-mail or such other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company. Participant consents to the electronic delivery of the Plan documents and this Agreement. Participant acknowledges that he or she may receive from the Company a paper copy of any documents delivered electronically at no cost to Participant by contacting the Company by telephone or in writing. Participant further acknowledges that Participant will be provided with a paper copy of any documents if the attempted electronic delivery of such documents fails. Similarly, Participant understands that Participant must provide the Company or any designated third party administrator with a paper copy of any documents if the attempted electronic delivery of such documents fails. Participant may revoke his or her consent to the electronic delivery of documents or may change the electronic mail address to which such documents are to be delivered (if Participant has provided an electronic mail address) at any time by notifying the Company of such revoked consent or revised e-mail address by telephone, postal service or electronic mail. Finally, Participant understands that he or she is not required to consent to electronic delivery of documents.

19. Captions . Captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for interpretation or construction of this Agreement.

20. Language . If Participant has received this Agreement, or any other document related to the Option and/or the Plan translated into a language other than English and if the meaning of the translated version is different than the English version, the English version will control, subject to Applicable Laws.

21. Agreement Severable . In the event that any provision in this Agreement will be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability will not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Agreement.

 

- 11 -


22. Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan . By accepting this Award, Participant expressly warrants that he or she has received an Option under the Plan, and has received, read and understood a description of the Plan. Participant understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

23. Governing Law and Venue . This Agreement will be governed by the laws of Delaware, without giving effect to the conflict of law principles thereof. For purposes of litigating any dispute that arises under this Option or this Agreement, the parties hereby submit to and consent to the jurisdiction of the State of California , and agree that such litigation will be conducted in the courts of the County of San Francisco, California, or the federal courts for the United States for the Northern District of California, and no other courts, where this Option is made and/or to be performed.

24. Country-Specific Terms and Conditions and Notices . Notwithstanding any provisions in this Agreement, the Option grant shall be subject to any special terms and conditions set forth in any appendix to this Agreement for Participant’s country (the “Appendix”). Moreover, if Participant relocates to one of the countries included in the Appendix, the special terms and conditions for such country will apply to Participant, to the extent the Company determines that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons. The Appendix constitutes part of this Agreement.

25. Modifications to the Agreement . This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. Participant expressly warrants that he or she is not accepting this Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Modifications to this Agreement or the Plan can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or this Agreement, the Company reserves the right to revise this Agreement as it deems necessary or advisable, in its sole discretion and without the consent of Participant, to comply with Code Section 409A or to otherwise avoid imposition of any additional tax or income recognition under Section 409A of the Code in connection with the Option.

26. Waiver . Participant acknowledges that a waiver by the Company of breach of any provision of this Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any other provision of this Agreement, or of any subsequent breach by Participant or any other Participant.

 

- 12 -


APPENDIX

TO THE TWITTER, INC.

2013 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

STOCK OPTION AGREEMENT

FOR NON-U.S. PARTICIPANTS

Terms and Conditions

This Appendix includes additional terms and conditions that govern the Option granted to Participant under the Plan if he or she resides in one of the countries listed below. Certain capitalized terms used but not defined in this Appendix have the meanings set forth in the Plan and/or the main body of the Agreement.

Notifications

This Appendix also includes information regarding exchange controls and certain other issues of which Participant should be aware with respect to his or her participation in the Plan. The information is based on the securities, exchange control and other laws in effect in the respective countries as of October 2013. Such laws are often complex and change frequently. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that Participant not rely on the information in this Appendix as the only source of information relating to the consequences of Participant’s participation in the Plan because the information may be out of date at the time Participant exercises the Option or sells the Shares acquired under the Plan.

In addition, the information contained herein is general in nature and may not apply to Participant’s particular situation and the Company is not in a position to assure Participant of any particular result. Accordingly, Participant is advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the relevant laws of Participant’s country may apply to his or her situation.

Finally, if Participant is a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which Participant is currently working or transfers to another country after the grant of the Option, or is considered a resident of another country for local law purposes, the information contained herein may not be applicable to Participant in the same manner. In addition, the Company shall, in its discretion, determine to what extent the terms and conditions contained herein shall apply to Participant under these circumstances.

AUSTRALIA

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The offering and resale of Shares acquired under the Plan to a person or entity resident in Australia may be subject to disclosure requirements under Australian law. Participant should obtain legal advice regarding any applicable disclosure requirements prior to making any such offer.

 

- 13 -


BRAZIL

Terms and Conditions

Compliance with Law . By accepting the Option, Participant acknowledges and agrees to comply with applicable Brazilian laws and to report and pay any and all applicable Tax-Related Items. Participant agrees that, for all legal purposes: (i) the benefits provided under the Plan are the result of commercial transactions unrelated to the Participant’s employment; (ii) the Plan is not a part of the terms and conditions of the Participant’s employment; and (iii) the income from the Option, if any, is not part of the Participant’s remuneration from employment.

Notifications

Report of Overseas Assets . If Participant is resident or domiciled in Brazil, Participant will be required to submit an annual declaration of assets and rights held outside of Brazil to the Central Bank of Brazil if the aggregate value of such assets and rights equals or exceeds US$100,000. Assets and rights that must be reported include, but are not limited to, the Shares acquired under the Plan.

CANADA

Terms and Conditions

Termination of Continuous Service Status . In the event of Participant’s termination (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid and whether or not in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is employed or the terms of Participant’s employment or service agreement, if any), Participant’s right to vest in the Options under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of (1) the date that the Participant is no longer actively employed or providing services to the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, or at the discretion of the Administrator, (2) the date the Participant receives notice of Termination from the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, if earlier than (1), regardless of any notice period or period of pay in lieu of such notice required under local law (including, but not limited to statutory law, regulatory law and/or common law); the Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Participant is no longer actively employed or providing services for purposes of Participant’s Option grant (including, but not limited to, whether Participant may still be considered actively employed or providing services while on an approved leave of absence).

The following provisions apply if Participant is a resident of Quebec:

Language Consent . The parties acknowledge that it is their express wish that this Agreement, as well as all documents, notices and legal proceedings entered into, given or instituted pursuant hereto or relating directly or indirectly hereto, be drawn up in English.

 

- 14 -


Les parties reconnaissent avoir expressement souhaité que la convention [“Agreement”], ainsi que tous les documents, avis et procédures judiciaries, éxecutés, donnés ou intentés en vertu de, ou lié, directement ou indirectement à la présente convention, soient rédigés en langue anglaise.

Data Privacy Notice and Consent . This provision supplements Section 11 (Data Privacy) of Exhibit A the Award Agreement:

Participant hereby authorizes the Company and the Company’s representatives to discuss with and obtain all relevant information from all personnel, professional or not, involved in the administration and operation of the Plan. Participant further authorizes the Company and any Subsidiary or affiliate and the Administrator to disclose and discuss the Plan with their advisors. Participant further authorizes the Company and any Subsidiary or affiliate to record such information and to keep such information in Participant’s employee file.

FRANCE

Terms and Conditions

Language Consent . By accepting the grant, Participant confirms having read and fully understood the Plan and the Agreement which were provided in the English language. Participant accepts the terms of those documents accordingly.

Consentement Relatif à la Langue Utilisée . En acceptant l’attribution, le Participant confirme avoir lu et compris le Plan et le Contrat, qui ont été communiqués en langue anglaise. Le Participant accepte les termes de ces documents en connaissance de cause.

Notifications

Tax Reporting Information . If Participant holds Shares outside of France or maintains a foreign bank account, Participant is required to report such to the French tax authorities when filing his or her annual tax return.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Option is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in France.

GERMANY

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . If Participant remits proceeds in excess of €12,500 out of or into Germany, such cross-border payment must be reported monthly to the State Central Bank. In the event that Participant makes or receives a payment in excess of this amount, Participant is responsible for obtaining the appropriate form from a German bank and complying with applicable reporting requirements. In addition, Participant must also report on an annual basis in the unlikely event that Participant holds Shares exceeding 10% of the total voting capital of the Company.

 

- 15 -


Securities Disclaimer. The participation in the Plan is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Germany.

INDIA

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . Indian residents are required to repatriate any cash dividends paid on Shares acquired under the Plan and any proceeds from the sale of such Shares to India within 90 days of receipt. Upon repatriation, the individual will receive a foreign inward remittance certificate (“FIRC”) from the bank where he or she deposits the foreign currency and he or she should maintain the FIRC as evidence of the repatriation of funds in the event the Reserve Bank of India or the Employer requests proof of repatriation. It is Participant’s responsibility to comply with applicable exchange control laws in India.

Tax Reporting Obligation . Indian residents are required to declare the following items in their annual tax return: (i) any foreign assets held by them (including Shares acquired under the Plan), and (ii) any foreign bank accounts for which they have signing authority. It is Participant’s responsibility to comply with applicable foreign asset tax laws in India and Partiticpant should consult with Participant’s personal tax advisor to ensure that Participant is properly reporting Participant’s foreign assets and bank accounts.

IRELAND

Notifications

Director Notification Obligation . Participant acknowledges that if he or she is a director, shadow director or secretary of an Irish Subsidiary, Participant must notify the Irish Subsidiary in writing within five business days of receiving or disposing of an interest in the Company ( e.g ., the Option, Shares, etc.), or within five business days of becoming aware of the event giving rise to the notification requirement or within five business days of becoming a director or secretary if such an interest exists at the time. This notification requirement also applies with respect to the interests of Participant’s spouse or children under the age of 18 (whose interests will be attributed to Participant if Participant is a director, shadow director or secretary).

Securities Disclaimer. The grant of the Option is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Ireland.

ITALY

Terms and Conditions

Authorization to Release and Transfer Necessary Personal Information . This provision replaces in its entirety Section 11 (Data Privacy) of the Exhibit A of the Agreement:

Participant understands that his or her employer (the “Employer”) and/or the Company may hold

 

- 16 -


certain personal information about him or her, including, but not limited to, his or her name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social security number (or any other social or national identification number), salary, nationality, job title, number of shares held and the details of all Options granted or any other entitlement to shares awarded, cancelled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding (the “Data”) for the purpose of implementing, administering and managing Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant is aware that providing the Company with his or her Data is necessary for the performance of this Agreement and that his or her refusal to provide such Data would make it impossible for the Company to perform its contractual obligations and may affect his or her ability to participate in the Plan.

The Controller of personal data processing is [INSERT] USA, and, pursuant to D.lgs 196/2003, its representative in Italy is with registered offices at Via [INSERT]. Participant understands that the Data may be transferred to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or affiliates, or to any third parties assisting in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan, including any transfer required to a broker or other third party with whom shares acquired pursuant to the vesting or exercise of the Options or cash from the sale of such shares may be deposited. Furthermore, the recipients that may receive, possess, use, retain and transfer such Data for the above mentioned purposes may be located in Italy or elsewhere, including outside of the European Union and that the recipients’ country (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws and protections than Participant’s country. The processing activity, including the transfer of Participant’s personal data abroad, outside of the European Union, as herein specified and pursuant to applicable laws and regulations, does not require Participant’s consent thereto as the processing is necessary for the performance of contractual obligations related to the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. Participant understands that Data processing relating to the purposes above specified shall take place under automated or non-automated conditions, anonymously when possible, that comply with the purposes for which Data are collected and with confidentiality and security provisions as set forth by applicable laws and regulations, with specific reference to D.lgs. 196/2003.

Participant understands that Data will be held only as long as is required by law or as necessary to implement, administer and manage Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that pursuant to art. 7 of D.Igs 196/2003, he or she has the right, including but not limited to, access, delete, update, request the rectification of his or her Data and cease, for legitimate reasons, the Data processing. Furthermore, Participant is aware that his or her Data will not be used for direct marketing purposes. In addition, the Data provided can be reviewed and questions or complaints can be addressed by contacting a local representative available at the following address: [INSERT].

Plan Document Acknowledgment . In accepting the Option, Participant acknowledges that he or she has received a copy of the Plan and the Agreement and has reviewed the Plan and the Agreement, including this Appendix, in their entirety and fully understands and accepts all provisions of the Plan and the Agreement, including this Appendix. Participant further acknowledges that he or she has read and specifically and expressly approves the following paragraphs of the Agreement: Service Acknowledgements, Responsibility for Taxes, Data Privacy, Governing Law and Venue and Additional Conditions to Issuance of Stock.

 

- 17 -


Notifications

Exchange Control Information . Participant is required to report in his or her annual tax return: (a) any transfers of cash or shares to or from Italy exceeding €10,000 or the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars; and (b) any foreign investments or investments (including proceeds from the sale of Shares acquired under the Plan) held outside of Italy exceeding €10,000 or the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars, if the investment may give rise to income in Italy. Participant is exempt from the formalities in (a) if the investments are made through an authorized broker resident in Italy, as the broker will comply with the reporting obligation on Participant’s behalf.

Securities Disclaimer. The grant of the Options is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Italy.

JAPAN

Notifications

Offshore Assets Reporting . Participant is required to report details of any assets held outside of Japan as of December 31 st (including but not limited to any Shares acquired under the Plan), to the extent such assets have a total net fair market value exceeding ¥50,000,000. Such report is due by March 15th each year. Participant should consult with his or her personal tax advisor as to whether the reporting obligation applies to Participant and whether Participant will be required to report details of any outstanding Options or Shares held by Participant in the report.

KOREA

Notification

Exchange Control Information . If Participant realizes US$500,000 or more from the sale of Shares or the receipt of dividends in a single transaction, Participant must repatriate the proceeds to Korea within 18 months of the sale/receipt. Under certain circumstances, separate sales may be deemed a single transaction and aggregated for purposes of the US$500,000 threshold. Accordingly, Participant is strongly encouraged to consult his or her personal legal advisor if the sum of all such transactions exceeds this threshold.

NETHERLANDS

Notifications

Participant should be aware of the Dutch insider trading rules, which may affect the sale of Shares acquired under the Plan. In particular, participant may be prohibited from effecting certain share transactions if participant has insider information regarding the Company. Below is a discussion of the applicable restrictions. Participant is advised to read the discussion carefully to determine whether the insider rules could apply to participant. If it is uncertain whether the insider rules apply, the Company recommends that participant consult with a legal advisor. The Company cannot be held liable if participant violates the Dutch insider trading rules. Participant is responsible for ensuring Participant’s compliance with these rules.

 

- 18 -


Prohibition Against Insider Trading

Dutch securities laws prohibit insider trading. The regulations are based upon the European Market Abuse Directive and are stated in section 5:56 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act ( Wet op het financieel toezicht or Wft ) and in section 2 of the Market Abuse Decree ( Besluit marktmisbruik Wft ). For further information, Participant is referred to the website of the Authority for the Financial Markets ( AFM ); http://www.afm.nl/~/media/Files/brochures/2012/insider-dealing.ashx .

Given the broad scope of the definition of inside information, certain employees of the Company working at its Dutch Affiliate may have inside information and thus are prohibited from making a transaction in securities in the Netherlands at a time when they have such inside information. By entering into this Agreement and participating in the Plan, the Participant acknowledges having read and understood the notification above and acknowledges that it is the Participant’s responsibility to comply with the Dutch insider trading rules, as discussed herein.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Option is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in the Netherlands.

SINGAPORE

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The grant of the Option is being made pursuant to the “Qualifying Person” exemption under section 273(1)(f) of the Singapore Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289, 2006 Ed.) (“SFA”). The Plan has not been lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Participant should note that the Option is subject to section 257 of the SFA and Participant will not be able to make any subsequent sale in Singapore of the Shares acquired through the exercise of the Option or any offer of such sale in Singapore unless such sale or offer is made pursuant to the exemptions under Part XIII Division (1) Subdivision (4) (other than section 280) of the SFA.

Director Notification Obligation . If Participant is a director, associate director or shadow director of a Singapore Subsidiary, Participant is subject to certain notification requirements under the Singapore Companies Act. Among these requirements is an obligation to notify the Singapore Subsidiary in writing when Participant receives an interest ( e.g ., Options or Shares) in the Company or any Subsidiary. In addition, Participant must notify the Singapore Subsidiary when Participant sells Shares of the Company or any Subsidiary (including when Participant sells Shares acquired through the exercise of Options). These notifications must be made within two business days of acquiring or disposing of any interest in the Company or any Subsidiary. In addition, a notification must be made of Participant’s interests in the Company or any Subsidiary within two business days of becoming a director.

 

- 19 -


SPAIN

Terms and Conditions

Nature of Grant . This provision supplements Section 9 (Service Acknowledgments) of Exhibit A of the Agreement:

In accepting the Option, Participant consents to participate in the Plan and acknowledges that he or she has received a copy of the Plan.

Participant understands that the Company has unilaterally, gratuitously, and in its sole discretion decided to grant Options under the Plan to individuals who may be employees of the Company or one of its Subsidiaries or affiliates throughout the world. The decision is a limited decision that is entered into upon the express assumption and condition that any grant will not bind the Company or any Subsidiary or affiliate, other than to the extent set forth in the Agreement. Consequently, Participant understands that the grant of Options is made on the assumption and condition that the Options and any Shares acquired under the Plan are not part of any employment contract (either with the Company or any Subsidiary or affiliate), and shall not be considered a mandatory benefit, salary for any purposes (including severance compensation) or any other right whatsoever. Further, Participant understands that the grant of the Options would not be made but for the assumptions and conditions referred to above; thus, he or she acknowledges and freely accept that, should any or all of the assumptions be mistaken or should any of the conditions not be met for any reason, then any grant of or right to the Options shall be null and void.

Notifications

Tax Reporting Obligation for Assets Held Abroad . Beginning January 2013, individuals in Spain are required to report assets and right located outside of Spain (which would include Shares or any funds held in a U.S. brokerage account) on Form 720 by March 31st after each calendar year. A report is not required if the value of assets held outside of Spain is EUR 50,000 or less or if the assets held outside of Spain have not increased by more than EUR 20,000 compared to the previous year (assuming that a prior report has been filed reporting these assets). Participant should consult Participant’s personal tax advisor for more information on how to complete the report and the specific information on what types of assets are required to be reported.

Exchange Control Information . Participant must declare the acquisition of stock in a foreign company (including Shares acquired under the Plan) to the Dirección General de Política Comercial e Inversiones Exteriores (“DGPCIE”) of the Ministerio de Economia for statistical purposes. He or she must also declare ownership of any stock in a foreign company (including Shares acquired under the Plan) with the Directorate of Foreign Transactions each January while the stock is owned. In addition, if Participant wishes to import the share certificates into Spain, he or she must declare the importation of such securities to the DGPCIE.

When receiving foreign currency payments derived from the ownership of the shares ( i.e. , dividends or sale proceeds), Participant must inform the financial institution receiving the payment of the basis upon which such payment is made. Participant will need to provide the following information: (i)

 

- 20 -


his or her name, address, and fiscal identification number; (ii) the name and corporate domicile of the Company; (iii) the amount of the payment and the currency used; (iv) the country of origin; (v) the reasons for the payment; and (vi) any further information that may be required.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Options is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Spain.

UNITED KINGDOM

Terms and Conditions

Tax Reporting and Payment Liability . The following provision supplements Exhibit A, Section 6(a) (Responsibility for Taxes) of the Award Agreement:

Participant agrees that the Company or the Employer may calculate the Tax-Related Items to be withheld and accounted for by reference to the maximum applicable rates, without prejudice to any right participant may have to recover any overpayment from relevant U.K. tax authorities. If payment or withholding of any income tax liability arising in connection with participant’s participation in the Plan is not made by participant to the Employer within ninety (90) days of the event giving rise to such income tax liability or such other period specified in Section 222(1)(c) of the U.K. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the “Due Date”), Participant understands and agrees that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a loan owed by participant to the Employer, effective on the Due Date. Participant understands and agrees that the loan will bear interest at the then-current official rate of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, it will be immediately due and repayable by participant, and the Company and/or the Employer may recover it at any time thereafter by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, participant understands and agrees that if he or she is a director or an executive officer of the Company (within the meaning of such terms for purposes of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act), he or she will not be eligible for such a loan to cover the income tax liability. In the event that participant is a director or executive officer and the income tax is not collected from or paid by participant by the Due Date, Participant understands that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute an additional benefit to participant on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions will be payable. Participant understands and agrees that he or she will be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company or the Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any primary and (to the extent legally possible) secondary class 1 national insurance contributions due on this additional benefit which the Company or the Employer may recover from participant by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Award Agreement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Participant is an executive officer or director (as within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), the terms of the provision above will not apply. In the event that Participant is an executive office or director and income tax is not collected from or paid by Participant by the Due Date, the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a benefit to Participant on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions (“NICs”) (including Employer’s NICs, as defined below) may be

 

- 21 -


payable. Participant understands that he or she will be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to HMRC under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company and/or the Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any NICs due on this additional benefit.

Joint Election .

Tax-Related Items, as defined in Exhibit A, Section 7 shall include Primary and to the extent legally possible Secondary Class 1 National Insurance Contributions.

As a necessary condition of participation in the Plan, Participant agrees to accept any liability for all secondary Class 1 NICs which may be payable by the Company and/or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant in connection with the Options and any event giving rise to Tax-Related Items (the “Employer’s NICs”). Without limitation to the foregoing, Participant agrees to enter into a joint election with the Company (the “Joint Election”), the form of such Joint Election being formally approved by HMRC, and to execute any other consents or elections required to accomplish the transfer of the entirety of Employer’s NICs to the employee. Participant further agrees to execute such other joint elections as may be required between Participant and any successor to the Company and/or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant. Participant further agrees that the Company and/or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant may collect the Employer’s NICs from him or her by any of the means set forth in Exhibit A, Section 6 of the Award Agreement.

If Participant does not enter into a Joint Election, if approval of the Joint Election has been withdrawn by HMRC or if such Joint Election is jointly revoked by Participant and the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, as applicable, the Company, in its sole discretion and without any liability to the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, may choose not to issue or deliver any Shares to the employee upon exercise of the Options.

(Joint Election Form on the next page)

Notification

Securities Disclaimer . Neither this Award Agreement nor Appendix is an approved prospectus for the purposes of section 85(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) and no offer of transferable securities to the public (for the purposes of section 102B of FSMA) is being made in connection with the Plan. The Plan and the Option are exclusively available in the UK to bona fide employees and former employees and any other UK Subsidiary.

****

End of the Appendix

 

- 22 -


JOINT ELECTION FOR THE TRANSFER OF EMPLOYER’S NATIONAL

INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EMPLOYEE

1. Between

The Company Twitter UK Ltd (‘the Secondary Contributor’ who is the employer), whose Registered Office is at 100 NEW BRIDGE ST, LONDON, EC4V 6JA and registered number is 06492580, and

                     , ‘the Employee’, whose National Insurance number is                      .

2. Purpose and scope of election

(a) This election covers

(Delete as appropriate*)

 

   

grant of employment related securities options*

 

   

the award of employment related restricted securities and/ or*

 

   

the award of employment related convertible securities *

under [enter names of all Schemes/Plans/Individual awards or grants that may be used]

 

   

Plan: Twitter, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended and restated from time to time)*

 

   

Individual awards or grants [Where no specific scheme or plan has been set-up such as the grant of EMI options]:                      *

(Delete as appropriate*)

 

   

on                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]* or

 

   

between                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]* and                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]* or

 

   

on or after                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]*

(b) This joint election is made in accordance with Paragraph 3B(1) of Schedule 1 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (‘SSCBA 1992’).

(c) The Company requests the Employee to enter into this joint election to transfer the liability for the secondary contributor’s National Insurance contributions (NICs) that arise on any relevant employment income covered by this election from the secondary contributor to the Employee.

(d) The employer’s National Insurance liability that shall transfer from the employer to the Employee under this joint election is

(Delete as appropriate*)

 

- 23 -


   

the whole of the secondary liability or

 

   

[      %] of the secondary liability or

 

   

the secondary liability on gains in excess of [£          ]

Relevant employment income from securities and options specified in 2(a) on which employer’s NICs becomes due is defined as:

i. an amount that counts as employment income of the earner under section 426 of ITEPA 2003 (restricted securities: charge on certain post-acquisition events),

ii. an amount that counts as employment income of the earner under section 438 of that Act (convertible securities: charge on certain post-acquisition events), or

iii. any gain that is treated as remuneration derived from the earner’s employment by virtue of section 4(4)(a) SSCBA 1992.

(e) This joint election will not apply to the extent that it relates to relevant employment income which is employment income of the earner by virtue of Chapter 3A of Part 7 of ITEPA 2003 (employment income: securities with artificially depressed market value).

(f) This election does not apply in relation to any liability, or any part of any liability, arising as a result of regulations being given retrospective effect by virtue of section 4B(2) of either the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

3. Arrangements for payment of secondary NICs

(a) In signing this joint-election the Employee authorises the Company, or other body (if applicable), to recover an amount sufficient to cover the liability for the employer’s NICs transferred under this election in accordance with the arrangements summarised below [and further detailed in the attached scheme/plan/personal arrangement, [delete where necessary]].

 

   

A deduction from salary or other payments due.

 

   

The delivery in cleared funds from the Employee in sufficient time to enable the Company to make payment to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

 

   

The sale of sufficient shares acquired from the Employee’s securities option following notification to the Company Secretary/Scheme Administrator (delete as necessary or add other party if applicable), the proceeds of which must be delivered to the Company in sufficient time for payment to be made to HMRC by the due date.

 

   

A deduction from any cash payment, treated as Relevant Employment Income, given to the Employee.

 

   

Where the proceeds of the gain are to be made through a third party, the Employee will authorise that party to withhold an amount from the payment or to sell shares sufficient to cover the secondary NICs transferred. Such amount will be paid in sufficient time to enable the Company to make payment to HMRC by the due date.

 

- 24 -


(b) The Company and the Employee will ensure that payment of the liability for the secondary NICs will be made to HMRC within 14 days following the end of the Income Tax month in which the relevant employment income arises – the due date.

The Employee understands that in making this election they will be personally liable for the secondary NICs covered by this election.

4. Duration of this election

(a) This joint election shall continue in force from the time it is made until whichever of the following first takes place:

 

   

The Company gives notice to the Employee terminating the joint election

 

   

it is cancelled jointly by the Company and the Employee

 

   

it ceases to have effect in accordance with the terms of the joint election

 

   

HMRC serves notice on the Company that the approval of the joint election has been withdrawn

(b) The terms of this joint-election will continue in full force regardless of whether the Employee ceases to be an employee of the Company.

5. Declaration

In signing this joint election both the Company and the Employee agree to be bound by its terms as stated above.

 

Signature of Employee  

 

  Date           /          /              
Signature for the Company  

 

  Date           /          /              
Position in Company  

 

     

 

- 25 -


EXHIBIT B

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

EXERCISE NOTICE

Twitter, Inc.

1355 Market Street, Suite 900

San Francisco, CA 94103

Attention: Stock Administration

1. Exercise of Option . Effective as of today,                      ,          , the undersigned (“Purchaser”) hereby elects to purchase           shares (the “Shares”) of the Common Stock of Twitter, Inc. (the “Company”) under and pursuant to the 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the Stock Option Agreement dated                      (the “Agreement”). The purchase price for the Shares will be $          , as required by the Agreement.

2. Delivery of Payment . Purchaser herewith delivers to the Company the full purchase price of the Shares and any required tax withholding to be paid in connection with the exercise of the Option.

3. Representations of Purchaser . Purchaser acknowledges that Purchaser has received, read and understood the Plan and the Agreement and agrees to abide by and be bound by their terms and conditions.

4. Rights as Stockholder . Until the issuance (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company) of the Shares, no right to vote or receive dividends or any other rights as a stockholder will exist with respect to the Shares subject to the Option, notwithstanding the exercise of the Option. The Shares so acquired will be issued to Purchaser as soon as practicable after exercise of the Option. No adjustment will be made for a dividend or other right for which the record date is prior to the date of issuance, except as provided in Section 14 of the Plan.

5. Tax Consultation . Purchaser understands that Purchaser may suffer adverse tax consequences as a result of Purchaser’s purchase or disposition of the Shares. Purchaser represents that Purchaser has consulted with any tax consultants Purchaser deems advisable in connection with the purchase or disposition of the Shares and that Purchaser is not relying on the Company for any tax advice.

6. Entire Agreement; Governing Law . The Plan and Agreement are incorporated herein by reference. This Exercise Notice, the Plan and the Agreement constitute the entire agreement of

 

- 1 -


the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersede in their entirety all prior undertakings and agreements of the Company and Purchaser with respect to the subject matter hereof, and may not be modified adversely to the Purchaser’s interest except by means of a writing signed by the Company and Purchaser. This agreement is governed by the internal substantive laws, but not the choice of law rules, of Delaware.

 

Submitted by:      Accepted by:
PURCHASER      TWITTER, INC.

 

    

 

Signature      By

 

    

 

Print Name      Its
Address :     

 

    

 

    
    

 

     Date Received

 

- 2 -


TWITTER, INC.

2013 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN

RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT AGREEMENT

Unless otherwise defined herein, the terms defined in the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) will have the same defined meanings in this Restricted Stock Unit Agreement (the “Award Agreement”), which includes the Notice of Restricted Stock Unit Grant (the “Notice of Grant”) and Terms and Conditions of Restricted Stock Unit Grant, attached hereto as Exhibit A .

NOTICE OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT GRANT

Participant Name:

Address:

Participant has been granted the right to receive an Award of Restricted Stock Units, subject to the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Award Agreement, as follows:

 

Grant Number  

 

  
Date of Grant  

 

  
Vesting Commencement Date  

 

  
Number of Restricted Stock Units  

 

  

Vesting Schedule :

Subject to any acceleration provisions contained in the Plan or set forth below, the Restricted Stock Units will vest in accordance with the following schedule:

[ Twenty-five percent (25%) of the Restricted Stock Units will vest on the one (1) year anniversary of the Vesting Commencement Date, and one-sixteenth (1/16th) of the Restricted Stock Units will vest each quarter thereafter on the same day as the Vesting Commencement Date, subject to Participant continuing to be a Service Provider through each such date. ]

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units shall be subject to any vesting acceleration provisions applicable to these Restricted Stock Units contained in the Plan and/or any employment or service agreement, offer letter, change in control severance agreement or policy, or any other agreement or policy that, prior to and effective as of the date of this Agreement, has been entered into or agreed upon, as the case may be, between Participant and the Company or any parent or subsidiary corporation of the Company (such agreement or policy, a “Separate Agreement”) to the extent not otherwise duplicative of the vesting terms described above (by way of example, if a Separate Agreement provides for different acceleration of vesting provisions for all of Participant’s Restricted Stock Units upon a termination of Participant as a Service Provider for “good reason” that is defined differently, and the


Participant’s status as a Service Provider terminates in a manner that would trigger “good reason” under the Separate Agreement but not under this Agreement, the Participant would remain entitled to the acceleration of vesting under the Separate Agreement).

In the event Participant ceases to be a Service Provider for any or no reason before Participant vests in the Restricted Stock Units, the Restricted Stock Units and Participant’s right to acquire any Shares hereunder will immediately terminate, subject to Applicable Laws.

By Participant’s signature and the signature of the representative of Twitter, Inc. (the “Company”) below, Participant and the Company agree that this Award of Restricted Stock Units is granted under and governed by the terms and conditions of the Plan and this Award Agreement, including the Terms and Conditions of Restricted Stock Unit Grant, attached hereto as Exhibit A , all of which are made a part of this document. Participant has reviewed the Plan and this Award Agreement in their entirety, has had an opportunity to obtain the advice of counsel prior to executing this Award Agreement and fully understands all provisions of the Plan and Award Agreement. Participant hereby agrees to accept as binding, conclusive and final all decisions or interpretations of the Administrator upon any questions relating to the Plan and Award Agreement. Participant further agrees to notify the Company upon any change in the residence address indicated below.

 

PARTICIPANT:      TWITTER, INC.

 

    

 

Signature      By

 

    

 

Print Name      Title
Residence Address :     

 

    

 

    

 

-2-


EXHIBIT A

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNIT GRANT

1. Grant . The Company hereby grants to the individual named in the Notice of Grant (the “Participant”) under the Plan an Award of Restricted Stock Units, subject to all of the terms and conditions in this Award Agreement, the Plan, and the Separate Agreement (as applicable), which are incorporated herein by reference. Subject to Section 18(c) of the Plan, in the event of a conflict between the terms and conditions of the Plan and the terms and conditions of this Award Agreement, the terms and conditions of the Plan will prevail.

2. Company’s Obligation to Pay . Each Restricted Stock Unit represents the right to receive a Share on the date it vests. Unless and until the Restricted Stock Units will have vested in the manner set forth in Sections 3 or 4, Participant will have no right to payment of any such Restricted Stock Units. Prior to actual payment of any vested Restricted Stock Units, such Restricted Stock Units will represent an unsecured obligation of the Company, payable (if at all) only from the general assets of the Company. Any Restricted Stock Units that vest in accordance with Sections 3 or 4 will be paid to Participant (or in the event of Participant’s death, to his or her estate) in whole Shares, subject to Participant satisfying any obligations for Tax-Related Items (as defined in Section 7). Subject to the provisions of Section 4, such vested Restricted Stock Units shall be paid in whole Shares as soon as practicable after vesting, but in each such case within the period sixty (60) days following the vesting date. In no event will Participant be permitted, directly or indirectly, to specify the taxable year of the payment of any Restricted Stock Units payable under this Award Agreement.

3. Vesting Schedule . Except as provided in Section 4, and subject to Section 5, the Restricted Stock Units awarded by this Award Agreement will vest in accordance with the vesting provisions set forth in the Notice of Grant. Restricted Stock Units scheduled to vest on a certain date or upon the occurrence of a certain condition will not vest in Participant in accordance with any of the provisions of this Award Agreement, unless Participant will have been continuously a Service Provider from the Date of Grant until the date such vesting occurs.

4. Administrator Discretion . The Administrator, in its discretion, may accelerate the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the unvested Restricted Stock Units at any time, subject to the terms of the Plan. If so accelerated, such Restricted Stock Units will be considered as having vested as of the date specified by the Administrator. The payment of Shares vesting pursuant to this Section 4 shall in all cases be paid at a time or in a manner that is exempt from, or complies with, Section 409A.

The following paragraphs in this Section 4 apply only if the Participant is a U.S. taxpayer or otherwise subject to U.S. taxation: Notwithstanding anything in the Plan or this Award Agreement to the contrary, if the vesting of the balance, or some lesser portion of the balance, of the Restricted Stock Units is accelerated in connection with Participant’s termination as a Service Provider (provided that such termination is a “separation from service” within the meaning of Section 409A, as determined by the Company), other than due to death , and if (x) Participant is a “specified employee” within the meaning of Section 409A at the time of such termination as a Service Provider and (y) the payment of such accelerated Restricted Stock Units

 

-3-


will result in the imposition of additional tax under Section 409A if paid to Participant on or within the six (6) month period following Participant’s termination as a Service Provider, then the payment of such accelerated Restricted Stock Units will not be made until the date six (6) months and one (1) day following the date of Participant’s termination as a Service Provider, unless Participant dies following his or her termination as a Service Provider, in which case, the Restricted Stock Units will be paid in Shares to Participant’s estate as soon as practicable following his or her death. It is the intent of this Award Agreement that it and all payments and benefits hereunder be exempt from, or comply with, the requirements of Section 409A so that none of the Restricted Stock Units provided under this Award Agreement or Shares issuable thereunder will be subject to the additional tax imposed under Section 409A, and any ambiguities herein will be interpreted to be so exempt or so comply. Each payment payable under this Award Agreement is intended to constitute a separate payment for purposes of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-2(b)(2). For purposes of this Award Agreement, “Section 409A” means Section 409A of the Code, and any final Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance thereunder, as each may be amended from time to time.

5. Forfeiture upon Termination of Status as a Service Provider . Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Award Agreement, the balance of the Restricted Stock Units that have not vested as of the time of Participant’s termination as a Service Provider for any or no reason and Participant’s right to acquire any Shares hereunder will immediately terminate, subject to Applicable Laws. The date of Participant’s termination as a Service Provider is detailed in Section 10(h).

6. Death of Participant . Any distribution or delivery to be made to Participant under this Award Agreement will, if Participant is then deceased, be made to Participant’s designated beneficiary, or if no beneficiary survives Participant, the administrator or executor of Participant’s estate. Any such transferee must furnish the Company with (a) written notice of his or her status as transferee, and (b) evidence satisfactory to the Company to establish the validity of the transfer and compliance with any laws or regulations pertaining to said transfer.

7. Responsibility for Taxes . Notwithstanding any contrary provision of this Award Agreement, no certificate representing the Shares will be issued to Participant, unless and until satisfactory arrangements (as determined by the Administrator) will have been made by Participant with respect to the payment of income, employment, social insurance, National Insurance Contributions, payroll tax, fringe benefit tax, payment on account or other tax-related items related to Participant’s participation in the Plan and legally applicable to Participant, including, but not limited to, the grant, vesting or settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired pursuant to such settlement and the receipt of any dividends (“Tax-Related Items”) which the Company determines must be withheld with respect to such Shares. Prior to vesting and/or settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, Participant will pay or make adequate arrangements satisfactory to the Company and/or Participant’s employer (the “Employer”) to satisfy all withholding and payment obligations of Tax-Related Items of the Company and/or the Employer. In this regard, Participant authorizes the Company and/or the Employer to withhold any Tax-Related Items legally payable by Participant from his or her wages or other cash compensation paid to Participant by the Company and/or the Employer or from proceeds of the sale of Shares. Alternatively, or in addition, if permissible under applicable local law, the Administrator, in its sole discretion and pursuant to such procedures as it may

 

-4-


specify from time to time, may permit or require Participant to satisfy such tax withholding obligation, in whole or in part (without limitation) by (a) paying cash, (b) electing to have the Company withhold otherwise deliverable Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the minimum amount required to be withheld, (c) selling a sufficient number of such Shares otherwise deliverable to Participant through such means as the Company may determine in its sole discretion (whether through a broker or otherwise) equal to the amount required to be withheld, or (d) if Participant is a U.S. employee, delivering to the Company already vested and owned Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the amount required to be withheld. To the extent determined appropriate by the Company in its discretion, it will have the right (but not the obligation) to satisfy any obligations for Tax-Related Items by reducing the number of Shares otherwise deliverable to Participant [and, until determined otherwise by the Company, this will be the method by which such tax withholding obligations are satisfied]. Further, if Participant is subject to tax in more than one jurisdiction between the Date of Grant and a date of any relevant taxable or tax withholding event, as applicable, Participant acknowledges and agrees that the Company and/or the Employer (or former employer, as applicable) may be required to withhold or account for tax in more than one jurisdiction. If Participant fails to make satisfactory arrangements for the payment of any Tax-Related Items hereunder at the time any applicable Restricted Stock Units otherwise are scheduled to vest pursuant to Sections 3 or 4 or Tax-Related Items related to Restricted Stock Units otherwise are due, Participant will permanently forfeit such Restricted Stock Units and any right to receive Shares thereunder and the Restricted Stock Units will be returned to the Company at no cost to the Company. Regardless of any action of the Company or the Employer, Participant acknowledges that the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items is and remains Participant’s responsibility and may exceed the amount actually withheld by the Company or the Employer. Participant further acknowledges that the Company and the Employer (1) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the Restricted Stock Units; and (2) do not commit to and are under no obligation to structure the terms of the grant or any aspect of the Restricted Stock Units to reduce or eliminate Participant’s liability for Tax-Related Items or achieve any particular tax result.

8. Rights as Stockholder . Neither Participant nor any person claiming under or through Participant will have any of the rights or privileges of a stockholder of the Company in respect of any Shares deliverable hereunder unless and until certificates representing such Shares will have been issued, recorded on the records of the Company or its transfer agents or registrars, and delivered to Participant. After such issuance, recordation and delivery, Participant will have all the rights of a stockholder of the Company with respect to voting such Shares and receipt of dividends and distributions on such Shares.

9. No Guarantee of Continued Service . PARTICIPANT ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THE VESTING OF THE RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS PURSUANT TO THE VESTING SCHEDULE HEREOF IS EARNED ONLY BY CONTINUING AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AT THE WILL OF THE COMPANY (OR THE PARENT OR SUBSIDIARY EMPLOYING OR RETAINING PARTICIPANT) AND NOT THROUGH THE ACT OF BEING HIRED, BEING GRANTED THIS AWARD OF RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS OR ACQUIRING SHARES HEREUNDER. PARTICIPANT FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGES AND AGREES THAT THIS AWARD AGREEMENT, THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREUNDER AND THE VESTING SCHEDULE SET

 

-5-


FORTH HEREIN DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN EXPRESS OR IMPLIED PROMISE OF CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT AS A SERVICE PROVIDER FOR THE VESTING PERIOD, FOR ANY PERIOD, OR AT ALL, AND WILL NOT INTERFERE IN ANY WAY WITH PARTICIPANT’S RIGHT OR THE RIGHT OF THE COMPANY (OR THE PARENT OR SUBSIDIARY EMPLOYING OR RETAINING PARTICIPANT) TO TERMINATE PARTICIPANT’S RELATIONSHIP AS A SERVICE PROVIDER AT ANY TIME, WITH OR WITHOUT CAUSE, SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAWS.

10. Nature of Grant . In accepting the grant, Participant acknowledges, understands and agrees that:

 

  (a) the Plan is established voluntarily by the Company, it is discretionary in nature and it may be modified, amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time, to the extent permitted by the Plan;

 

  (b) the grant of the Restricted Stock Units is voluntary and occasional and does not create any contractual or other right to receive future grants of Restricted Stock Units, or benefits in lieu of Restricted Stock Units, even if Restricted Stock Units have been granted in the past;

 

  (c) all decisions with respect to future Restricted Stock Units or other grants, if any, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;

 

  (d) Participant is voluntarily participating in the Plan;

 

  (e) the Restricted Stock Units and the Shares subject to the Restricted Stock Units are not intended to replace any pension rights or compensation;

 

  (f) the Restricted Stock Units and the Shares subject to the Restricted Stock Units, and the income and value of same, are not part of normal or expected compensation for purposes of calculating any severance, resignation, termination, redundancy, dismissal, end-of-service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement or welfare benefits or similar payments;

 

  (g) the future value of the underlying Shares is unknown, indeterminable and cannot be predicted with certainty;

 

  (h)

for purposes of the Restricted Stock Units, Participant’s status as a Service Provider will be considered terminated as of the date Participant is no longer actively providing services to the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary (regardless of the reason for such termination and whether or not later to be found invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is a Service Provider or the terms of Participant’s service agreement, if any), and unless otherwise expressly provided in this Award Agreement or determined by the Administrator, Participant’s right to vest in the Restricted Stock Units under the Plan, if any, will terminate as of such date and will not be extended by any notice period ( e.g. , Participant’s period of service would not include any contractual notice period or any period of “garden leave” or similar period

 

-6-


  mandated under employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is a Service Provider or the terms of Participant’s service agreement, if any, unless Participant is providing bona fide services during such time); the Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Participant is no longer actively providing services for purposes of the Restricted Stock Units grant (including whether Participant may still be considered to be providing services while on a leave of absence);

 

  (i) unless otherwise provided in the Plan or by the Company in its discretion, the Restricted Stock Units and the benefits evidenced by this Award Agreement do not create any entitlement to have the Restricted Stock Units or any such benefits transferred to, or assumed by, another company nor be exchanged, cashed out or substituted for, in connection with any corporate transaction affecting the Shares; and

 

  (j) the following provisions apply only if Participant is providing services outside the United States:

 

  i. the Restricted Stock Units and the Shares subject to the Restricted Stock Units are not part of normal or expected compensation or salary for any purpose;

 

  ii. Participant acknowledges and agrees that none of the Company, the Employer, or any Parent or Subsidiary shall be liable for any foreign exchange rate fluctuation between Participant’s local currency and the United States Dollar that may affect the value of the Restricted Stock Units or of any amounts due to Participant pursuant to the settlement of the Restricted Stock Units or the subsequent sale of any Shares acquired upon settlement; and

 

  iii. no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from forfeiture of the Restricted Stock Units resulting from the termination of Participant’s status as a Service Provider (for any reason whatsoever whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is a Service Provider or the terms of Participant’s service agreement, if any), and in consideration of the grant of the Restricted Stock Units to which Participant is otherwise not entitled, Participant irrevocably agrees never to institute any claim against the Company, any Subsidiary or the Employer, waives his or her ability, if any, to bring any such claim, and releases the Company, any Parent, any Subsidiary and the Employer from any such claim; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is allowed by a court of competent jurisdiction, then, by participating in the Plan, Participant shall be deemed irrevocably to have agreed not to pursue such claim and agrees to execute any and all documents necessary to request dismissal or withdrawal of such claim.

 

-7-


11. No Advice Regarding Grant . The Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations or assessments regarding Participant’s participation in the Plan, or Participant’s acquisition or sale of the underlying Shares. Participant is hereby advised to consult with his or her own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding his or her participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.

12. Data Privacy . Participant understands that the Company and the Employer may collect, where permissible under Applicable Law certain personal information about Participant, including, but not limited to, Participant’s name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any Shares or directorships held in the Company, details of all Restricted Stock Units granted under the Plan or any other entitlement to Shares awarded, canceled, vested, unvested or outstanding in Participant’s favor (“Data”), for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan. Participant understands that Company may transfer Participant’s Data to the United States, which is not considered by the European Commission to have data protection laws equivalent to the laws in Participant’s country. The Company therefore maintains an EU-US Safe Harbor certification to protect Participant’s data consistent with data protection laws of the EU.

Participant understands that the Company will transfer Participant’s Data to its designated broker, or such other stock plan service provider as may be selected by the Company in the future, which is assisting the Company with the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. Participant understands that the recipients of the Data may be located in the United States or elsewhere, and that a recipient’s country of operation (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws that the European Commission or Participant’s jurisdiction does not consider to be equivalent to the protections in Participant’s country. Participant understands that Participant may request a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of the Data by contacting Participant’s local human resources representative. Participant authorizes the Company, the Company’s designated broker and any other possible recipients which may assist the Company with implementing, administering and managing the Plan to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the sole purpose of implementing, administering and managing Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that Data will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that Participant may, at any time, view Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Data, require any necessary amendments to Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, in any case without cost, by contacting in writing Participant’s local human resources representative. Further, Participant understands that Participant is providing the consents herein on a purely voluntary basis. If Participant does not consent, or if Participant later seeks to revoke Participant’s consent, Participant’s employment status or career with the Company or the Employer will not be adversely affected; the only adverse consequence of refusing or withdrawing Participant’s consent is that the Company would not be able to grant Participant Restricted Stock Units under the Plan or other equity awards, or administer or maintain such awards. Therefore, Participant understands that refusing or withdrawing Participant’s consent may affect Participant’s ability to participate in the Plan. For more information on the consequences of Participant’s refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, Participant understands that Participant may contact Participant’s local human resources representative.

 

-8-


Participant understands that Participant has the right to access, and to request a copy of, the Data held about Participant. Participant also understands that Participant has the right to discontinue the collection, processing, or use of Participant’s Data, or supplement, correct, or request deletion of Participant’s Data. To exercise Participant’s rights, Participant may contact Participant’s local human resources representative.

Participant hereby explicitly and unambiguously consents to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of Participant’s personal data as described in the Award Agreement and any other Plan materials by and among, as applicable, the Employer, the Company and its Parents, Subsidiaries and affiliates for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that Participant’s consent will be sought and obtained for any processing or transfer of Participant’s data for any purpose other than as described in the Award Agreement and any other plan materials.

13. Address for Notices . Any notice to be given to the Company under the terms of this Award Agreement will be addressed to the Company at Twitter, Inc., 1355 Market Street, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, or at such other address as the Company may hereafter designate in writing.

14. Grant is Not Transferable . Except to the limited extent provided in Section 6, this grant and the rights and privileges conferred hereby will not be transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated in any way (whether by operation of law or otherwise) and will not be subject to sale under execution, attachment or similar process. Upon any attempt to transfer, assign, pledge, hypothecate or otherwise dispose of this grant, or any right or privilege conferred hereby, or upon any attempted sale under any execution, attachment or similar process, this grant and the rights and privileges conferred hereby immediately will become null and void.

15. Binding Agreement . Subject to the limitation on the transferability of this grant contained herein, this Award Agreement will be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs, legatees, legal representatives, successors and assigns of the parties hereto.

16. Additional Conditions to Issuance of Stock . If at any time the Company will determine, in its discretion, that the listing, registration, qualification or rule compliance of the Shares upon any securities exchange or under any state, federal or foreign law, the tax code and related regulations or the consent or approval of any governmental regulatory authority is necessary or desirable as a condition to the issuance of Shares to Participant (or his or her estate) hereunder, such issuance will not occur unless and until such listing, registration, qualification, rule compliance, consent or approval will have been completed, effected or obtained free of any conditions not acceptable to the Company. Where the Company determines that the delivery of the payment of any Shares will violate federal securities laws or other applicable laws, the Company will defer delivery until the earliest date at which the Company reasonably anticipates that the delivery of Shares will no longer cause such violation. The Company will make all reasonable efforts to meet the requirements of any such state, federal or foreign law or securities exchange and to obtain any such consent or approval of any such governmental authority or securities exchange.

 

-9-


17. Award Agreement Governs . This Award Agreement is subject to all terms and provisions of the Plan. In the event of a conflict between one or more provisions of this Award Agreement and one or more provisions of the Plan, the provisions of the Award Agreement will govern. Capitalized terms used and not defined in this Award Agreement will have the meaning set forth in the Plan.

18. Administrator Authority . The Administrator will have the power to interpret the Plan and this Award Agreement and to adopt such rules for the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan as are consistent therewith and to interpret or revoke any such rules (including, but not limited to, the determination of whether or not any Restricted Stock Units have vested). All actions taken and all interpretations and determinations made by the Administrator in good faith will be final and binding upon Participant, the Company and all other interested persons. No member of the Administrator will be personally liable for any action, determination or interpretation made in good faith with respect to the Plan or this Award Agreement.

19. Electronic Delivery and Acceptance . The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to Restricted Stock Units awarded under the Plan or future Restricted Stock Units that may be awarded under the Plan by electronic means or request Participant’s consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. Such means of electronic delivery may include but do not necessarily include the delivery of a link to a Company intranet or the Internet site of a third party involved in administering the Plan, the delivery of the document via e-mail or such other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company. Participant consents to the electronic delivery of the Plan and this Award Agreement. Participant acknowledges that he or she may receive from the Company a paper copy of any documents delivered electronically at no cost to Participant by contacting the Company by telephone or in writing. Participant further acknowledges that Participant will be provided with a paper copy of any documents if the attempted electronic delivery of such documents fails. Similarly, Participant understands that Participant must provide the Company or any designated third party administrator with a paper copy of any documents if the attempted electronic delivery of such documents fails. Participant may revoke his or her consent to the electronic delivery of documents or may change the electronic mail address to which such documents are to be delivered (if Participant has provided an electronic mail address) at any time by notifying the Company of such revoked consent or revised e-mail address by telephone, postal service or electronic mail. Finally, Participant understands that he or she is not required to consent to electronic delivery of documents.

20. Language . If Participant has received this Award Agreement or any other document related to the Plan translated into a language other than English and if the meaning of the translated version is different than the English version, the English version will control, subject to Applicable Laws.

21. Captions . Captions provided herein are for convenience only and are not to serve as a basis for interpretation or construction of this Award Agreement.

 

-10-


22. Agreement Severable . In the event that any provision in this Award Agreement will be held invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be severable from, and such invalidity or unenforceability will not be construed to have any effect on, the remaining provisions of this Award Agreement.

23. Amendment, Suspension or Termination of the Plan . By accepting this Award, Participant expressly warrants that he or she has received an Award of Restricted Stock Units under the Plan, and has received, read and understood a description of the Plan. Participant understands that the Plan is discretionary in nature and may be amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time.

24. Governing Law and Venue . This Award Agreement will be governed by the laws of Delaware without giving effect to the conflict of law principles thereof. For purposes of litigating any dispute that arises under this Award of Restricted Stock Units or this Award Agreement, the parties hereby submit to and consent to the jurisdiction of the State of California, and agree that such litigation will be conducted in the courts of the County of San Francisco, California, or the federal courts for the United States for the Northern District of California, and no other courts, where this Award of Restricted Stock Units is made and/or to be performed.

25. Country-Specific Terms and Conditions and Notices . Notwithstanding any provisions in this Award Agreement, the Restricted Stock Unit grant shall be subject to any special terms and conditions set forth in any appendix to this Award Agreement for Participant’s country (the “Appendix”). Moreover, if Participant relocates to one of the countries included in the Appendix, the special terms and conditions for such country will apply to Participant, to the extent the Company determines that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons. The Appendix constitutes part of this Award Agreement.

26. Modifications to the Award Agreement . The Plan and this Award Agreement constitutes the entire understanding of the parties on the subjects covered. Participant expressly warrants that he or she is not accepting this Award Agreement in reliance on any promises, representations, or inducements other than those contained herein. Modifications to this Award Agreement or the Plan can be made only in an express written contract executed by a duly authorized officer of the Company. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or this Award Agreement, the Company reserves the right to revise the Award Agreement as it deems necessary or advisable, in its sole discretion and without the consent of Participant, subject to Applicable Laws, to comply with Section 409A or to otherwise avoid imposition of any additional tax or income recognition under Section 409A in connection to this Award of Restricted Stock Units.

27. Waiver . Participant acknowledges that a waiver by the Company of breach of any provision of this Award Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any other provision of this Award Agreement, or of any subsequent breach by Participant or any other Participant.

 

-11-


APPENDIX

TO T HE T WITTER , I NC .

R ESTRICTED S TOCK U NIT A WARD A GREEMENT U NDER THE

2013 E QUITY I NCENTIVE P LAN

F OR N ON -U.S. P ARTICIPANTS

Terms and Conditions

This Appendix includes additional terms and conditions that govern the Restricted Stock Units granted to Participant under the Plan if he or she resides in one of the countries listed below. Certain capitalized terms used but not defined in this Appendix have the meanings set forth in the Plan and/or the main body of the Award Agreement.

Notifications

This Appendix also includes information regarding exchange controls and certain other issues of which Participant should be aware with respect to his or her participation in the Plan. The information is based on the securities, exchange control and other laws in effect in the respective countries as of October 2013. Such laws are often complex and change frequently. As a result, the Company strongly recommends that Participant not rely on the information in this Appendix as the only source of information relating to the consequences of Participant’s participation in the Plan because the information may be out of date at the time Participant vests in the Shares or sells the Shares acquired under the Plan.

In addition, the information contained herein is general in nature and may not apply to Participant’s particular situation and the Company is not in a position to assure Participant of any particular result. Accordingly, Participant is advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the relevant laws of Participant’s country may apply to his or her situation.

Finally, if Participant is a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which Participant is currently working or transfers to another country after the grant of the Restricted Stock Units, or is considered a resident of another country for local law purposes, the information contained herein may not be applicable to Participant in the same manner. In addition, the Company shall, in its discretion, determine to what extent the terms and conditions contained herein shall apply to Participant under these circumstances.

 

-12-


AUSTRALIA

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The offering and resale of Shares acquired under the Plan to a person or entity resident in Australia may be subject to disclosure requirements under Australian law. You should obtain legal advice regarding any applicable disclosure requirements prior to making any such offer.

Terms and Conditions

Australian Securities Laws. If Participant acquires Shares under the Plan and resells them in Australia, he or she may be required to comply with certain Australian securities law disclosure requirements.

Foreign Exchange . Participant acknowledges and agrees that it is the Participant’s sole responsibility to investigate and comply with any applicable exchange control laws in connection with the inflow of funds from the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units or subsequent sale of the Shares and any dividends (if any) and that the Participant shall be responsible for any reporting of inbound international fund transfers required under applicable law. The Participant is advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the exchange control regulations apply to the Participant’s specific situation.

BRAZIL

Terms and Conditions

Compliance with Laws . By accepting the Restricted Stock Units, Participant acknowledges that Participant agrees to comply with applicable Brazilian laws and to report and pay any and all applicable Tax-Related Items associated with the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units, the sale of the Shares acquired pursuant thereto and the receipt of any dividends. That Participant agrees that, for all legal purposes: (i) the benefits provided under the Plan are the result of commercial transactions unrelated to the Participant’s employment; (ii) the Plan is not a part of the terms and conditions of the Participant’s employment; and (iii) the income from the Restricted Stock Units, if any, is not part of the Participant’s remuneration from employment.

Notifications

Report of Overseas Assets . If Participant is resident or domiciled in Brazil, Participant will be required to submit an annual declaration of assets and rights held outside of Brazil to the Central Bank of Brazil if the aggregate value of such assets and rights equals or exceeds US$100,000. Assets and rights that must be reported include, but are not limited to, the Shares acquired under the Plan.

 

-13-


CANADA

Terms and Conditions

Restricted Stock Units Payable Only in Shares . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or Award Agreement, the grant of Restricted Stock Units does not provide any right for Participant to receive a cash payment, and the Restricted Stock Units are payable in Shares only.

Termination of Continuous Service Status . In the event of Participant’s termination (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid and whether or not in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where Participant is employed or the terms of Participant’s employment or service agreement, if any), Participant’s right to vest in the Restricted Stock Units under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of (1) the date that the Participant is no longer actively employed or providing services to the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, or at the discretion of the Administrator, (2) the date the Participant receives notice of Termination from the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, if earlier than (1), regardless of any notice period or period of pay in lieu of such notice required under local law (including, but not limited to statutory law, regulatory law and/or common law); the Administrator shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when Participant is no longer actively employed or providing services for purposes of Participant’s RSU grant (including, but not limited to, whether Participant may still be considered actively employed or providing services while on an approved leave of absence).

The following provisions apply if Participant is a resident of Quebec:

Language Consent . The parties acknowledge that it is their express wish that this Agreement, as well as all documents, notices and legal proceedings entered into, given or instituted pursuant hereto or relating directly or indirectly hereto, be drawn up in English.

Les parties reconnaissent avoir expressement souhaité que la convention [“Award Agreement”], ainsi que tous les documents, avis et procédures judiciaries, éxecutés, donnés ou intentés en vertu de, ou lié, directement ou indirectement à la présente convention, soient rédigés en langue anglaise.

Data Privacy Notice and Consent . This provision supplements Section 12 (Data Privacy) of Exhibit A the Award Agreement:

Participant hereby authorizes the Company and the Company’s representatives to discuss with and obtain all relevant information from all personnel, professional or not, involved in the administration and operation of the Plan. Participant further authorizes the Company and any Subsidiary or affiliate and the Administrator to disclose and discuss the Plan with their advisors. Participant further authorizes the Company and any Subsidiary or affiliate to record such information and to keep such information in Participant’s employee file.

 

-14-


FRANCE

Terms and Conditions

Language Consent . By accepting the grant, Participant confirms having read and fully understood the Plan and the Award Agreement which were provided in the English language. Participant accepts the terms of those documents accordingly.

Consentement Relatif à la Langue Utilisée . En acceptant l’attribution, le Participant confirme avoir lu et compris le Plan et le Contrat, qui ont été communiqués en langue anglaise. Le Participant accepte les termes de ces documents en connaissance de cause.

Notifications

Tax Reporting Information . If Participant holds Shares outside of France or maintains a foreign bank account, Participant is required to report such to the French tax authorities when filing his or her annual tax return.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in France.

GERMANY

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . If Participant remits proceeds in excess of €12,500 out of or into Germany, such cross-border payment must be reported monthly to the State Central Bank. In the event that Participant makes or receives a payment in excess of this amount, Participant is responsible for obtaining the appropriate form from a German bank and complying with applicable reporting requirements. In addition, the Participant must also report on an annual basis in the unlikely event that the Participant holds Shares exceeding 10% of the total voting capital of the Company.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Germany.

INDIA

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . Participant understands and agrees that he or she must repatriate any proceeds from cash settlement or the sale of Shares acquired under the Plan to India and convert the proceeds into local currency within 90 days of receipt. Participant will receive a foreign inward remittance certificate (“FIRC”) from the bank where he or she deposits the foreign currency. Participant should maintain the FIRC as evidence of the repatriation of funds in the event the Reserve Bank of India or his or her employer requests proof of repatriation.

 

-15-


Tax Information . To determine the Tax-Related Items, the Company or the Participant’s Indian employer must obtain a valuation from a Merchant Banker in India. Neither the Company nor the Indian employer is under any obligation to obtain a valuation at a particular price nor are they required to obtain a valuation more frequently than every 180 days.

IRELAND

Notifications

Director Notification Obligation . Participant acknowledges that if he or she is a director, shadow director or secretary of an Irish Subsidiary, Participant must notify the Irish Subsidiary in writing within five business days of receiving or disposing of an interest in the Company ( e.g ., the Restricted Stock Units, shares, etc.), or within five business days of becoming aware of the event giving rise to the notification requirement or within five business days of becoming a director or secretary if such an interest exists at the time. This notification requirement also applies with respect to the interests of Participant’s spouse or children under the age of 18 (whose interests will be attributed to Participant if Participant is a director, shadow director or secretary).

Securities Disclaimer. The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Ireland.

ITALY

Terms and Conditions

Authorization to Release and Transfer Necessary Personal Information . This provision replaces in its entirety Section 12 (Data Privacy) of the Exhibit A of the Award Agreement:

Participant understands that his or her employer (the “Employer”) and/or the Company may hold certain personal information about him or her, including, but not limited to, his or her name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social security number (or any other social or national identification number), salary, nationality, job title, number of shares held and the details of all Restricted Stock Units granted or any other entitlement to shares awarded, cancelled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding (the “Data”) for the purpose of implementing, administering and managing Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant is aware that providing the Company with his or her Data is necessary for the performance of this Agreement and that his or her refusal to provide such Data would make it impossible for the Company to perform its contractual obligations and may affect his or her ability to participate in the Plan.

The Controller of personal data processing is [INSERT] USA, and, pursuant to D.lgs 196/2003, its representative in Italy is with registered offices at Via [INSERT]. Participant understands that the Data may be transferred to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or affiliates, or to any third parties assisting in the implementation, administration and management of the Plan, including any transfer required to a broker or other third party with whom shares acquired pursuant to the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units or cash from the sale of such shares may be deposited. Furthermore, the recipients that may receive, possess, use, retain and transfer such Data for the above mentioned purposes may be located in Italy or elsewhere,

 

-16-


including outside of the European Union and that the recipients’ country (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws and protections than Participant’s country. The processing activity, including the transfer of Participant’s personal data abroad, outside of the European Union, as herein specified and pursuant to applicable laws and regulations, does not require Participant’s consent thereto as the processing is necessary for the performance of contractual obligations related to the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. Participant understands that Data processing relating to the purposes above specified shall take place under automated or non-automated conditions, anonymously when possible, that comply with the purposes for which Data are collected and with confidentiality and security provisions as set forth by applicable laws and regulations, with specific reference to D.lgs. 196/2003.

Participant understands that Data will be held only as long as is required by law or as necessary to implement, administer and manage Participant’s participation in the Plan. Participant understands that pursuant to art. 7 of D.Igs 196/2003, he or she has the right, including but not limited to, access, delete, update, request the rectification of his or her Data and cease, for legitimate reasons, the Data processing. Furthermore, Participant is aware that his or her Data will not be used for direct marketing purposes. In addition, the Data provided can be reviewed and questions or complaints can be addressed by contacting a local representative available at the following address: [INSERT].

Plan Document Acknowledgment . In accepting the Restricted Stock Units, Participant acknowledges that he or she has received a copy of the Plan and the Agreement and has reviewed the Plan and the Award Agreement, including this Appendix, in their entirety and fully understands and accepts all provisions of the Plan and the Award Agreement, including this Appendix. Participant further acknowledges that he or she has read and specifically and expressly approves the following paragraphs of the Award Agreement: Termination, Acknowledgement, Responsibility for Taxes, Data Privacy, Governing Law and Choice of Venue and Imposition of Other Requirements.

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . Participant is required to report in his or her annual tax return: (a) any transfers of cash or shares to or from Italy exceeding €10,000 or the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars; and (b) any foreign investments or investments (including proceeds from the sale of Restricted Stock Units acquired under the Plan) held outside of Italy exceeding €10,000 or the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars, if the investment may give rise to income in Italy. Participant is exempt from the formalities in (a) if the investments are made through an authorized broker resident in Italy, as the broker will comply with the reporting obligation on Participant’s behalf.

Securities Disclaimer. The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Italy.

 

-17-


JAPAN

Notifications

Offshore Assets Reporting . Participant is required to report details of any assets held outside of Japan as of December 31 st (including but not limited to any Shares acquired under the Plan), to the extent such assets have a total net fair market value exceeding ¥50,000,000. Such report is due by March 15th each year. Participant should consult with his or her personal tax advisor as to whether the reporting obligation applies to Participant and whether Participant will be required to report details of any outstanding Restricted Stock Units or Shares held by Participant in the report.

NETHERLANDS

Notifications

The Participant should be aware of the Dutch insider trading rules, which may affect the sale of Shares acquired under the Plan. In particular, Participant may be prohibited from effecting certain share transactions if the Participant has insider information regarding the Company. Below is a discussion of the applicable restrictions. Participant is advised to read the discussion carefully to determine whether the insider rules could apply to Participant. If it is uncertain whether the insider rules apply, the Company recommends that Participant consult with a legal advisor. The Company cannot be held liable if the Participant violates the Dutch insider trading rules. Participant is responsible for ensuring your compliance with these rules.

Prohibition Against Insider Trading

Dutch securities laws prohibit insider trading. The regulations are based upon the European Market Abuse Directive and are stated in section 5:56 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act ( Wet op het financieel toezicht or Wft ) and in section 2 of the Market Abuse Decree ( Besluit marktmisbruik Wft ). For further information you are referred to the website of the Authority for the Financial Markets ( AFM ); http://www.afm.nl/~/media/Files/brochures/2012/insider-dealing.ashx .

Given the broad scope of the definition of inside information, certain employees of the Company working at its Dutch Affiliate may have inside information and thus are prohibited from making a transaction in securities in the Netherlands at a time when they have such inside information. By entering into this Award Agreement and participating in the Plan, the Participant acknowledges having read and understood the notification above and acknowledges that it is the Participant’s responsibility to comply with the Dutch insider trading rules, as discussed herein.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in the Netherlands.

 

-18-


POLAND

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . Polish residents holding foreign securities (including shares of Stock) and maintaining accounts abroad must report information to the National Bank of Poland on transactions and balances of the securities and cash deposited in such accounts if the value of such transactions or balances exceeds €15,000. If required, the reports are due on a quarterly basis by the 20th day following the end of each quarter. The reports are filed on special forms available on the website of the National Bank of Poland. In addition, Participant should maintain evidence of such foreign exchange transactions for five years, in case of a request for their production by the National Bank of Poland.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Poland.

RUSSIA

Terms and Conditions

U.S. Transaction . Participant understands that the Restricted Stock Units shall be valid and this Agreement shall be concluded and become effective only when the Agreement is electronically received by the Company in the United States. Upon vesting of Restricted Stock Units, any Shares to be issued to Participant shall be delivered to him or her through a bank or brokerage account in the United States. Participant is not permitted to sell the shares directly to other Russian legal entities or individuals nor is Participant permitted to bring the shares into Russia.

Notifications

Securities Law Notification . The Award Agreement, the Plan and all other materials that Participant may receive regarding participation in the Plan do not constitute advertising or an offering of securities in Russia. Absent any requirement under local law, the issuance of securities pursuant to the Plan has not and will not be registered in Russia; hence, the securities described in any Plan-related documents may not be used for offering or public circulation in Russia.

Depending on the development of local regulatory requirements, the Company reserves the right to settle the Restricted Stock Units in cash or require the immediate sale of Shares following vesting of the Restricted Stock Units.

Exchange Control Information . Under current exchange control regulations, within a reasonably short time after sale of the Shares acquired under the Plan or the receipt of dividends (if any), Participant must repatriate the proceeds to Russia. Such proceeds must initially be credited to Participant through a foreign currency account at an authorized bank in Russia. After the proceeds are initially received in Russia, they may be further remitted to foreign banks in accordance with Russian exchange control laws.

Participant is encouraged to contact his or her personal advisor before remitting his or her proceeds to Russia as exchange control requirements may change.

 

-19-


SINGAPORE

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is being made pursuant to the “Qualifying Person” exemption under section 273(1)(f) of the Singapore Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289, 2006 Ed.) (“SFA”). The Plan has not been lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Participant should note that the Restricted Stock Units are subject to section 257 of the SFA and Participant will not be able to make any subsequent sale in Singapore of the Shares acquired through the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units or any offer of such sale in Singapore unless such sale or offer is made pursuant to the exemptions under Part XIII Division (1) Subdivision (4) (other than section 280) of the SFA.

Director Notification Obligation . If Participant is a director, associate director or shadow director of a Singapore Subsidiary, Participant is subject to certain notification requirements under the Singapore Companies Act. Among these requirements is an obligation to notify the Singapore Subsidiary in writing when Participant receives an interest ( e.g ., Restricted Stock Units, shares of Stock) in the Company or any Subsidiary. In addition, Participant must notify the Singapore Subsidiary when Participant sells Shares of the Company or any Subsidiary (including when Participant sells Shares acquired through the vesting of his or her Restricted Stock Units). These notifications must be made within two business days of acquiring or disposing of any interest in the Company or any Subsidiary. In addition, a notification must be made of Participant’s interests in the Company or any Subsidiary within two business days of becoming a director.

SOUTH KOREA

Notification

Exchange Control Information . If Participant realizes US$500,000 or more from the sale of Shares or the receipt of dividends in a single transaction, Participant must repatriate the proceeds to Korea within 18 months of the sale/receipt. Under certain circumstances, separate sales may be deemed a single transaction and aggregated for purposes of the US$500,000 threshold. Accordingly, Participant is strongly encouraged to consult his or her personal legal advisor if the sum of all such transactions exceeds this threshold.

SPAIN

Terms and Conditions

Nature of Grant . This provision supplements Section 10 (Nature of Grant) of Exhibit A of the Award Agreement:

In accepting the Restricted Stock Units, Participant consents to participate in the Plan and acknowledges that he or she has received a copy of the Plan.

 

-20-


Participant understands that the Company has unilaterally, gratuitously, and in its sole discretion decided to grant Restricted Stock Units under the Plan to individuals who may be employees of the Company or one of its Subsidiaries or affiliates throughout the world. The decision is a limited decision that is entered into upon the express assumption and condition that any grant will not bind the Company or any Subsidiary or affiliate, other than to the extent set forth in the Agreement. Consequently, Participant understands that the grant of Restricted Stock Units is made on the assumption and condition that the Restricted Stock Units and any Shares acquired under the Plan are not part of any employment contract (either with the Company or any Subsidiary or affiliate), and shall not be considered a mandatory benefit, salary for any purposes (including severance compensation) or any other right whatsoever. Further, Participant understands that the grant of the Restricted Stock Units would not be made but for the assumptions and conditions referred to above; thus, he or she acknowledges and freely accept that, should any or all of the assumptions be mistaken or should any of the conditions not be met for any reason, then any grant of or right to the Restricted Stock Units shall be null and void.

Notifications

Tax Reporting Obligation for Assets Held Abroad . Beginning January 2013, individuals in Spain are required to report assets and right located outside of Spain (which would include Shares or any funds held in a U.S. brokerage account) on Form 720 by March 31st after each calendar year. A report is not required if the value of assets held outside of Spain is EUR 50,000 or less or if the assets held outside of Spain have not increased by more than EUR 20,000 compared to the previous year (assuming that a prior report has been filed reporting these assets). Please consult your personal tax advisor for more information on how to complete the report and the specific information on what types of assets are required to be reported.

Exchange Control Information . Participant must declare the acquisition of stock in a foreign company (including Shares acquired under the Plan) to the Dirección General de Política Comercial e Inversiones Exteriores (“DGPCIE”) of the Ministerio de Economia for statistical purposes. He or she must also declare ownership of any stock in a foreign company (including Sharesacquired under the Plan) with the Directorate of Foreign Transactions each January while the stock is owned. In addition, if Participant wishes to import the share certificates into Spain, he or she must declare the importation of such securities to the DGPCIE.

When receiving foreign currency payments derived from the ownership of the shares ( i.e. , dividends or sale proceeds), Participant must inform the financial institution receiving the payment of the basis upon which such payment is made. Participant will need to provide the following information: (i) his or her name, address, and fiscal identification number; (ii) the name and corporate domicile of the Company; (iii) the amount of the payment and the currency used; (iv) the country of origin; (v) the reasons for the payment; and (vi) any further information that may be required.

Securities Disclaimer . The grant of the Restricted Stock Units is exempt from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Spain.

 

-21-


UNITED KINGDOM

Terms and Conditions

Tax Reporting and Payment Liability . The following provision supplements Exhibit A, Section 7 (Responsibility for Taxes) of the Award Agreement:

Participant agrees that the Company or the Employer may calculate the Tax-Related Items to be withheld and accounted for by reference to the maximum applicable rates, without prejudice to any right Participant may have to recover any overpayment from relevant U.K. tax authorities. If payment or withholding of any income tax liability arising in connection with Participant’s participation in the Plan is not made by Participant to the Employer within ninety (90) days of the event giving rise to such income tax liability or such other period specified in Section 222(1)(c) of the U.K. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the “Due Date”), Participant understands and agrees that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a loan owed by the Participant to the Employer, effective on the Due Date. Participant understands and agrees that the loan will bear interest at the then-current official rate of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, it will be immediately due and repayable by the Participant, and the Company and/or the Employer may recover it at any time thereafter by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Award Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Participant understands and agrees that if he or she is a director or an executive officer of the Company (within the meaning of such terms for purposes of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act), he or she will not be eligible for such a loan to cover the income tax liability. In the event that Participant is a director or executive officer and the income tax is not collected from or paid by the Participant by the Due Date, Participant understands that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute an additional benefit to Participant on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions will be payable. Participant understands and agrees that he or she will be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company or the Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any primary and (to the extent legally possible) secondary class 1 national insurance contributions due on this additional benefit which the Company or the Employer may recover from the Participant by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Award Agreement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Participant is an executive officer or director (as within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), the terms of the provision above will not apply. In the event that Participant is an executive office or director and income tax is not collected from or paid by Participant by the Due Date, the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a benefit to Participant on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions (“NICs”) (including Employer’s NICs, as defined below) may be payable. Participant understands that he or she will be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to HMRC under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company and/or the Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any NICs due on this additional benefit.

 

-22-


Joint Election .

Tax-Related Items, as defined in Exhibit A, Section 7 shall include Primary and to the extent legally possible Secondary Class 1 National Insurance Contributions.

As a necessary condition of participation in the Plan, Participant agrees to accept any liability for all secondary Class 1 NICs which may be payable by the Company and/or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant in connection with the Restricted Stock Units and any event giving rise to Tax-Related Items (the “Employer’s NICs”). Without limitation to the foregoing, Participant agrees to enter into a joint election with the Company (the “Joint Election”), the form of such Joint Election being formally approved by HMRC, and to execute any other consents or elections required to accomplish the transfer of the entirety of Employer’s NICs to the employee. Participant further agrees to execute such other joint elections as may be required between Participant and any successor to the Company and/or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant. Participant further agrees that the Company and/or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant may collect the Employer’s NICs from him or her by any of the means set forth in Exhibit A, Section 7 of the Award Agreement.

If Participant does not enter into a Joint Election, if approval of the Joint Election has been withdrawn by HMRC or if such Joint Election is jointly revoked by Participant and the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, as applicable, the Company, in its sole discretion and without any liability to the Company or the Parent or Subsidiary employing or retaining Participant, may choose not to issue or deliver any Shares to the employee upon vesting of the Restricted Stock Units.

(Joint Election Form on the next page)

Notification

Securities Disclaimer . Neither this Agreement nor Appendix is an approved prospectus for the purposes of section 85(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) and no offer of transferable securities to the public (for the purposes of section 102B of FSMA) is being made in connection with the Plan. The Plan and the Restricted Stock Units are exclusively available in the UK to bona fide employees and former employees and any other UK Subsidiary.

****

End of the Appendix

 

-23-


JOINT ELECTION FOR THE TRANSFER OF EMPLOYER’S NATIONAL

INSURANCE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EMPLOYEE

1. Between

The Company Twitter UK Ltd (‘the Secondary Contributor’ who is the employer), whose Registered Office is at 100 NEW BRIDGE ST, LONDON, EC4V 6JA and registered number is 06492580, and

             , ‘the Employee’, whose National Insurance number is              .

2. Purpose and scope of election

(a) This election covers

(Delete as appropriate*)

 

   

grant of employment related securities options*

 

   

the award of employment related restricted securities and/ or*

 

   

the award of employment related convertible securities *

under [enter names of all Schemes/Plans/Individual awards or grants that may be used]

 

   

Plan: Twitter, Inc. 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (as amended and restated from time to time)*

 

   

Individual awards or grants [Where no specific scheme or plan has been set-up such as the grant of EMI options] :                          *

(Delete as appropriate*)

 

   

on                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]* or

 

   

between                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]* and                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]* or

 

   

on or after                      [ DD/MM/YYYY ]*

(b) This joint election is made in accordance with Paragraph 3B(1) of Schedule 1 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (‘SSCBA 1992’).

(c) The Company requests the Employee to enter into this joint election to transfer the liability for the secondary contributor’s National Insurance contributions (NICs) that arise on any relevant employment income covered by this election from the secondary contributor to the Employee.

(d) The employer’s National Insurance liability that shall transfer from the employer to the Employee under this joint election is

(Delete as appropriate*)

 

   

the whole of the secondary liability or

 

-24-


   

[      %] of the secondary liability or

 

   

the secondary liability on gains in excess of [£      ]

Relevant employment income from securities and options specified in 2(a) on which employer’s NICs becomes due is defined as:

i. an amount that counts as employment income of the earner under section 426 of ITEPA 2003 (restricted securities: charge on certain post-acquisition events),

ii. an amount that counts as employment income of the earner under section 438 of that Act (convertible securities: charge on certain post-acquisition events), or

iii. any gain that is treated as remuneration derived from the earner’s employment by virtue of section 4(4)(a) SSCBA 1992.

(e) This joint election will not apply to the extent that it relates to relevant employment income which is employment income of the earner by virtue of Chapter 3A of Part 7 of ITEPA 2003 (employment income: securities with artificially depressed market value).

(f) This election does not apply in relation to any liability, or any part of any liability, arising as a result of regulations being given retrospective effect by virtue of section 4B(2) of either the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992.

3. Arrangements for payment of secondary NICs

(a) In signing this joint-election the Employee authorises the Company, or other body (if applicable), to recover an amount sufficient to cover the liability for the employer’s NICs transferred under this election in accordance with the arrangements summarised below [and further detailed in the attached scheme/plan/personal arrangement, [delete where necessary]].

 

   

A deduction from salary or other payments due.

 

   

The delivery in cleared funds from the Employee in sufficient time to enable the Company to make payment to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

 

   

The sale of sufficient shares acquired from the Employee’s securities option following notification to the Company Secretary/Scheme Administrator (delete as necessary or add other party if applicable), the proceeds of which must be delivered to the Company in sufficient time for payment to be made to HMRC by the due date.

 

   

A deduction from any cash payment, treated as Relevant Employment Income, given to the Employee.

 

   

Where the proceeds of the gain are to be made through a third party, the Employee will authorise that party to withhold an amount from the payment or to sell shares sufficient to cover the secondary NICs transferred. Such amount will be paid in sufficient time to enable the Company to make payment to HMRC by the due date.

 

-25-


(b) The Company and the Employee will ensure that payment of the liability for the secondary NICs will be made to HMRC within 14 days following the end of the Income Tax month in which the relevant employment income arises – the due date.

The Employee understands that in making this election they will be personally liable for the secondary NICs covered by this election.

4. Duration of this election

(a) This joint election shall continue in force from the time it is made until whichever of the following first takes place:

 

   

The Company gives notice to the Employee terminating the joint election

 

   

it is cancelled jointly by the Company and the Employee

 

   

it ceases to have effect in accordance with the terms of the joint election

 

   

HMRC serves notice on the Company that the approval of the joint election has been withdrawn

(b) The terms of this joint-election will continue in full force regardless of whether the Employee ceases to be an employee of the Company.

5. Declaration

In signing this joint election both the Company and the Employee agree to be bound by its terms as stated above.

 

Signature of Employee  

 

  Date           /          /              
Signature for the Company  

 

  Date           /          /              
Position in Company  

 

     

 

-26-

Exhibit 10.3

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

1. Purpose . The purpose of the Plan is to provide employees of the Company and its Designated Companies with an opportunity to purchase Common Stock through accumulated Contributions. The Company’s intends for the Plan to have two components: a Code Section 423 Component (“ 423 Component ”) and a non-Code Section 423 Component (“ Non-423 Component ”). The Company’s intention is to have 423 Component of the Plan qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” under Section 423 of the Code. The provisions of the 423 Component, accordingly, will be construed so as to extend and limit Plan participation in a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis consistent with the requirements of Section 423 of the Code. In addition, this Plan authorizes the grant of an option to purchase shares of Common Stock under the Non-423 Component that does not qualify as an “employee stock purchase plan” under Section 423 of the Code; such an option will be granted pursuant to rules, procedures or sub-plans adopted by the Administrator designed to achieve tax, securities laws or other objectives for Eligible Employees and the Company. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Non-423 Component will operate and be administered in the same manner as the 423 Component.

2. Definitions .

(a) “ Administrator ” means the Board or any Committee designated by the Board to administer the Plan pursuant to Section 14.

(b) “ Affiliate ” means any entity, other than a Subsidiary, in which the Company has an equity or other ownership interest.

(c) “ Applicable Laws ” means the requirements relating to the administration of equity-based awards and the related issuance of shares of Common Stock under U.S. state corporate laws, U.S. federal and state securities laws, the Code, any stock exchange or quotation system on which the Common Stock is listed or quoted and the applicable securities and exchange control laws of any foreign country or jurisdiction where options are, or will be, granted under the Plan.

(d) “ Board ” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

(e) “ Change in Control ” means the occurrence of any of the following events:

(i) A change in the ownership of the Company which occurs on the date that any one person, or more than one person acting as a group (“ Person ”), acquires ownership of the stock of the Company that, together with the stock held by such Person, constitutes more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the stock of the Company; provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection, the acquisition of additional stock by any one Person, who is considered to own more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the stock of the Company will not be considered a Change in Control; or

 

1


(ii) A change in the effective control of the Company which occurs on the date that a majority of members of the Board is replaced during any twelve (12) month period by Directors whose appointment or election is not endorsed by a majority of the members of the Board prior to the date of the appointment or election. For purposes of this clause (ii), if any Person is considered to be in effective control of the Company, the acquisition of additional control of the Company by the same Person will not be considered a Change in Control; or

(iii) A change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the Company’s assets which occurs on the date that any Person acquires (or has acquired during the twelve (12) month period ending on the date of the most recent acquisition by such person or persons) assets from the Company that have a total gross fair market value equal to or more than fifty percent (50%) of the total gross fair market value of all of the assets of the Company immediately prior to such acquisition or acquisitions; provided, however, that for purposes of this subsection, the following will not constitute a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the Company’s assets: (A) a transfer to an entity that is controlled by the Company’s stockholders immediately after the transfer, or (B) a transfer of assets by the Company to: (1) a stockholder of the Company (immediately before the asset transfer) in exchange for or with respect to the Company’s stock, (2) an entity, fifty percent (50%) or more of the total value or voting power of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company, (3) a Person, that owns, directly or indirectly, fifty percent (50%) or more of the total value or voting power of all the outstanding stock of the Company, or (4) an entity, at least fifty percent (50%) of the total value or voting power of which is owned, directly or indirectly, by a Person described in this subsection (iii)(B)(3). For purposes of this subsection, gross fair market value means the value of the assets of the Company, or the value of the assets being disposed of, determined without regard to any liabilities associated with such assets.

For purposes of this definition, persons will be considered to be acting as a group if they are owners of a corporation that enters into a merger, consolidation, purchase or acquisition of stock, or similar business transaction with the Company.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, a transaction will not be deemed a Change in Control unless the transaction qualifies as a change in control event within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as it has been and may be amended from time to time, and any proposed or final U.S. Treasury Regulations and Internal Revenue Service guidance that has been promulgated or may be promulgated thereunder from time to time.

Further and for the avoidance of doubt, a transaction will not constitute a Change in Control if: (i) its sole purpose is to change the state of the Company’s incorporation, or (ii) its sole purpose is to create a holding company that will be owned in substantially the same proportions by the persons who held the Company’s securities immediately before such transaction.

 

2


(f) “ Code ” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Reference to a specific section of the Code or U.S. Treasury Regulation thereunder will include such section or regulation, any valid regulation or other official applicable guidance promulgated under such section, and any comparable provision of any future legislation or regulation amending, supplementing or superseding such section or regulation.

(g) “ Committee ” means a committee of the Board appointed in accordance with Section 14 hereof.

(h) “ Common Stock ” means the common stock of the Company.

(i) “ Company ” means Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation, or any successor thereto.

(j) “ Compensation ” means an Eligible Employee’s base straight time gross earnings, commissions (to the extent such commissions are an integral, recurring part of compensation), incentive compensation, bonuses, payments for overtime and shift premium, but exclusive of payments for equity compensation income and other similar compensation. The Administrator, in its discretion, may, on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis, establish a different definition of Compensation for a subsequent Offering Period.

(k) “ Contributions ” means the payroll deductions and other additional payments that the Company may permit to be made by a Participant to fund the exercise of options granted pursuant to the Plan.

(l) “ Designated Company ” means any Subsidiary or Affiliate that has been designated by the Administrator from time to time in its sole discretion as eligible to participate in the Plan. For purposes of the 423 Component, only the Company and its Subsidiaries may be Designated Companies, provided, however that at any given time, a Subsidiary that is a Designated Company under the 423 Component shall not be a Designated Company under the Non-423 Component.

(m) “ Director ” means a member of the Board.

(n) “ Eligible Employee ” means any individual who is a common law employee providing services to the Company or a Designated Company and is customarily employed for at least twenty (20) hours per week and more than five (5) months in any calendar year by the Employer, or any lesser number of hours per week and/or number of months in any calendar year established by the Administrator (if required under Applicable Law) for purposes of any separate Offering or for Eligible Employee participating in the Non-423 Component. For purposes of the Plan, the employment relationship will be treated as continuing intact while the individual is on sick leave or other leave of absence that the Employer approves or is legally protected under Applicable Laws. Where the period of leave exceeds three (3) months and the individual’s right to reemployment is not guaranteed either by statute or by contract, the employment relationship will be deemed to have terminated three (3) months and one (1) day following the commencement of such leave. The Administrator, in its discretion, from time to

 

3


time may, prior to an Enrollment Date for all options to be granted on such Enrollment Date in an Offering, determine (for each Offering under the 423 Component, on a uniform and nondiscriminatory basis or as otherwise permitted by Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2) that the definition of Eligible Employee will or will not include an individual if he or she: (i) has not completed at least two (2) years of service since his or her last hire date (or such lesser period of time as may be determined by the Administrator in its discretion), (ii) customarily works not more than twenty (20) hours per week (or such lesser period of time as may be determined by the Administrator in its discretion), (iii) customarily works not more than five (5) months per calendar year (or such lesser period of time as may be determined by the Administrator in its discretion), (iv) is a highly compensated employee within the meaning of Section 414(q) of the Code, or (v) is a highly compensated employee within the meaning of Section 414(q) of the Code with compensation above a certain level or is an officer or subject to the disclosure requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, provided the exclusion is applied with respect to each Offering under the 423 Component in an identical manner to all highly compensated individuals of the Employer whose employees are participating in that Offering. Each exclusion shall be applied with respect to an Offering under a 423 Component in a manner complying with U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(e)(2)(ii). Such exclusions may be applied with respect to an Offering under the Non-423 Component without regard to the limitations of Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2.

(o) “ Employer ” means the employer of the applicable Eligible Employee(s).

(p) “ Enrollment Date ” means the first Trading Day of each Offering Period.

(q) “ Exchange Act ” means the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(r) “ Exercise Date ” means the first Trading Day on or after May 15 and November 15 of each Purchase Period. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the first Exercise Date under the Plan will be May 15, 2014.

(s) “ Fair Market Value ” means, as of any date and unless the Administrator determines otherwise, the value of Common Stock determined as follows:

(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange or a national market system, including without limitation the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ Global Select Market, the NASDAQ Global Market or the NASDAQ Capital Market of The NASDAQ Stock Market, its Fair Market Value will be the closing sales price for such stock as quoted on such exchange or system on the date of determination (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable;

(ii) If the Common Stock is regularly quoted by a recognized securities dealer but selling prices are not reported, its Fair Market Value will be the mean between the high bid and low asked prices for the Common Stock on the date of determination (or if no bids and asks were reported on that date, as applicable, on the last Trading Day such bids and asks were reported), as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Administrator deems reliable;

 

4


(iii) In the absence of an established market for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value thereof will be determined in good faith by the Administrator; or

(iv) For purposes of the Enrollment Date of the first Offering Period under the Plan, the Fair Market Value will be the initial price to the public as set forth in the final prospectus included within the registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the initial public offering of the Common Stock (the “Registration Statement”).

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the determination date for the Fair Market Value occurs on a weekend or holiday, the Fair Market Value will be the price as determined in accordance with subsections (i) through (iii) above (as applicable) on the immediately preceding business day, unless otherwise determined by the Administrator.

(t) “ Fiscal Year ” means the fiscal year of the Company.

(u) “ New Exercise Date ” means a new Exercise Date if the Administrator shortens any Offering Period then in progress.

(v) “ Offering ” means an offer under the Plan of an option that may be exercised during an Offering Period as further described in Section 4. For purposes of the Plan, the Administrator may designate separate Offerings under the Plan (the terms of which need not be identical) in which Eligible Employees of one or more Employers will participate, even if the dates of the applicable Offering Periods of each such Offering are identical and the provisions of the Plan will separately apply to each Offering. To the extent permitted by U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(a)(1), the terms of each Offering need not be identical provided that the terms of the Plan and an Offering together satisfy U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(a)(2) and (a)(3).

(w) “ Offering Periods ” means the periods of approximately twelve (12) months during which an option granted pursuant to the Plan may be exercised, (i) commencing on the first Trading Day on or after May 15 and November 15 of each year and terminating on the first Trading Day on or after May 15 and November 15, approximately twelve (12) months later; provided, however, that the first Offering Period under the Plan will commence with the first Trading Day on or after the date on which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declares the Company’s Registration Statement effective and will end on the first Trading Day on or after November 15, 2014, and provided, further, that the second Offering Period under the Plan will commence on the first Trading Day on or after November 15, 2014. The duration and timing of Offering Periods may be changed pursuant to Sections 4 and 20.

(x) “ Parent ” means a “parent corporation,” whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(e) of the Code.

 

5


(y) “ Participant ” means an Eligible Employee that participates in the Plan.

(z) “ Plan ” means this Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

(aa) “ Purchase Period ” means the approximately six (6) month period commencing after one Exercise Date and ending with the next Exercise Date, except that the first Purchase Period of any Offering Period will commence on the Enrollment Date and end with the next Exercise Date. Unless the Administrator provides otherwise, the Purchase Period will have the same duration and coincide with the length of the Offering Period.

(bb) “ Purchase Price ” means an amount equal to eighty-five percent (85%) of the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock on the Enrollment Date or on the Exercise Date, whichever is lower; provided however, that the Purchase Price may be determined for subsequent Offering Periods by the Administrator subject to compliance with Section 423 of the Code (or any successor rule or provision or any other Applicable Law, regulation or stock exchange rule) or pursuant to Section 20.

(cc) “ Registration Date ” means the effective date of the first registration statement that is filed by the Company and declared effective pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, with respect to any class of the Company’s securities.

(dd) “ Subsidiary ” means a “subsidiary corporation,” whether now or hereafter existing, as defined in Section 424(f) of the Code.

(ee) “ Trading Day ” means a day on which the national stock exchange upon which the Common Stock is listed is open for trading.

(ff) “ U.S. Treasury Regulations ” means the Treasury regulations of the Code. Reference to a specific Treasury Regulation or Section of the Code shall include such Treasury Regulation or Section, any valid regulation promulgated under such Section, and any comparable provision of any future legislation or regulation amending, supplementing or superseding such Section or regulation.

3. Eligibility .

(a) First Offering Period . Any individual who is an Eligible Employee immediately prior to the first Offering Period will be automatically enrolled in the first Offering Period.

(b) Subsequent Offering Periods . Any Eligible Employee on a given Enrollment Date subsequent to the first Offering Period will be eligible to participate in the Plan, subject to the requirements of Section 5.

(c) Non-U.S. Employees . Eligible Employees who are citizens or residents of a non-U.S. jurisdiction (without regard to whether they also are citizens or residents of the United States or resident aliens (within the meaning of Section 7701(b)(1)(A) of the Code)) may

 

6


be excluded from participation in the Plan or an Offering if the participation of such Eligible Employees is prohibited under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction or if complying with the laws of the applicable jurisdiction would cause the Plan or an Offering to violate Section 423 of the Code. In the case of the Non-423 Component, an Eligible Employee may be excluded from participation in the Plan or an Offering if the Administrator has determined that participation of such Eligible Employee is not advisable or practicable.

(d) Limitations . Any provisions of the Plan to the contrary notwithstanding, no Eligible Employee will be granted an option under the Plan (i) to the extent that, immediately after the grant, such Eligible Employee (or any other person whose stock would be attributed to such Eligible Employee pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) would own capital stock of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company and/or hold outstanding options to purchase such stock possessing five percent (5%) or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes of the capital stock of the Company or of any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company, or (ii) to the extent that his or her rights to purchase stock under all employee stock purchase plans (as defined in Section 423 of the Code) of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company accrues at a rate, which exceeds twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) worth of stock (determined at the Fair Market Value of the stock at the time such option is granted) for each calendar year in which such option is outstanding at any time, as determined in accordance with Section 423 of the Code and the regulations thereunder.

4. Offering Periods . The Plan will be implemented by consecutive Offering Periods with a new Offering Period commencing on the first Trading Day on or after May 15 and November 15 each year, or on such other date as the Administrator will determine; provided, however, that the first Offering Period under the Plan will commence with the first Trading Day on or after the date upon which the Company’s Registration Statement is declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and end on the first Trading Day on or after November 15, 2014, and provided, further, that the second Offering Period under the Plan will commence on the first Trading Day on or after November 15, 2014. The Administrator will have the power to change the duration of Offering Periods (including the commencement dates thereof) with respect to future Offerings without stockholder approval if such change is announced prior to the scheduled beginning of the first Offering Period to be affected thereafter; provided, however, that no Offering Period may last more than twenty-seven (27) months.

5. Participation .

(a) First Offering Period . An Eligible Employee will be entitled to continue to participate in the first Offering Period pursuant to Section 3(a) only if such individual submits a subscription agreement authorizing Contributions in a form determined by the Administrator (which may be similar to the form attached hereto as Exhibit A ) to the Company’s designated plan administrator (i) no earlier than the effective date of the Form S-8 registration statement with respect to the issuance of Common Stock under this Plan and (ii) no later than ten (10) business days following the effective date of such S-8 registration statement or such other period of time as the Administrator may determine (the “Enrollment Window”). An Eligible Employee’s failure to submit the subscription agreement during the Enrollment Window will result in the automatic termination of such individual’s participation in the first Offering Period.

 

7


(b) Subsequent Offering Periods . An Eligible Employee may participate in the Plan pursuant to Section 3(b) by (i) submitting to the Company’s stock administration office (or its designee), on or before a date determined by the Administrator prior to an applicable Enrollment Date, a properly completed subscription agreement authorizing Contributions in the form provided by the Administrator for such purpose, or (ii) following an electronic or other enrollment procedure determined by the Administrator.

6. Contributions .

(a) At the time a Participant enrolls in the Plan pursuant to Section 5, he or she will elect to have Contributions (in the form of payroll deductions or otherwise, to the extent permitted by the Administrator) made on each pay day during the Offering Period in an amount not exceeding fifteen percent (15%) of the Compensation, which he or she receives on each pay day during the Offering Period (for illustrative purposes, should a pay day occur on an Exercise Date, a Participant will have any payroll deductions made on such day applied to his or her account under the then-current Purchase Period or Offering Period). The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may permit all Participants in a specified Offering to contribute amounts to the Plan through payment by cash, check or other means set forth in the subscription agreement prior to each Exercise Date of each Purchase Period. A Participant’s subscription agreement will remain in effect for successive Offering Periods unless terminated as provided in Section 10 hereof.

(b) In the event Contributions are made in the form of payroll deductions, such payroll deductions for a Participant will commence on the first pay day following the Enrollment Date and will end on the last pay day prior to the Exercise Date of such Offering Period to which such authorization is applicable, unless sooner terminated by the Participant as provided in Section 10 hereof; provided, however, that for the first Offering Period, payroll deductions will commence on the first pay day on or following the end of the Enrollment Window.

(c) All Contributions made for a Participant will be credited to his or her account under the Plan and Contributions will be made in whole percentages only. A Participant may not make any additional payments into such account.

(d) A Participant may discontinue his or her participation in the Plan as provided in Section 10. Except as may be permitted by the Administrator, as determined in its sole discretion, a Participant may not change the rate of his or her Contributions during an Offering Period.

(e) Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent necessary to comply with Section 423(b)(8) of the Code and Section 3(b), a Participant’s Contributions may be decreased to zero percent (0%) at any time during a Purchase Period. Subject to Section 423(b)(8) of the Code and Section 3(b) hereof, Contributions will recommence at the rate originally elected by the Participant effective as of the beginning of the first Purchase Period scheduled to end in the following calendar year, unless terminated by the Participant as provided in Section 10.

 

8


(f) Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in the Plan, the Administrator may allow Eligible Employees to participate in the Plan via cash contributions instead of payroll deductions if (i) payroll deductions are not permitted under applicable local law, (ii) the Administrator determines that cash contributions are permissible under Section 423 of the Code or (iii) for Participants participating in the Non-423 Component.

(g) At the time the option is exercised, in whole or in part, or at the time some or all of the Common Stock issued under the Plan is disposed of (or any other time that a taxable event related to the Plan occurs), the Participant must make adequate provision for the Company’s or Employer’s federal, state, local or any other tax liability payable to any authority including taxes imposed by jurisdictions outside of the U.S., national insurance, social security or other tax withholding obligations, if any, which arise upon the exercise of the option or the disposition of the Common Stock (or any other time that a taxable event related to the Plan occurs). At any time, the Company or the Employer may, but will not be obligated to, withhold from the Participant’s compensation the amount necessary for the Company or the Employer to meet applicable withholding obligations, including any withholding required to make available to the Company or the Employer any tax deductions or benefits attributable to sale or early disposition of Common Stock by the Eligible Employee. In addition, the Company or the Employer may, but will not be obligated to, withhold from the proceeds of the sale of Common Stock or any other method of withholding the Company or the Employer deems appropriate to the extent permitted by U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(f).

7. Grant of Option . On the Enrollment Date of each Offering Period, each Eligible Employee participating in such Offering Period will be granted an option to purchase on each Exercise Date during such Offering Period (at the applicable Purchase Price) up to a number of shares of Common Stock determined by dividing such Eligible Employee’s Contributions accumulated prior to such Exercise Date and retained in the Eligible Employee’s account as of the Exercise Date by the applicable Purchase Price; provided that in no event will an Eligible Employee be permitted to purchase during each Purchase Period more than 3,000 shares of Common Stock (subject to any adjustment pursuant to Section 19) and provided further that such purchase will be subject to the limitations set forth in Sections 3(c) and 13. The Eligible Employee may accept the grant of such option (i) with respect to the first Offering Period by submitting a properly completed subscription agreement in accordance with the requirements of Section 5 on or before the last day of the Enrollment Window, and (ii) with respect to any subsequent Offering Period under the Plan, by electing to participate in the Plan in accordance with the requirements of Section 5. The Administrator may, for future Offering Periods, increase or decrease, in its absolute discretion, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that an Eligible Employee may purchase during each Purchase Period of an Offering Period. Exercise of the option will occur as provided in Section 8, unless the Participant has withdrawn pursuant to Section 10. The option will expire on the last day of the Offering Period.

 

9


8. Exercise of Option .

(a) Unless a Participant withdraws from the Plan as provided in Section 10, his or her option for the purchase of shares of Common Stock will be exercised automatically on the Exercise Date, and the maximum number of full shares subject to the option will be purchased for such Participant at the applicable Purchase Price with the accumulated Contributions from his or her account. No fractional shares of Common Stock will be purchased; any Contributions accumulated in a Participant’s account, which are not sufficient to purchase a full share will be retained in the Participant’s account for the subsequent Purchase Period or Offering Period, subject to earlier withdrawal by the Participant as provided in Section 10. Any other funds left over in a Participant’s account after the Exercise Date will be returned to the Participant. During a Participant’s lifetime, a Participant’s option to purchase shares hereunder is exercisable only by him or her.

(b) If the Administrator determines that, on a given Exercise Date, the number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which options are to be exercised may exceed (i) the number of shares of Common Stock that were available for sale under the Plan on the Enrollment Date of the applicable Offering Period, or (ii) the number of shares of Common Stock available for sale under the Plan on such Exercise Date, the Administrator may in its sole discretion (x) provide that the Company will make a pro rata allocation of the shares of Common Stock available for purchase on such Enrollment Date or Exercise Date, as applicable, in as uniform a manner as will be practicable and as it will determine in its sole discretion to be equitable among all Participants exercising options to purchase Common Stock on such Exercise Date, and continue all Offering Periods then in effect or (y) provide that the Company will make a pro rata allocation of the shares available for purchase on such Enrollment Date or Exercise Date, as applicable, in as uniform a manner as will be practicable and as it will determine in its sole discretion to be equitable among all participants exercising options to purchase Common Stock on such Exercise Date, and terminate any or all Offering Periods then in effect pursuant to Section 20. The Company may make a pro rata allocation of the shares available on the Enrollment Date of any applicable Offering Period pursuant to the preceding sentence, notwithstanding any authorization of additional shares for issuance under the Plan by the Company’s stockholders subsequent to such Enrollment Date.

(c) Further, with respect to any Offering under the Non-423 Component that is made to Participants of Designated Companies within the European Economic Area (the “EEA”), if a prospectus may be required to be filed in accordance with EU Prospectus Directive No. 2003/71/EC, as currently and hereinafter amended (the “EU Prospectus Directive”), then until such time as a valid prospectus is on file or a prospectus is not required or is no longer required under the EU Prospectus Directive in connection with such Offerings under the Plan, the total Purchase Price payable for the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock offered under this Plan under all Offerings that are not otherwise exempt from the EU Prospectus Directive made to Participants of Designated Companies within the EEA for any twelve (12)-month period shall not exceed EUR 5 million (the “EEA Limit”). If the Administrator determines that, on a given Enrollment Date, the total Purchase Price payable for the number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which options are to be exercised may

 

10


cause the EEA Limit to be exceeded, the Administrator may in its sole discretion (x) provide that the Company will make a pro rata allocation of the shares of Common Stock available for purchase and under the EEA Limit on such Enrollment Date, as applicable, in as uniform a manner as will be practicable and as it will determine in its sole discretion to be equitable among all Participants of Designated Companies within the EEA exercising options to purchase Common Stock by reference to the Offering Period beginning on that Enrollment Date, and continue all Offering Periods then in effect or (y) provide that the Company will make a pro rata allocation of the shares of Common Stock available for purchase and under the EEA Limit on such Enrollment Date, as applicable, in as uniform a manner as will be practicable and as it will determine in its sole discretion to be equitable among all Participants of Designated Companies within the EEA exercising options to purchase Common Stock by reference to the Offering Period beginning on that Enrollment Date, and terminate any or all Offering Periods then in effect pursuant to Section 20.

9. Delivery . As soon as reasonably practicable after each Exercise Date on which a purchase of shares of Common Stock occurs, the Company will arrange the delivery to each Participant of the shares purchased upon exercise of his or her option in a form determined by the Administrator (in its sole discretion) and pursuant to rules established by the Administrator. The Company may permit or require that shares be deposited directly with a broker designated by the Company or to a designated agent of the Company, and the Company may utilize electronic or automated methods of share transfer. The Company may require that shares be retained with such broker or agent for a designated period of time and/or may establish other procedures to permit tracking of disqualifying dispositions of such shares. No Participant will have any voting, dividend, or other stockholder rights with respect to shares of Common Stock subject to any option granted under the Plan until such shares have been purchased and delivered to the Participant as provided in this Section 9.

10. Withdrawal .

(a) A Participant may withdraw all but not less than all the Contributions credited to his or her account and not yet used to exercise his or her option under the Plan at any time by (i) submitting to the Company’s stock administration office (or its designee) a written notice of withdrawal in the form determined by the Administrator for such purpose (which may be similar to the form attached hereto as Exhibit B ), or (ii) following an electronic or other withdrawal procedure determined by the Administrator. All of the Participant’s Contributions credited to his or her account will be paid to such Participant promptly after receipt of notice of withdrawal and such Participant’s option for the Offering Period will be automatically terminated, and no further Contributions for the purchase of shares will be made for such Offering Period. If a Participant withdraws from an Offering Period, Contributions will not resume at the beginning of the succeeding Offering Period, unless the Participant re-enrolls in the Plan in accordance with the provisions of Section 5.

(b) A Participant’s withdrawal from an Offering Period will not have any effect upon his or her eligibility to participate in any similar plan that may hereafter be adopted by the Company or in succeeding Offering Periods that commence after the termination of the Offering Period from which the Participant withdraws.

 

11


11. Termination of Employment . Upon a Participant’s ceasing to be an Eligible Employee, for any reason, he or she will be deemed to have elected to withdraw from the Plan and the Contributions credited to such Participant’s account during the Offering Period but not yet used to purchase shares of Common Stock under the Plan will be returned to such Participant or, in the case of his or her death, to the person or persons entitled thereto under Section 15, and such Participant’s option will be automatically terminated. Unless determined otherwise by the Administrator in a manner that, with respect to an Offering under the 423 Component, is permitted by, and compliant with, Section 423 of the Code, a Participant whose employment transfers between entities through a termination with an immediate rehire (with no break in service) by the Company or a Designated Company shall not be treated as terminated under the Plan; however, no Participant shall be deemed to switch from an Offering under the Non-423 Component to an Offering under the 423 Component or vice versa unless (and then only to the extent) such switch would not cause the 423 Component or any Option thereunder to fail to comply with Section 423 of the Code.

12. Interest . No interest will accrue on the Contributions of a participant in the Plan, except as may be required by Applicable Law, as determined by the Company, and if so required by the laws of a particular jurisdiction, shall, with respect to Offerings under the 423 Component, apply to all Participants in the relevant Offering, except to the extent otherwise permitted by U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(f).

13. Stock .

(a) Subject to adjustment upon changes in capitalization of the Company as provided in Section 19 hereof, the maximum number of shares of Common Stock that will be made available for sale under the Plan will be 12,000,000 shares of Common Stock. The number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan will be increased on the first day of each Fiscal Year beginning with the 2014 Fiscal Year equal to the least of (i) 11,300,000 shares of Common Stock, (ii) one percent (1%) of the outstanding shares of Common Stock on the last day of the immediately preceding Fiscal Year, or (iii) an amount determined by the Administrator.

(b) Until the Shares are issued (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company), a Participant will only have the rights of an unsecured creditor with respect to such shares, and no right to vote or receive dividends or any other rights as a stockholder will exist with respect to such shares.

(c) Shares of Common Stock to be delivered to a Participant under the Plan will be registered in the name of the Participant or in the name of the Participant and his or her spouse.

14. Administration . The Plan will be administered by the Board or a Committee appointed by the Board, which Committee will be constituted to comply with Applicable Laws. The Administrator will have full and exclusive discretionary authority to construe, interpret and

 

12


apply the terms of the Plan, to designate separate Offerings under the Plan, to designate Subsidiaries and Affiliates as participating in the 423 Component or Non-423 Component, to determine eligibility, to adjudicate all disputed claims filed under the Plan and to establish such procedures that it deems necessary for the administration of the Plan (including, without limitation, to adopt such procedures and sub-plans as are necessary or appropriate to permit the participation in the Plan by employees who are foreign nationals or employed outside the U.S., the terms of which sub-plans may take precedence over other provisions of this Plan, with the exception of Section 13(a) hereof, but unless otherwise superseded by the terms of such sub-plan, the provisions of this Plan shall govern the operation of such sub-plan). Unless otherwise determined by the Administrator, the employees eligible to participate in each sub-plan will participate in a separate Offering and will be in the Non-423 Component, unless such designation would cause the 423 Component to violate the requirements of Section 423 of the Code. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator is specifically authorized to adopt rules and procedures regarding eligibility to participate, the definition of Compensation, handling of Contributions, making of Contributions to the Plan (including, without limitation, in forms other than payroll deductions), establishment of bank or trust accounts to hold Contributions, payment of interest, conversion of local currency, obligations to pay payroll tax, determination of beneficiary designation requirements, withholding procedures and handling of stock certificates that vary with applicable local requirements. The Administrator also is authorized to determine that, to the extent permitted by U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(f), the terms of an option granted under the Plan or an Offering to citizens or residents of a non-U.S. jurisdiction will be less favorable than the terms of options granted under the Plan or the same Offering to employees resident solely in the U.S. Every finding, decision and determination made by the Administrator will, to the full extent permitted by law, be final and binding upon all parties.

15. Designation of Beneficiary .

(a) If permitted by the Administrator, a Participant may file a designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any shares of Common Stock and cash, if any, from the Participant’s account under the Plan in the event of such Participant’s death subsequent to an Exercise Date on which the option is exercised but prior to delivery to such Participant of such shares and cash. In addition, if permitted by the Administrator, a Participant may file a designation of a beneficiary who is to receive any cash from the Participant’s account under the Plan in the event of such Participant’s death prior to exercise of the option. If a Participant is married and the designated beneficiary is not the spouse, spousal consent will be required for such designation to be effective.

(b) Such designation of beneficiary may be changed by the Participant at any time by notice in a form determined by the Administrator. In the event of the death of a Participant and in the absence of a beneficiary validly designated under the Plan who is living at the time of such Participant’s death, the Company will deliver such shares and/or cash to the executor or administrator of the estate of the Participant, or if no such executor or administrator has been appointed (to the knowledge of the Company), the Company, in its discretion, may deliver such shares and/or cash to the spouse or to any one or more dependents or relatives of the Participant, or if no spouse, dependent or relative is known to the Company, then to such other person as the Company may designate.

 

13


(c) All beneficiary designations will be in such form and manner as the Administrator may designate from time to time. Notwithstanding Sections 15(a) and (b) above, the Company and/or the Administrator may decide not to permit such designations by Participants in non-U.S. jurisdictions to the extent permitted by U.S. Treasury Regulation Section 1.423-2(f).

16. Transferability . Neither Contributions credited to a Participant’s account nor any rights with regard to the exercise of an option or to receive shares of Common Stock under the Plan may be assigned, transferred, pledged or otherwise disposed of in any way (other than by will, the laws of descent and distribution or as provided in Section 15 hereof) by the Participant. Any such attempt at assignment, transfer, pledge or other disposition will be without effect, except that the Company may treat such act as an election to withdraw funds from an Offering Period in accordance with Section 10 hereof.

17. Use of Funds . The Company may use all Contributions received or held by it under the Plan for any corporate purpose, and the Company will not be obligated to segregate such Contributions except under Offerings or for Participants in the Non-423 Component for which Applicable Laws require that Contributions to the Plan by Participants be segregated from the Company’s general corporate funds and/or deposited with an independent third party. Until shares of Common Stock are issued, Participants will only have the rights of an unsecured creditor with respect to such shares.

18. Reports . Individual accounts will be maintained for each Participant in the Plan. Statements of account will be given to participating Eligible Employees at least annually, which statements will set forth the amounts of Contributions, the Purchase Price, the number of shares of Common Stock purchased and the remaining cash balance, if any.

19. Adjustments, Dissolution, Liquidation, Merger or Change in Control .

(a) Adjustments . In the event that any dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Common Stock, other securities, or other property), recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up, spin-off, combination, repurchase, or exchange of Common Stock or other securities of the Company, or other change in the corporate structure of the Company affecting the Common Stock occurs, the Administrator, in order to prevent dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be made available under the Plan, will, in such manner as it may deem equitable, adjust the number and class of Common Stock that may be delivered under the Plan, the Purchase Price per share and the number of shares of Common Stock covered by each option under the Plan that has not yet been exercised, and the numerical limits of Sections 7 and 13.

(b) Dissolution or Liquidation . In the event of the proposed dissolution or liquidation of the Company, any Offering Period then in progress will be shortened by setting a New Exercise Date, and will terminate immediately prior to the consummation of such proposed

 

14


dissolution or liquidation, unless provided otherwise by the Administrator. The New Exercise Date will be before the date of the Company’s proposed dissolution or liquidation. The Administrator will notify each Participant in writing or electronically, prior to the New Exercise Date, that the Exercise Date for the Participant’s option has been changed to the New Exercise Date and that the Participant’s option will be exercised automatically on the New Exercise Date, unless prior to such date the Participant has withdrawn from the Offering Period as provided in Section 10 hereof.

(c) Merger or Change in Control . In the event of a merger or Change in Control, each outstanding option will be assumed or an equivalent option substituted by the successor corporation or a Parent or Subsidiary of the successor corporation. In the event that the successor corporation refuses to assume or substitute for the option, the Offering Period with respect to which such option relates will be shortened by setting a New Exercise Date on which such Offering Period shall end. The New Exercise Date will occur before the date of the Company’s proposed merger or Change in Control. The Administrator will notify each Participant in writing or electronically prior to the New Exercise Date, that the Exercise Date for the Participant’s option has been changed to the New Exercise Date and that the Participant’s option will be exercised automatically on the New Exercise Date, unless prior to such date the Participant has withdrawn from the Offering Period as provided in Section 10 hereof.

20. Amendment or Termination .

(a) The Administrator, in its sole discretion, may amend, suspend, or terminate the Plan, or any part thereof, at any time and for any reason. If the Plan is terminated, the Administrator, in its discretion, may elect to terminate all outstanding Offering Periods either immediately or upon completion of the purchase of shares of Common Stock on the next Exercise Date (which may be sooner than originally scheduled, if determined by the Administrator in its discretion), or may elect to permit Offering Periods to expire in accordance with their terms (and subject to any adjustment pursuant to Section 19). If the Offering Periods are terminated prior to expiration, all amounts then credited to Participants accounts that have not been used to purchase shares of Common Stock will be returned to the Participants (without interest thereon, except as otherwise required under Applicable Laws, as further set forth in Section 12 hereof) as soon as administratively practicable.

(b) Without stockholder consent and without limiting Section 20(a), the Administrator will be entitled to change the Offering Periods or Purchase Periods, designate separate Offerings, limit the frequency and/or number of changes in the amount withheld during an Offering Period, establish the exchange ratio applicable to amounts withheld in a currency other than U.S. dollars, permit Contributions in excess of the amount designated by a Participant in order to adjust for delays or mistakes in the Company’s processing of properly completed Contribution elections, 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 Contribution amounts, and establish such other limitations or procedures as the Administrator determines in its sole discretion advisable that are consistent with the Plan.

 

15


(c) In the event the Administrator determines that the ongoing operation of the Plan may result in unfavorable financial accounting consequences, the Administrator may, in its discretion and, to the extent necessary or desirable, modify, amend or terminate the Plan to reduce or eliminate such accounting consequence including, but not limited to:

(i) amending the Plan to conform with the safe harbor definition under the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification Topic 718 (or any successor thereto), including with respect to an Offering Period underway at the time;

(ii) altering the Purchase Price for any Offering Period or Purchase Period including an Offering Period or Purchase Period underway at the time of the change in Purchase Price;

(iii) shortening any Offering Period or Purchase Period by setting a New Exercise Date, including an Offering Period or Purchase Period underway at the time of the Administrator action;

(iv) reducing the maximum percentage of Compensation a Participant may elect to set aside as Contributions; and

(v) reducing the maximum number of Shares a Participant may purchase during any Offering Period or Purchase Period.

Such modifications or amendments will not require stockholder approval or the consent of any Plan Participants.

21. Notices . All notices or other communications by a Participant to the Company under or in connection with the Plan will be deemed to have been duly given when received in the form and manner specified by the Company at the location, or by the person, designated by the Company for the receipt thereof.

22. Conditions Upon Issuance of Shares . Shares of Common Stock will not be issued with respect to an option unless the exercise of such option and the issuance and delivery of such shares pursuant thereto will comply with all applicable provisions of law, domestic or foreign, including, without limitation, the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Exchange Act, the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and the requirements of any stock exchange upon which the shares may then be listed, and will be further subject to the approval of counsel for the Company with respect to such compliance.

As a condition to the exercise of an option, the Company may require the person exercising such option to represent and warrant at the time of any such exercise that the shares are being purchased only for investment and without any present intention to sell or distribute such shares if, in the opinion of counsel for the Company, such a representation is required by any of the aforementioned applicable provisions of law.

 

16


23. Code Section 409A. The 423 Component of the Plan is exempt from the application of Code Section 409A and any ambiguities herein will be interpreted to so be exempt from Code Section 409A. In furtherance of the foregoing and notwithstanding any provision in the Plan to the contrary, if the Administrator determines that an option granted under the Plan may be subject to Code Section 409A or that any provision in the Plan would cause an option under the Plan to be subject to Code Section 409A, the Administrator may amend the terms of the Plan and/or of an outstanding option granted under the Plan, or take such other action the Administrator determines is necessary or appropriate, in each case, without the Participant’s consent, to exempt any outstanding option or future option that may be granted under the Plan from or to allow any such options to comply with Code Section 409A, but only to the extent any such amendments or action by the Administrator would not violate Code Section 409A. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall have no liability to a Participant or any other party if the option to purchase Common Stock under the Plan that is intended to be exempt from or compliant with Code Section 409A is not so exempt or compliant or for any action taken by the Administrator with respect thereto. The Company makes no representation that the option to purchase Common Stock under the Plan is compliant with Code Section 409A.

24. Term of Plan . The Plan will become effective upon the earlier to occur of its adoption by the Board or its approval by the stockholders of the Company. It will continue in effect for a term of twenty (20) years, unless sooner terminated under Section 20.

25. Stockholder Approval . The Plan will be subject to approval by the stockholders of the Company within twelve (12) months after the date the Plan is adopted by the Board. Such stockholder approval will be obtained in the manner and to the degree required under Applicable Laws.

26. Automatic Transfer to Low Price Offering Period . Unless the Administrator, in its sole discretion, chooses otherwise prior to an Enrollment Date, and to the extent permitted by Applicable Laws, if the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on any Exercise Date in an Offering Period is lower than the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock on the Enrollment Date of such Offering Period, then all participants in such Offering Period automatically will be withdrawn from such Offering Period immediately after the exercise of their option on such Exercise Date and automatically re-enrolled in the immediately following Offering Period as of the first day thereof and the preceding Offering Period will terminate.

27. Governing Law . The Plan shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of California (except its choice-of-law provisions).

28. No Right to Employment . Participation in the Plan by a Participant shall not be construed as giving a Participant the right to be retained as an employee of the Company or a Subsidiary or Affiliate, as applicable. Furthermore, the Company or a Subsidiary or Affiliate may dismiss a Participant from employment at any time, free from any liability or any claim under the Plan.

29. Severability . If any provision of the Plan is or becomes or is deemed to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason in any jurisdiction or as to any Participant, such

 

17


invalidity, illegality or unenforceability shall not affect the remaining parts of the Plan, and the Plan shall be construed and enforced as to such jurisdiction or Participant as if the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision had not been included.

30. Compliance with Applicable Laws . The terms of this Plan are intended to comply with all Applicable Laws and will be construed accordingly.

 

18


EXHIBIT A

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT

 

         Original Application

   Offering Date:                    

         Change in Payroll Deduction Rate

  

Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to

such terms in the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.

1. I,                                , hereby elect to participate in the Twitter, Inc. (the “Company”) 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “Plan”) and subscribe to purchase shares of the Company’s Common Stock in accordance with this 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan Subscription Agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) and the Plan.

2. I hereby authorize payroll deductions from each paycheck in the amount of     % of my Compensation on each payday (from 0 to 15%) during the Offering Period in accordance with the Plan. (Please note that no fractional percentages are permitted.)

3. I understand that said payroll deductions will be accumulated for the purchase of shares of Common Stock at the applicable Purchase Price determined in accordance with the Plan. I understand that if I do not withdraw from an Offering Period, any accumulated payroll deductions will be used to automatically exercise my option and purchase Common Stock under the Plan.

4. I have received a copy of the complete Plan and its accompanying prospectus. I understand that my participation in the Plan is in all respects subject to the terms of the Plan. The Company reserves the right to modify the Plan and to impose other requirements on my participation in the Plan, on the option and on any shares of Common Stock purchased under the Plan, to the extent the Company determines it is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons. I agree to be bound by such modifications regardless of whether notice is given to me of such event, subject, in any case, to my right to withdrawal from participation in the Plan. I further agree to sign any additional agreements or undertakings that may be necessary to accomplish the foregoing.

 

19


5. I understand the following paragraph applies to me if I am a U.S. taxpayer or subject to U.S. taxation : If I dispose of any shares received by me pursuant to an offering of the Plan in the United States within two (2) years after the Offering Date (the first day of the Offering Period during which I purchased such shares) or one (1) year after the Exercise Date, I will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as having received ordinary income at the time of such disposition in an amount equal to the excess of the Fair Market Value of the shares at the time such shares were purchased by me over the Purchase Price. I hereby agree to notify the Company in writing within thirty (30) days after the date of any disposition of my shares and I will make adequate provision for U.S. federal, state or other tax withholding obligations, if any, which arise upon the disposition of the Common Stock . The Company may, but will not be obligated to, withhold from my compensation the amount necessary to meet any applicable withholding obligation including any withholding necessary to make available to the Company any tax deductions or benefits attributable to sale or early disposition of Common Stock by me. If I dispose of such shares at any time after the expiration of the two (2)-year and one (1)-year holding periods, I understand that I will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as having received income only at the time of such disposition, and that such income will be taxed as ordinary income only to the extent of an amount equal to the lesser of (a) the excess of the Fair Market Value of the shares at the time of such disposition over the Purchase Price, or (b) 15% of the Fair Market Value of the shares on the first day of the Offering Period. The remainder of the gain, if any, recognized on such disposition will be taxed as capital gain.

6. The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to current or future participation in the Plan by electronic means. I hereby consent to receive such documents by electronic delivery and agree to participate in the Plan through an on-line or electronic system established and maintained by the Company or another third party designated by the Company.

7. The Subscription Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California (without regard to its conflict of laws provisions) as such laws are applied to agreements between California residents entered into and to be performed entirely within California. For purposes of litigating any dispute that arises directly or indirectly from the relationship of the parties, I hereby submit and consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the State of California and agree that such litigation shall be conducted only in the courts of San Francisco County, California, or the federal courts for the U.S. for the Northern District of California, and no other courts.

8. Notwithstanding any provision of this Subscription Agreement, I understand that if I am working or resident in a country other than the United States, my participation in the Plan shall also be subject to the Additional Terms and Conditions for Non-U.S. Employees set forth in Appendix A attached hereto and any special terms and conditions for my country set forth in Appendix B attached hereto. Further, I understand that if I relocate to one of the countries included in Appendix B, the special terms and conditions for such country will apply to me to the extent the Company determines in its sole discretion that the application of such terms and conditions is necessary or advisable for legal or administrative reasons. Appendix A and Appendix B constitute part of this Subscription Agreement.

 

20


9. I hereby agree to be bound by the terms of the Plan and this Subscription Agreement. The effectiveness of this Subscription Agreement is dependent upon my eligibility to participate in the Plan.

 

  Employee’s Tax ID Number:  

 

  Employee’s Address:  

 

   

 

   

 

I ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENT INCLUDING ITS APPENDICES AND MY PARTICIPATION IN THE PLAN WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGHOUT SUCCESSIVE OFFERING PERIODS UNLESS AFFIRMATIVELY TERMINATED BY ME.

 

Dated:  

 

   

 

      Signature of Employee

 

21


APPENDIX A

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR NON-U.S. EMPLOYEES

Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to

such terms in the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

1. Terms of Plan Participation for Non-U.S. Employees . I understand and agree that this Appendix A contains additional terms and conditions that, together with the Plan and the Subscription Agreement, govern my participation in the Plan if I am working or resident in a country other than the United States. I further understand and agree that my participation in the Plan will also be subject to any terms and conditions for my country set forth in Appendix B attached hereto.

2. Conversion of Payroll Deductions . I understand that, if my payroll deductions or Contributions under the Plan are made in any currency other than U.S. dollars, such payroll deductions or Contributions will be converted to U.S. dollars on or prior to the Exercise Date using a prevailing exchange rate in effect at the time such conversion is performed, as determined by the Administrator. I understand and agree that neither the Company, the Employer nor any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate shall be liable for any foreign exchange rate fluctuation between my local currency and the U.S. Dollar that may affect the value of the options granted to me under the Plan, or of any amounts due to me under the Plan or as a result of the subsequent sale of any shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan.

3. Tax Obligations . I acknowledge and agree that, regardless of any action taken by the Company or the Employer with respect to any or all income tax, social security, social insurances, National Insurance Contributions, payroll tax, fringe benefit, or other tax-related items related to my participation in the Plan and legally applicable to me including, without limitation, in connection with the grant of such options, the purchase or sale of shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan and/or the receipt of any dividends on such shares (“Tax-Related Items”), the ultimate liability for all Tax-Related Items is and remains my responsibility and may exceed the amount actually withheld by the Company or the Employer. Furthermore, I acknowledge that the Company and/or the Employer (1) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the options under the Plan and (2) do not commit to and are under no obligation to structure the terms of the grant of options or any aspect of my participation in the Plan to reduce or eliminate my liability for Tax-Related Items or achieve any particular tax result. Further, if I have become subject to tax in more than one jurisdiction between the Enrollment Date and the

 

1


date of any relevant taxable or tax withholding event, as applicable, I acknowledge that the Company and/or the Employer (or former employer, as applicable) may be required to withhold or account for Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction.

Prior to the purchase of shares of Common Stock under the Plan or any other relevant taxable or tax withholding event, as applicable, I agree to make adequate arrangements satisfactory to the Company and/or the Employer to satisfy all Tax-Related Items. In this regard, I authorize the Company and/or the Employer, or their respective agents, at their discretion, to satisfy the obligations with regard to all Tax-Related Items by one or a combination of the following: (1) withholding from my wages or Compensation paid to me by the Company and/or the Employer; or (2) withholding from proceeds of the sale of the shares of Common Stock purchased under the Plan either through a voluntary sale or through a mandatory sale arranged by the Company (on my behalf pursuant to this authorization). Depending on the withholding method, the Company may withhold or account for Tax-Related Items by considering applicable maximum applicable withholding rates, in which case I will receive a refund of any over-withheld amount in cash and will have no entitlement to the Common Stock equivalent.

Finally, I agree to pay to the Company or the Employer any amount of Tax-Related Items that the Company or the Employer may be required to withhold as a result of my participation in the Plan that cannot be satisfied by the means previously described. The Company may refuse to purchase shares of Common Stock under the Plan on my behalf and/or refuse to issue or deliver the shares or the proceeds of the sale of shares if I fail to comply with my obligations in connection with the Tax-Related Items.

4. Service Acknowledgments . By electing to participate in the Plan, I acknowledge, understand and agree that:

(a) the Plan is established voluntarily by the Company, it is discretionary in nature and it may be modified, amended, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time, to the extent provided for in the Plan;

(b) all decisions with respect to future grants of options under the Plan, if applicable, will be at the sole discretion of the Company;

(c) the grant of options under the Plan shall not create a right to employment or be interpreted as forming an employment or service contract with the Company, the Employer, or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate of the Company, and shall not interfere with the ability of the Company or the Employer, as applicable, to terminate my employment (if any);

(d) I am voluntarily participating in the Plan;

(e) the options granted under the Plan and the shares of Common Stock underlying such options, and the income and value of same, are not intended to replace any pension rights or compensation;

 

2


(f) the options granted under the Plan and the shares of Common Stock underlying such options, and the income and value of same, are not part of my normal or expected compensation for any purpose, including, but not limited to, calculating any severance, resignation, termination, redundancy, dismissal, end-of-service payments, bonuses, long-service awards, pension or retirement benefits or similar payments;

(g) the future value of the shares of Common Stock underlying the options granted under the Plan is unknown, indeterminable and cannot be predicted with certainty;

(h) the shares of Common Stock that I acquire under the Plan may increase or decrease in value, even below the Purchase Price;

(i) no claim or entitlement to compensation or damages shall arise from the forfeiture options granted to me under the Plan as a result of the termination of my status as an Eligible Employee (for any reason whatsoever, and whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where I am employed or the terms of my employment agreement, if any) and, in consideration of the grant of options under the Plan to which I am otherwise not entitled, I irrevocably agree never to institute a claim against the Company, the Employer, or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate, waive my ability, if any, to bring such claim, and release the Company, the Employer, and any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate from any such claim that may arise; if, notwithstanding the foregoing, any such claim is allowed by a court of competent jurisdiction, I shall be deemed irrevocably to have agreed to not to pursue such claim and agree to execute any and all documents necessary to request dismissal or withdrawal of such claim;

(j) in the event of the termination of my status as an Eligible Employee (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where I am employed or the terms of my employment agreement, if any), my right to participate in the Plan and any options granted to me under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of the date that I am no longer actively employed by the Company or one of its Designated Companies and, in any event, will not be extended by any notice period mandated under the employment laws in the jurisdiction in which I am employed or the terms of my employment agreement, if any ( e.g ., active employment would not include a period of “garden leave” or similar period pursuant to the employment laws in the jurisdiction in which I am employed or the terms of my employment agreement, if any); the Company shall have the exclusive discretion to determine when I am no longer actively employed for purposes of my participation in the Plan (including whether I may still be considered to be actively employed while on a leave of absence); and

(k) the grant of the option to purchase shares of Common Stock under the Plan and the benefits evidenced by the Subscription Agreement do not create any entitlement not otherwise specifically provided for in the Plan, or provided by the Company in its discretion, to have such rights or benefits transferred to, or assumed by, another company nor to be exchanged, cashed out or substituted for, in connection with a sale of substantially all of the Company’s assets or a merger of the Company in which the Company is not the surviving corporation.

 

3


5. Data Privacy Consent . I understand that the Company and the Employer may collect, where permissible under Applicable Law certain personal information about me, including, but not limited to, my name, home address and telephone number, date of birth, social insurance number or other identification number, salary, nationality, job title, any shares of Common Stock or directorships held in the Company, details of all options granted under the Plan or any other entitlement to shares of Common Stock awarded, canceled, exercised, vested, unvested or outstanding in my favor (“Data”), for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing the Plan. I understand that Company may transfer my Data to the United States, which is not considered by the European Commission to have data protection laws equivalent to the laws in my country. The Company therefore maintains an EU-US Safe Harbor certification to protect my data consistent with data protection laws of the EU.

I understand that the Company will transfer my Data to its designated broker, or such other stock plan service provider as may be selected by the Company in the future, which is assisting the Company with the implementation, administration and management of the Plan. I understand that the recipients of the Data may be located in the United States or elsewhere, and that a recipient’s country of operation (e.g., the United States) may have different data privacy laws that the European Commission or my jurisdiction does not consider to be equivalent to the protections in my country. I understand that I may request a list with the names and addresses of any potential recipients of the Data by contacting my local human resources representative. I authorize the Company, the Company’s designated broker and any other possible recipients which may assist the Company with implementing, administering and managing the Plan to receive, possess, use, retain and transfer the Data, in electronic or other form, for the sole purpose of implementing, administering and managing my participation in the Plan. I understand that Data will be held only as long as is necessary to implement, administer and manage my participation in the Plan. I understand that that I may, at any time, view Data, request additional information about the storage and processing of Data, require any necessary amendments to Data or refuse or withdraw the consents herein, in any case without cost, by contacting in writing my local human resources representative. Further, I understand that I am providing the consents herein on a purely voluntary basis. If I do not consent, or if I later seek to revoke my consent, my employment status or career with the Company or the Employer will not be adversely affected; the only adverse consequence of refusing or withdrawing my consent is that the Company would not be able to grant me options under the Plan or other equity awards, or administer or maintain such awards. Therefore, I understand that refusing or withdrawing my consent may affect my ability to participate in the Plan. For more information on the consequences of my refusal to consent or withdrawal of consent, I understand that I may contact my local human resources representative.

I understand that I have the right to access, and to request a copy of, the Data held about me. I also understand that I have the right to discontinue the collection, processing, or use of my Data, or supplement, correct, or request deletion of my Data. To exercise my rights, I may contact my local human resources representative.

I hereby explicitly and unambiguously consent to the collection, use and transfer, in electronic or other form, of my personal data as described in the Subscription Agreement and

 

4


any other Plan materials by and among, as applicable, the Employer, the Company and its Parents, Subsidiaries and Affiliates for the exclusive purpose of implementing, administering and managing my participation in the Plan. I understand that my consent will be sought and obtained for any processing or transfer of my data for any purpose other than as described in the Subscription Agreement and any other plan materials.

6. No Advice Regarding Grant . The Company is not providing any tax, legal or financial advice, nor is the Company making any recommendations or assessments regarding my participation in the Plan, or my acquisition or sale of the underlying shares of Common Stock. I am hereby advised to consult with my own personal tax, legal and financial advisors regarding my participation in the Plan before taking any action related to the Plan.

7. Language . If I have received the Subscription Agreement or any other document related to the Plan translated into a language other than English and if the meaning of the translated version is different than the English version, the English version will control, subject to Applicable Laws.

8. Severability . The provisions of the Subscription Agreement are severable and if any one or more provisions are determined to be illegal or otherwise unenforceable, in whole or in part, the remaining provisions shall nevertheless be binding and enforceable.

9. Waiver . I acknowledge that a waiver by the Company of breach of any provision of the Subscription Agreement shall not operate or be construed as a waiver of any other provision of the Subscription Agreement, or of any subsequent breach by me or any other participant.

10. Electronic Delivery and Acceptance . The Company may, in its sole discretion, decide to deliver any documents related to options awarded under the Plan or options that may be awarded under the Plan by electronic means or request my consent to participate in the Plan by electronic means. Such means of electronic delivery may include but do not necessarily include the delivery of a link to a Company intranet or the Internet site of a third party involved in administering the Plan, the delivery of the document via e-mail or such other means of electronic delivery specified by the Company. I consent to the electronic delivery of the Plan documents and this Subscription Agreement. I acknowledge that I may receive from the Company a paper copy of any documents delivered electronically at no cost to me by contacting the Company by telephone or in writing. I further acknowledge that I will be provided with a paper copy of any documents if the attempted electronic delivery of such documents fails. Similarly, I understand that I must provide the Company or any designated third party administrator with a paper copy of any documents if the attempted electronic delivery of such documents fails. I may revoke my consent to the electronic delivery of documents or may change the electronic mail address to which such documents are to be delivered (if I have provided an electronic mail address) at any time by notifying the Company of such revoked consent or revised e-mail address by telephone, postal service or electronic mail. Finally, I understand that I am not required to consent to electronic delivery of documents.

 

5


APPENDIX B

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

COUNTRY-SPECIFIC PROVISIONS FOR NON-U.S. EMPLOYEES

Terms and Conditions

I understand that this Appendix B includes additional terms and conditions that govern the options to purchase shares of Common Stock granted to me under the Plan if I work in one of the countries listed below. If I am a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which I am currently working (or if I am considered as such for local law purposes) or if I transfer employment to another country after enrolling in the Plan, I acknowledge and agree that the Company will, in its discretion, determine the extent to which the terms and conditions herein will be applicable to me.

Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to such terms in the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, the Subscription Agreement or Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement.

Notifications

This Appendix B also includes notifications that contain information regarding securities laws, exchange controls and certain other issues of which you should be aware with respect to your participation in the Plan. The information is based on the securities, exchange control and other laws in effect in the respective countries as of October 2013. Such laws are often complex and change frequently. As a result, the Company recommends that you not rely on the information in this Appendix B as the only source of information relating to the consequences of your participation in the Plan because the information included herein may be out of date at the time that you exercise your option and purchase shares of Common Stock under the Plan or subsequently sell such shares.

In addition, the information contained herein is general in nature and may not apply to your particular situation and the Company is not in a position to assure you of any particular result. Accordingly, you are advised to seek appropriate professional advice as to how the relevant laws in my country may apply to your situation.

Finally, if you are a citizen or resident of a country other than the one in which you are currently working (or if you are considered as such for local law purposes) or if you move to another country after options have been granted to you under the Plan, the information contained herein may not be applicable to you.

 

6


AUSTRALIA

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The offering and resale of shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan to a person or entity resident in Australia may be subject to disclosure requirements under Australian law. You should obtain legal advice regarding any applicable disclosure requirements prior to making any such offer.

BRAZIL

Terms and Conditions

Authorization for Plan Participation . I hereby authorize the Employer to make payroll deductions from each of my paychecks in that percentage of my Compensation specified in my election and I authorize the Employer, the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate of the Company to remit such accumulated payroll deductions, on my behalf, to the United States of America, to purchase shares of Common Stock, as provided by Circular No. 3,280/05 of the Central Bank, under the terms of the Plan.

Upon request of the Company or the Employer, I agree to execute a letter of authorization and any other agreements or consents that may be required to enable the Employer, the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate of the Company (or any of their designated third parties) to remit my accumulated payroll deductions from Brazil for the purchase of shares. I understand that I will not be able to participate in the Plan if I fail to execute a letter of authorization or any other form of agreement or consent that is required for the remittance of my payroll deductions.

Compliance with Law . By enrolling in the Plan and accepting the terms of the Subscription Agreement, I acknowledge and agree to comply with all applicable Brazilian laws and pay any and all applicable taxes associated with the purchase and the sale of shares acquired under the Plan.

Notifications

Report of Overseas Assets . If you are a resident or domiciled in Brazil, you will be required to submit an annual declaration of assets and rights held outside of Brazil to the Central Bank of Brazil if the aggregate value of such assets and rights equals or exceeds US$100,000. Assets and rights that must be reported include, but are not limited to, the shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan.

 

7


CANADA

Terms and Conditions

Labor Law Acknowledgement . This provision replaces the acknowledgement contained in Section 4(j) of Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement:

In the event of the termination of my status as an Eligible Employee (for any reason whatsoever, whether or not later found to be invalid or in breach of employment laws in the jurisdiction where I am employed or the terms of my employment agreement, if any), my right to participate in the Plan and any options granted to me under the Plan, if any, will terminate effective as of the date that is the earlier of: (i) the date that my employment with the Company or the Employer is terminated; (ii) the date that I receive written notice of termination of my employment from the Company or the Employer (regardless of any notice period or period of pay in lieu of such notice mandated under the employment laws in the jurisdiction where I am employed or the terms of my employment agreement, if any); or (iii) the date that I am no longer actively employed by the Company or any of its Designated Companies, with such date being determined by the Company in its sole discretion.

The following provisions will apply if you are a resident of Quebec:

Authorization to Release Necessary Personal Information. I hereby authorize the Company (including any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate) and the Company’s representatives to discuss with and obtain all relevant information from all personnel, professional or not, involved in the administration and operation of the Plan. I further authorize the Company and any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate and the Company’s designated Plan broker(s) to disclose and discuss the Plan with their advisors. I further authorize the Employer to record such information and to keep such information in my employee file.

English Language Provision . I hereby provide my consent to receive Plan information in English through my enrollment in the Plan. Specifically, I acknowledge as follows:

The parties acknowledge that it is their express wish that this Subscription Agreement, as well as all documents, notices and legal proceedings entered into, given or instituted pursuant hereto or relating directly or indirectly hereto, be drawn up in English.

Disposition relative à l’utilisation de la langue anglaise . Par la présente, je consens à recevoir les informations relatives au Plan d’Achat d’Actions en anglais par le biais de mon inscription au Plan d’Achat d’Actions. Particulièrement, je reconnais comme suit :

Les parties reconnaissent avoir exigé la rédaction en anglais du Contrat de Souscription, ainsi que de tous documents exécutés, avis donnés et procédures judiciaires intentées, directement ou indirectement, relativement à la présente convention.

Notifications

Securities Law Information. There may be securities law implications for you if you sell shares of Common Stock acquired through the Plan through a broker other than a broker appointed under the Plan or the sale does not take place through the facilities of a stock exchange outside of Canada on which the shares of Common Stock are listed ( i.e ., the New York Stock Exchange).

Tax Reporting Obligation . Foreign property (including options granted under the Plan and shares of Common Stock) held by Canadian residents must be reported annually on Form T1135

 

8


(Foreign Income Verification Statement) if the total value of such foreign property exceeds C$100,000 at any time during the year. The form must be filed by April 30th of the following year.

FRANCE

Terms and Conditions

Language Consent . By completing the enrollment process and submitting the Subscription Agreement, I confirm that I have read and understood the documents relating to the rights to purchase Common Stock (the Plan, the Subscription Agreement, Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement and this Appendix B) which were provided to me in the English language. I accept the terms of these documents accordingly.

Consentement Relatif à la Langue Utilisée . En complétant et renvoyant le présent du Contrat de Souscription, je confirme avoir lu et compris les documents relatifs aux droits d’acquisition d’Actions Ordinaires qui m’ont été remis en langue anglaise (le Plan, le Contrat de Souscription, Annexe A du Contrat de Souscription, Annexe B). J’accepte les conditions afférentes à ces documents en connaissance de cause .

Payroll Deductions . Section 2 of the Subscription Agreement has been translated into French in order to expressly authorize the payroll deductions under the Plan.

Prélèvements sur Salaires . La Section 2 du Contrat de Souscription a été traduite en français afin que vous puissiez autoriser de manière expresse les prélèvements sur votre Rémunération dans le cadre du Plan d’Achat d’Actions.

 

   

I hereby authorize payroll deductions from each paycheck in the amount of     % of my Compensation on each payday (from 0 to 15%) during the Offering Period in accordance with the Plan. (Please note that no fractional percentages are permitted.)

 

   

Par la présente, j’autorise un prélèvement sur salaires de     % de ma Rémunération (de 0% à 15%), sur chaque Rémunération versée au cours de la Période d’Offre conformément au Plan d’Achat d’Actions. (Veuillez noter que le pourcentage de retenue sur salaire ne peut être qu’un chiffre entier, sans chiffre après la virgule.)

Notifications

Tax Reporting Information . French residents may hold shares of Common Stock outside of France, provided that they declare all foreign accounts, whether open, current or closed, on their annual income tax return.

Securities Disclaimer. The participation in the Plan is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in France.

 

9


GERMANY

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . If you remit proceeds in excess of €12,500 out of or into Germany, such cross-border payment must be reported monthly to the State Central Bank. In the event that you make or receive a payment in excess of this amount, I am responsible for obtaining the appropriate form from a German bank and complying with applicable reporting requirements. In addition, you must also report on an annual basis in the unlikely event that you hold shares of Common Stock exceeding 10% of the total voting capital of the Company.

Securities Disclaimer. The participation in the Plan is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Germany.

INDIA

Notifications

Exchange Control Information . Indian residents are required to repatriate any cash dividends paid on shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan and any proceeds from the sale of such shares of Common Stock to India within 90 days of receipt. Upon repatriation, the individual will receive a foreign inward remittance certificate (“FIRC”) from the bank where he or she deposits the foreign currency and he or she should maintain the FIRC as evidence of the repatriation of funds in the event the Reserve Bank of India or the Employer requests proof of repatriation. It is your responsibility to comply with applicable exchange control laws in India.

Tax Reporting Obligation . Indian residents are required to declare the following items in their annual tax return: (i) any foreign assets held by them (including shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan), and (ii) any foreign bank accounts for which they have signing authority. It is your responsibility to comply with applicable foreign asset tax laws in India and you should consult with your personal tax advisor to ensure that you are properly reporting your foreign assets and bank accounts.

IRELAND

Notifications

Director Notification Obligation . Directors, shadow directors or secretaries of an Irish Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate must notify such Irish Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate in writing within five business days of receiving or disposing of an interest in the Company ( e.g ., options granted under the Plan, shares of Common Stock, etc.), or within five business days of becoming aware of the event giving rise to the notification requirement or within five business days of becoming a director or secretary if such an interest exists at the time. This notification requirement also applies with respect to the interests of the spouse or children under the age of 18 of the director, shadow director or secretary (whose interests will be attributed to the director, shadow director or secretary).

 

10


Securities Disclaimer. The participation in the Plan is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Ireland.

JAPAN

Notifications

Foreign Assets Reporting . Japanese residents holding assets outside of Japan ( e.g. , shares of Common Stock purchased under the Plan) with a value exceeding ¥50,000,000 (as of December 31 each year) are required to comply with annual tax reporting obligations with respect to such assets. You should consult with a personal tax advisor in Japan to ensure that you are properly complying with these obligations.

KOREA

Terms and Conditions

Power of Attorney . I am an employee working for Twitter Korea Limited (“Twitter-Korea”), a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of Korea, and, by my election to participate in the Plan, I hereby appoint attorney-in-fact, Twitter-Korea (including any successor entity), through its duly appointed representative, as my true and lawful representative, with full power and authority to do the following:

 

(i) To prepare, execute and file any report/application and all other documents required for implementation of the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan in Korea;

 

(ii) To take any action that may be necessary or appropriate for implementation of said Plan with the competent Korean authorities, including but not limited to a foreign exchange bank; and

 

(iii) To constitute and appoint, in its place and stead, and as its substitute, one representative or more, with power of revocation.

I hereby ratify and confirm as my own act and deed all that such representative may do or cause to be done by virtue of this instrument.

Notifications

Exchange Control Notification . Exchange control laws require Korean residents who realize US$500,000 or more from the sale of shares of Common Stock in a single transaction to repatriate the proceeds from such sale to Korea within 18 months of the sale.

 

11


NETHERLANDS

Notifications

You should be aware of the Dutch insider trading rules, which may affect the sale of shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan. In particular, you may be prohibited from effecting certain share transactions if you have insider information regarding the Company. Below is a discussion of the applicable restrictions. You are advised to read the discussion carefully to determine whether the insider rules could apply to you. If it is uncertain whether the insider rules apply, the Company recommends that you consult with a legal advisor. The Company cannot be held liable if you violate the Dutch insider trading rules. You are responsible for ensuring your compliance with these rules.

Prohibition Against Insider Trading.

Dutch securities laws prohibit insider trading. The regulations are based upon the European Market Abuse Directive and are stated in section 5:56 of the Dutch Financial Supervision Act ( Wet op het financieel toezicht or Wft ) and in section 2 of the Market Abuse Decree ( Besluit marktmisbruik Wft ). For further information you are referred to the website of the Authority for the Financial Markets ( AFM ); http://www.afm.nl/~/media/Files/brochures/2012/insider-dealing.ashx .

Given the broad scope of the definition of inside information, certain employees of the Company working at its Dutch Affiliate may have inside information and thus are prohibited from making a transaction in securities in the Netherlands at a time when they have such inside information. By entering into this Subscription Agreement and participating in the Plan, you acknowledge having read and understood the notification above and acknowledges that it is the your responsibility to comply with the Dutch insider trading rules, as discussed herein.

Securities Disclaimer . The participation in the Plan is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in the Netherlands.

SINGAPORE

Terms and Conditions

Form of Contributions . Notwithstanding Sections 2 and 3 of the Subscription Agreement, due to restrictions on payroll deductions under Singapore law, I acknowledge and agree that I may be required to participate in the Plan by means other than payroll deductions ( e.g. , bank wire or check) if the Company, in its discretion, determines that collection of payroll deductions is not permissible or administratively feasible under Singapore law.

In this regard and upon notice by the Company or the Employer, I understand and agree that no payroll deductions will be made from my paychecks and that I will be required to make Contributions for the purchase of shares of Common Stock under the Plan by the means set forth

 

12


in such notice. I further understand and agree that no shares of Common Stock will be purchased on my behalf under the Plan if I fail to submit my Contributions in the manner required by such notice.

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The grant of options under the Plan is being made pursuant to the “Qualifying Person” exemption under section 273(1)(f) of the Singapore Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289, 2006 Ed.) (“SFA”). The Plan has not been lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Further, the options granted under the Plan are subject to section 257 of the SFA and you are not permitted to sell, or offer to sell, any shares of Common Stock in Singapore unless such sale or offer is made pursuant to the exemptions under Part XIII Division (1) Subdivision (4) (other than section 280) of the SFA.

Director Notification Obligation . Directors, associate directors or shadow directors of a Singapore Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate are subject to certain notification requirements under the Singapore Companies Act. Among these requirements is an obligation to notify such entity in writing within two business days of any of the following events: (i) the acquisition or disposal of an interest ( e.g. , options granted under the Plan or shares of Common Stock) in the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate, (ii) any change in previously-disclosed interests ( e.g. , upon exercise of options granted under the Plan), or (iii) becoming a director, associate director or shadow director of a Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate in Singapore, if the individual holds such an interest at that time.

Insider Trading Notification. You should be aware of the Singapore insider-trading rules as these rules may impact your ability to acquire or dispose of shares of Common Stock or rights to acquire shares ( e.g. , options granted under the Plan). Under the Singapore insider-trading rules, you are prohibited from selling shares of Common Stock when you are in possession of information concerning the Company which is not generally available and which you know or should know will have a material effect on the price of such shares once such information is generally available.

SPAIN

Terms and Conditions

Nature of Grant . The following provision supplements Section 4 of Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement:

By accepting the options, I consent to participation in the Plan and acknowledge that I have received a copy of the Plan. I understand that the Company has unilaterally, gratuitously, and discretionarily decided to offer the Plan to individuals who may be employees of the Company or of its Parents, Subsidiaries or Affiliates throughout the world. The decision is a temporary decision that is entered into upon the express assumption and condition that any grant of options will not economically or otherwise bind the Company or any of its Parents, Subsidiaries or Affiliates presently or in the future, other than as expressly set forth in the

 

13


Subscription Agreement, including Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement. Consequently, I understand that any grant of options is made on the assumption and condition that it shall not become a part of any employment contract (either with the Company or any of its Parents, Subsidiaries or Affiliates) and shall not be considered a mandatory benefit, salary for any purpose (including severance compensation), or any other right whatsoever. Further, I understand and freely accept that the Company does not guarantee that any benefit whatsoever shall arise from the option, which is gratuitous and discretionary, since the future value of the shares of Common Stock is unknown and unpredictable. Finally, I understand that the Company would not be making this grant of options but for the assumptions and conditions referred to above; thus, I expressly acknowledge and freely accept that should any or all of the assumptions be mistaken or should any of the conditions not be met for any reason, then the grant of options shall be null and void and the Plan shall not have any effect whatsoever.

I understand and agree that, as a condition of my participation in the Plan, the termination of my employment for any reason will automatically result in the cancellation of any options granted to me under the Plan. In particular, I understand and agree that, unless otherwise expressly provided for by the Administrator, I will not be permitted to continue to participate in the Plan or to purchase shares of Common Stock under the Plan if I terminate employment for by reason of, including, but not limited to: resignation, retirement, disciplinary dismissal adjudged to be with cause, disciplinary dismissal adjudged or recognized to be without cause, individual or collective layoff on objective grounds, whether adjudged to be with cause or adjudged or recognized to be without cause, material modification of the terms of employment under Article 41 of the Workers’ Statute, relocation under Article 40 of the Workers’ Statute, Article 50 of the Workers’ Statute, unilateral withdrawal by the Employer, and under Article 10.3 of Royal Decree 1382/1985.

Notifications

Securities Law Information . The options described in the Subscription Agreement, Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement and this Appendix B do not qualify under Spanish regulations as securities. No “offer of securities to the public,” as defined under Spanish law, has taken place or will take place in the Spanish territory. The Subscription Agreement (including Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement and this Appendix B) has not been nor will it be registered with the Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores , and does not constitute a public offering prospectus.

Foreign Assets Reporting . Effective January 1, 2013, you may be subject to certain tax reporting requirements with respect to assets or rights that you hold outside of Spain, including bank accounts, securities and real estate if the aggregate value for particular category of assets exceeds €50,000 as of December 31 each year. Shares of Common Stock acquired under the Plan or other equity programs offered by the Company constitute securities for purposes of this requirement, but unvested awards ( e.g. , options, etc.) are not subject to this reporting requirement.

 

14


If applicable, you must report your foreign assets on Form 720 by no later than March 31 following the end of the relevant year. After the rights and/or assets are initially reported, the reporting obligation will only apply if the value of previously-reported rights or assets increases by more than €20,000 as of each subsequent December 31. You should consult with your personal advisor to determine any obligations in this respect.

Share Reporting Requirement . The acquisition of shares of Common Stock must be declared for statistical purposes to the Direccion General de Comercio e Inversiones (the “DGCI”), the Bureau for Commerce and Investments, which is a department of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness. Generally, the declaration must be filed in January for shares owned as of December 31 of each year; however, if the value of the shares acquired or the amount of the sale proceeds exceeds €1,502,530, the declaration must be filed within one month of the acquisition or sale, as applicable. You should consult with your personal advisor to determine your obligations in this respect.

Foreign Currency Payments . When receiving foreign currency payments exceeding €50,000 derived from the ownership of shares of Common Stock ( i.e. , dividends or proceeds from the sale of the shares of Common Stock), you must inform the financial institution receiving the payment of the basis upon which such payment is made. You will need to provide the following information: (i) your name, address, and fiscal identification number; (ii) the name and corporate domicile of the Company; (iii) the amount of the payment and the currency used; (iv) the country of origin; (v) the reasons for the payment; and (vi) further information that may be required.

Foreign Assets and Transaction Reporting . Effective January 1, 2013, you may be required to electronically declare to the Bank of Spain any foreign accounts (including brokerage accounts held abroad), any foreign instruments ( e.g. , shares of Common Stock) and any transactions with non-Spanish residents (including any payments of cash or shares made to you by the Company or a U.S. brokerage account) if the balances in such accounts together with the value of such instruments as of December 31, or the volume of transactions with non-Spanish residents during the prior or current year, exceed €1,000,000. Once the €1,000,000 threshold has been surpassed in either respect, you will generally be required to report all of your foreign accounts, foreign instruments and transactions with non-Spanish residents, even if the relevant threshold has not been crossed for an individual item. You will generally only be required to report on an annual basis (by January 20 of each year, beginning with January 20, 2014); however, if the balances in your foreign accounts together with value of your foreign instruments or the volume of transactions with non-Spanish residents exceed €100,000,000, more frequent reporting will be required.

Securities Disclaimer . The participation in the Plan is exempt or excluded from the requirement to publish a prospectus under the EU Prospectus Directive as implemented in Spain.

 

15


UNITED KINGDOM

Terms and Conditions

Tax Obligations . The following provision supplements Section 3 of Appendix A to the Subscription Agreement:

Tax-Related Items shall include Primary and, to the extent legally possible Secondary, Class 1 National Insurance Contributions.

I agree that the Company or the Employer may calculate the Tax-Related Items to be withheld and accounted for by reference to the maximum applicable rates, without prejudice to any right I may have to recover any overpayment from relevant U.K. tax authorities. If payment or withholding of any income tax liability arising in connection with my participation in the Plan is not made by me to the Employer within ninety (90) days of the event giving rise to such income tax liability or such other period specified in Section 222(1)(c) of the U.K. Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (the “Due Date”), I understand and agree that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a loan owed by me to the Employer, effective on the Due Date. I understand and agree that the loan will bear interest at the then-current official rate of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, it will be immediately due and repayable by me, and the Company and/or the Employer may recover it at any time thereafter by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Subscription Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, I understand and agree that if I am a director or an executive officer of the Company (within the meaning of such terms for purposes of Section 13(k) of the Exchange Act), I will not be eligible for such a loan to cover the income tax liability. In the event that I am a director or executive officer and the income tax is not collected from or paid by me by the Due Date, I understand that the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute an additional benefit to me on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions will be payable. I understand and agree that I be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company or the Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any primary and (to the extent legally possible) secondary class 1 national insurance contributions due on this additional benefit which the Company or the Employer may recover from me by any of the means referred to in the Plan and/or this Subscription Agreement.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if I am an executive officer or director (as within the meaning of Section 13(k) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended), the terms of the provision above will not apply. In the event that I am an executive office or director and income tax is not collected from or paid by me by the Due Date, the amount of any uncollected income tax will constitute a benefit to me on which additional income tax and National Insurance Contributions (“NICs”) (including Employer’s NICs, as defined below) may be payable. I understand that I will be responsible for reporting and paying any income tax due on this additional benefit directly to HMRC under the self-assessment regime and for reimbursing the Company and/or the Employer (as appropriate) for the value of any NICs due on this additional benefit.

 

16


Notification

Securities Disclaimer . Neither this Subscription Agreement nor Appendix is an approved prospectus for the purposes of section 85(1) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) and no offer of transferable securities to the public (for the purposes of section 102B of FSMA) is being made in connection with the Plan. The Plan is exclusively available in the UK to bona fide employees and former employees and any other UK Subsidiary.

 

17


APPENDIX C

TWITTER, INC.

2013 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL

The undersigned participant in the Offering Period of the Twitter, Inc. 2013 Employee Stock Purchase Plan that began on             ,          (the “Offering Date”) hereby notifies the Company that he or she hereby withdraws from the Offering Period. He or she hereby directs the Company to pay to the undersigned as promptly as practicable all the Contributions credited to his or her account with respect to such Offering Period. The undersigned understands and agrees that his or her option for such Offering Period will be automatically terminated. The undersigned understands further that no further payroll deductions will be made for the purchase of shares in the current Offering Period and the undersigned will be eligible to participate in succeeding Offering Periods only by delivering to the Company a new Subscription Agreement.

 

Name and Address of Participant:

 

 

 

Signature:

 

Date:  

 

Exhibit 10.11

 

LOGO

October 1, 2013

Dear Richard Costolo,

This letter agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company” or “we”), and you. This Agreement is effective as of the date you sign this Agreement, as indicated below. The purpose of this Agreement is to confirm the current terms and conditions of your employment.

1. Position. Your title will continue to be Chief Executive Officer and you will continue to report to the Board of Directors. You will continue to be a regular, full-time at-will employee. You will continue providing services from the Company’s San Francisco, California location. You may be required to travel as one part of your duties.

2. Base Salary . The Company will continue to pay you a gross salary at an annualized rate of Fourteen Thousand Dollars ($14,000), payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule. This salary will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the employee compensation policies then in effect.

3. Employee Benefits. As a regular employee of the Company, you will continue to be eligible to receive Company-sponsored benefits in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plans. In addition, you will be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policy, as in effect from time to time.

4. Severance . The compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors has approved your participation in our Change of Control and Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”), based on your senior position with the Company. The Severance Policy sets forth the severance payments and benefits to which you would be entitled in connection with certain terminations of employment occurring on or following a Company change of control. You will be provided a participation agreement under the Severance Policy outlining the payments and benefits for which you will be eligible. You will be asked to return an executed copy to the Company. The payments and benefits under the Severance Policy will be in lieu of any other severance or other benefits you would otherwise be entitled to under any plan, program or policy that the Company may have been in effect from time to time.

5. Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement. As an employee of the Company, you will continue to have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the Company. To protect the interests of the Company, your execution of this Agreement reaffirms the terms of the Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”), which you executed when you joined the Company.

6. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will continue to be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company regarding the duration of the employment relationship. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment, the Confidentiality Agreement and the Dispute Resolution Policy may only be changed through an express written agreement signed by you and duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).

7. Outside Activities. While you render services to the Company, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting, or other business activity that would create a conflict of interest with the Company, which includes engaging in any work that is competitive in nature. While you render services to the Company, you also agree to not assist any person or entity in competing with the Company, in preparing to compete with the Company, or in hiring any employees or consultants of the Company. In addition, for a period of one (1) year after the termination of your services, you agree to not solicit either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Company to leave the Company for other employment or assist any person or entity in doing the same.

8. Taxes. All forms of compensation that are subject to income or payroll taxes will be reduced to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Any form of compensation that is subject to income or payroll taxes and that is not paid in cash will result in a reduction in cash compensation to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes.


9. Dispute Resolution. We sincerely hope that no dispute will arise between us. If a dispute should arise, it can be resolved through the Company’s Dispute Resolution Policy, which you previously executed when you joined the Company.

10. Entire Agreement . This Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements, representations or understandings, whether written, oral or implied, between you and the Company relating to the subject matters described herein, including, but not limited to, your prior offer letter with the Company. This Agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

Please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement, and confirmation that it contains our complete agreement regarding the terms and conditions of your employment, by signing the bottom portion of this Agreement and returning a copy to me.

 

Very truly yours,
Twitter, Inc.
By  

/s/ Mike Gupta

  Mike Gupta, Chief Financial Officer

I have read, understood and accept all the provisions of this Agreement:

 

/s/ Richard Costolo

Richard Costolo

 

Date

 

Page 2

Exhibit 10.12

 

LOGO

October 1, 2013

Dear Ali Rowghani,

This letter agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company” or “we”) and you. This Agreement is effective as of the date you sign this Agreement, as indicated below. The purpose of this Agreement is to confirm the current terms and conditions of your employment.

1. Position. Your title will continue to be Chief Operating Officer and you will continue to report to Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer. You will continue to be a regular, full-time at-will employee. You will continue providing services from the Company’s San Francisco, CA location. You may be required to travel as one part of your duties.

2. Base Salary . The Company will continue to pay you a gross salary at an annualized rate of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000), payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule. This salary will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the employee compensation policies then in effect.

3. Employee Benefits. As a regular employee of the Company, you will continue to be eligible to receive Company-sponsored benefits in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plans. In addition, you will be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policy, as in effect from time to time.

4. Severance . The compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors has approved your participation in our Change of Control and Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”), based on your senior position with the Company. The Severance Policy sets forth the severance payments and benefits to which you would be entitled in connection with certain terminations of employment occurring on or following a Company change of control. You will be provided a participation agreement under the Severance Policy outlining the payments and benefits for which you will be eligible. You will be asked to return an executed copy to the Company. The payments and benefits under the Severance Policy will be in lieu of any other severance or other benefits you would otherwise be entitled to under any plan, program or policy that the Company may have been in effect from time to time.

5. Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement. As an employee of the Company, you will continue to have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the Company. To protect the interests of the Company, your execution of this Agreement reaffirms the terms of the Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”), which you executed when you joined the Company.

6. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will continue to be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company regarding the duration of the employment relationship. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment, the Confidentiality Agreement and the Dispute Resolution Policy may only be changed through an express written agreement signed by you and duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).


7. Outside Activities. While you render services to the Company, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting, or other business activity that would create a conflict of interest with the Company, which includes engaging in any work that is competitive in nature. While you render services to the Company, you also agree to not assist any person or entity in competing with the Company, in preparing to compete with the Company, or in hiring any employees or consultants of the Company. In addition, for a period of one (1) year after the termination of your services, you agree to not solicit either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Company to leave the Company for other employment or assist any person or entity in doing the same.

8. Taxes. All forms of compensation that are subject to income or payroll taxes will be reduced to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Any form of compensation that is subject to income or payroll taxes and that is not paid in cash will result in a reduction in cash compensation to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes.

9. Dispute Resolution. We sincerely hope that no dispute will arise between us. If a dispute should arise, it can be resolved through the Company’s Dispute Resolution Policy, which you previously executed when you joined the Company.

10. Entire Agreement. This Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements, representations or understandings, whether written, oral or implied, between you and the Company relating to the subject matters described herein, including, but not limited to, your previous offer letter with the Company. This Agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

Please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement, and confirmation that it contains our complete agreement regarding the terms and conditions of your employment, by signing the bottom portion of this Agreement and returning a copy to me.

 

Very truly yours,
Twitter, Inc.
By  

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo, Chief Executive Officer

I have read, understood and accept all the provisions of this Agreement:

 

/s/ Ali Rowghani

Ali Rowghani

 

Date

 

Page 2

Exhibit 10.13

 

LOGO

October 1, 2013

Dear Mike Gupta,

This letter agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company” or “we”) and you. This Agreement is effective as of the date you sign this Agreement, as indicated below. The purpose of this Agreement is to confirm the current terms and conditions of your employment.

1. Position. Your title will continue to be Chief Financial Officer and you will continue to report to Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer. You will continue to be a regular, full-time at-will employee. You will continue providing services from the Company’s San Francisco, CA location. You may be required to travel as one part of your duties.

2. Base Salary . The Company will continue to pay you a gross salary at an annualized rate of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000), payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule. This salary will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the employee compensation policies then in effect.

3. Employee Benefits. As a regular employee of the Company, you will continue to be eligible to receive Company-sponsored benefits in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plans. In addition, you will be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policy, as in effect from time to time.

4. Severance . The compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors has approved your participation in our Change of Control and Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”), based on your senior position with the Company. The Severance Policy sets forth the severance payments and benefits to which you would be entitled in connection with certain terminations of employment occurring on or following a Company change of control. You will be provided a participation agreement under the Severance Policy outlining the payments and benefits for which you will be eligible. You will be asked to return an executed copy to the Company. The payments and benefits under the Severance Policy will be in lieu of any other severance or other benefits you would otherwise be entitled to under any plan, program or policy that the Company may have been in effect from time to time.

5. Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement. As an employee of the Company, you will continue to have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the Company. To protect the interests of the Company, your execution of this Agreement reaffirms the terms of the Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”), which you executed when you joined the Company.

6. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will continue to be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company regarding the duration of the employment relationship. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment, the Confidentiality Agreement and the Dispute Resolution Policy may only be changed through an express written agreement signed by you and duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).


7. Outside Activities. While you render services to the Company, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting, or other business activity that would create a conflict of interest with the Company, which includes engaging in any work that is competitive in nature. While you render services to the Company, you also agree to not assist any person or entity in competing with the Company, in preparing to compete with the Company, or in hiring any employees or consultants of the Company. In addition, for a period of one (1) year after the termination of your services, you agree to not solicit either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Company to leave the Company for other employment or assist any person or entity in doing the same.

8. Taxes. All forms of compensation that are subject to income or payroll taxes will be reduced to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Any form of compensation that is subject to income or payroll taxes and that is not paid in cash will result in a reduction in cash compensation to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes.

9. Dispute Resolution. We sincerely hope that no dispute will arise between us. If a dispute should arise, it can be resolved through the Company’s Dispute Resolution Policy, which you previously executed when you joined the Company.

10. Entire Agreement . This Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements, representations or understandings, whether written, oral or implied, between you and the Company relating to the subject matters described herein, including, but not limited to, your previous offer letter with the Company. This Agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

Please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement, and confirmation that it contains our complete agreement regarding the terms and conditions of your employment, by signing the bottom portion of this Agreement and returning a copy to me.

 

Very truly yours,
Twitter, Inc.
By  

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo, Chief Executive Officer

I have read, understood and accept all the provisions of this Agreement:

 

/s/ Mike Gupta

Mike Gupta

 

Date

 

Page 2

Exhibit 10.14

 

LOGO

October 1, 2013

Dear Adam Bain,

This letter agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company” or “we”) and you. This Agreement is effective as of the date you sign this Agreement, as indicated below. The purpose of this Agreement is to confirm the current terms and conditions of your employment.

1. Position. Your title will continue to be President, Global Revenue and you will continue to report to Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer. You will continue to be a regular, full-time at-will employee. You will continue providing services from the Company’s San Francisco, CA location. You may be required to travel as one part of your duties.

2. Base Salary . The Company will continue to pay you a gross salary at an annualized rate of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000), payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule. This salary will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the employee compensation policies then in effect.

3. Commission Eligibility. You will continue to be eligible for additional variable compensation under the terms of the commission plan previously provided to you (the “Plan”). Under the current Plan, your variable compensation at 100% of target achievement will continue to be Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) on an annualized basis, such that your total on-target annualized earnings, including your base pay, will continue to be Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000) at 100% performance. Please note that the terms and conditions of the Plan are reviewed periodically, and subject to revision at the Company’s sole discretion.

4. Employee Benefits. As a regular employee of the Company, you will continue to be eligible to receive Company-sponsored benefits in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plans. In addition, you will be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policy, as in effect from time to time.

5. Severance . The compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors has approved your participation in our Change of Control and Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”), based on your senior position with the Company. The Severance Policy sets forth the severance payments and benefits to which you would be entitled in connection with certain terminations of employment occurring on or following a Company change of control. You will be provided a participation agreement under the Severance Policy outlining the payments and benefits for which you will be eligible. You will be asked to return an executed copy to the Company. The payments and benefits under the Severance Policy will be in lieu of any other severance or other benefits you would otherwise be entitled to under any plan, program or policy that the Company may have been in effect from time to time.

6. Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement. As an employee of the Company, you will continue to have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the Company. To protect the interests of the Company, your execution of this Agreement reaffirms the terms of the Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”), which you executed when you joined the Company.


7. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will continue to be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company regarding the duration of the employment relationship. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment, the Confidentiality Agreement and the Dispute Resolution Policy may only be changed through an express written agreement signed by you and duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).

8. Outside Activities. While you render services to the Company, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting, or other business activity that would create a conflict of interest with the Company, which includes engaging in any work that is competitive in nature. While you render services to the Company, you also agree to not assist any person or entity in competing with the Company, in preparing to compete with the Company, or in hiring any employees or consultants of the Company. In addition, for a period of one (1) year after the termination of your services, you agree to not solicit either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Company to leave the Company for other employment or assist any person or entity in doing the same.

9. Taxes. All forms of compensation that are subject to income or payroll taxes will be reduced to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Any form of compensation that is subject to income or payroll taxes and that is not paid in cash will result in a reduction in cash compensation to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes.

10. Dispute Resolution. We sincerely hope that no dispute will arise between us. If a dispute should arise, it can be resolved through the Company’s Dispute Resolution Policy, which you previously executed when you joined the Company.

11. Entire Agreement . This Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements, representations or understandings, whether written, oral or implied, between you and the Company relating to the subject matters described herein, including, but not limited to, your previous offer letter with the Company. This Agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

Please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement, and confirmation that it contains our complete agreement regarding the terms and conditions of your employment, by signing the bottom portion of this Agreement and returning a copy to me.

 

Very truly yours,
Twitter, Inc.
By  

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo, Chief Executive Officer

 

Page 2


I have read, understood and accept all the provisions of this Agreement:

 

/s/ Adam Bain

Adam Bain

 

Date

 

Page 3

Exhibit 10.15

 

LOGO

October 1, 2013

Dear Christopher Fry,

This letter agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company” or “we”) and you. This Agreement is effective as of the date you sign this Agreement, as indicated below. The purpose of this Agreement is to confirm the current terms and conditions of your employment.

1. Position. Your title will continue to be Senior Vice President, Engineering and you will continue to report to Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer. You will continue to be a regular, full-time at-will employee. You will continue providing services from the Company’s San Francisco, CA location. You may be required to travel as one part of your duties.

2. Base Salary . The Company will continue to pay you a gross salary at an annualized rate of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000), payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule. This salary will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the employee compensation policies then in effect.

3. Employee Benefits. As a regular employee of the Company, you will continue to be eligible to receive Company-sponsored benefits in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plans. In addition, you will be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policy, as in effect from time to time.

4. Severance . The compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors has approved your participation in our Change of Control and Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”), based on your senior position with the Company. The Severance Policy sets forth the severance payments and benefits to which you would be entitled in connection with certain terminations of employment occurring on or following a Company change of control. You will be provided a participation agreement under the Severance Policy outlining the payments and benefits for which you will be eligible. You will be asked to return an executed copy to the Company. The payments and benefits under the Severance Policy will be in lieu of any other severance or other benefits you would otherwise be entitled to under any plan, program or policy that the Company may have been in effect from time to time.

5. Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement. As an employee of the Company, you will continue to have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the Company. To protect the interests of the Company, your execution of this Agreement reaffirms the terms of the Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”), which you executed when you joined the Company.

6. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will continue to be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company regarding the duration of the employment relationship. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment, the Confidentiality Agreement and the Dispute Resolution Policy may only be changed through an express written agreement signed by you and duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).


7. Outside Activities. While you render services to the Company, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting, or other business activity that would create a conflict of interest with the Company, which includes engaging in any work that is competitive in nature. While you render services to the Company, you also agree to not assist any person or entity in competing with the Company, in preparing to compete with the Company, or in hiring any employees or consultants of the Company. In addition, for a period of one (1) year after the termination of your services, you agree to not solicit either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Company to leave the Company for other employment or assist any person or entity in doing the same.

8. Taxes. All forms of compensation that are subject to income or payroll taxes will be reduced to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Any form of compensation that is subject to income or payroll taxes and that is not paid in cash will result in a reduction in cash compensation to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes.

9. Dispute Resolution. We sincerely hope that no dispute will arise between us. If a dispute should arise, it can be resolved through the Company’s Dispute Resolution Policy, which you previously executed when you joined the Company.

10. Entire Agreement . This Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements, representations or understandings, whether written, oral or implied, between you and the Company relating to the subject matters described herein, including, but not limited to, your previous offer letter with the Company. This Agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

Please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement, and confirmation that it contains our complete agreement regarding the terms and conditions of your employment, by signing the bottom portion of this Agreement and returning a copy to me.

 

Very truly yours,
Twitter, Inc.
By  

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo, Chief Executive Officer

I have read, understood and accept all the provisions of this Agreement:

 

/s/ Christopher Fry

Christopher Fry

 

Date

 

Page 2

Exhibit 10.16

 

LOGO

October 1, 2013

Dear Vijaya Gadde,

This letter agreement (the “Agreement”) is entered into between Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Company” or “we”) and you. This Agreement is effective as of the date you sign this Agreement, as indicated below. The purpose of this Agreement is to confirm the current terms and conditions of your employment.

1. Position. Your title will continue to be General Counsel and Secretary and you will continue to report to Dick Costolo, Chief Executive Officer. You will continue to be a regular, full-time at-will employee. You will continue providing services from the Company’s San Francisco, CA location. You may be required to travel as one part of your duties.

2. Base Salary . The Company will continue to pay you a gross salary at an annualized rate of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000), payable in accordance with the Company’s standard payroll schedule. This salary will be subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the employee compensation policies then in effect.

3. Employee Benefits. As a regular employee of the Company, you will continue to be eligible to receive Company-sponsored benefits in accordance with the terms of the applicable benefit plans. In addition, you will be entitled to paid vacation in accordance with the Company’s vacation policy, as in effect from time to time.

4. Severance . The compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors has approved your participation in our Change of Control and Severance Policy (the “Severance Policy”), based on your senior position with the Company. The Severance Policy sets forth the severance payments and benefits to which you would be entitled in connection with certain terminations of employment occurring on or following a Company change of control. You will be provided a participation agreement under the Severance Policy outlining the payments and benefits for which you will be eligible. You will be asked to return an executed copy to the Company. The payments and benefits under the Severance Policy will be in lieu of any other severance or other benefits you would otherwise be entitled to under any plan, program or policy that the Company may have been in effect from time to time.

5. Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement. As an employee of the Company, you will continue to have access to certain confidential information of the Company and you may, during the course of your employment, develop certain information or inventions that will be the property of the Company. To protect the interests of the Company, your execution of this Agreement reaffirms the terms of the Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement (“Confidentiality Agreement”), which you executed when you joined the Company.

6. Employment Relationship. Employment with the Company is for no specific period of time. Your employment with the Company will continue to be “at will,” meaning that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. This is the full and complete agreement between you and the Company regarding the duration of the employment relationship. Although your job duties, title, compensation and benefits, as well as the Company’s personnel policies and procedures may change from time to time, the “at will” nature of your employment, the Confidentiality Agreement and the Dispute Resolution Policy may only be changed through an express written agreement signed by you and duly authorized officer of the Company (other than you).


7. Outside Activities. While you render services to the Company, you agree that you will not engage in any other employment, consulting, or other business activity that would create a conflict of interest with the Company, which includes engaging in any work that is competitive in nature. While you render services to the Company, you also agree to not assist any person or entity in competing with the Company, in preparing to compete with the Company, or in hiring any employees or consultants of the Company. In addition, for a period of one (1) year after the termination of your services, you agree to not solicit either directly or indirectly, any employee of the Company to leave the Company for other employment or assist any person or entity in doing the same.

8. Taxes. All forms of compensation that are subject to income or payroll taxes will be reduced to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes. Any form of compensation that is subject to income or payroll taxes and that is not paid in cash will result in a reduction in cash compensation to reflect applicable income tax withholding and payroll taxes.

9. Dispute Resolution. We sincerely hope that no dispute will arise between us. If a dispute should arise, it can be resolved through the Company’s Dispute Resolution Policy, which you previously executed when you joined the Company.

10. Entire Agreement . This Agreement supersedes and replaces any prior agreements, representations or understandings, whether written, oral or implied, between you and the Company relating to the subject matters described herein, including, but not limited to, your previous offer letter with the Company. This Agreement may not be amended or modified, except by an express written agreement signed by both you and a duly authorized officer of the Company.

Please indicate your acceptance of this Agreement, and confirmation that it contains our complete agreement regarding the terms and conditions of your employment, by signing the bottom portion of this Agreement and returning a copy to me.

 

Very truly yours,
Twitter, Inc.
By  

/s/ Richard Costolo

  Richard Costolo, Chief Executive Officer

I have read, understood and accept all the provisions of this Agreement:

 

/s/ Vijaya Gadde

Vijaya Gadde

 

Date

 

Page 2

Exhibit 10.20

 

LOGO

T WITTER

2013 T ARGET C OMMISSION P LAN

FOR

A DAM B AIN

Purpose

This Twitter 2013 Target Commission Plan (the “Plan”) describes the terms and conditions for earning Commissions, and the manner and rates at which Commissions may be earned and paid. The Plan is intended to reward you (the “Eligible Employee”) for your achievement against specified goals. The Plan has been designed to pay competitively and to align with the Company’s growth strategies.

Duration

This Plan is in effect as of January 1, 2013, and replaces and supersedes all previous plans, agreements, and understandings between the Eligible Employee and the Company, whether verbal or in writing, in relation to the amount and the method for payment of Commissions, and other subjects covered herein. Any changes to the terms set out in this Plan must be in writing and signed by the Plan Manager. Net Revenue Served in 2013 will be eligible for Commissions under this Plan. The Plan terminates upon the earlier of December 31, 2013, or when replaced by a new Plan, at the discretion of Twitter (through the Plan Manager).

Eligibility

To be eligible for Earned Commissions under this Plan, you must: (1) be employed by the Company; (2) fulfill all of the conditions to Earning the Commissions as set forth in this Plan and your Target Document for each Measurement Period; and (3) sign and return acknowledgement of this Plan and the associated Target Documents. By for participating in this Plan, the Eligible Employee is not eligible to participate in any other Company commission plan during the duration of the Plan.

Definitions

As used in this Plan, the terms and phrases below have the following meanings:

Account – A specified business or portion of a business organization.

Advances – Any and all Commissions paid before being fully Earned, whether or not labeled or described as such, which are based on Commissions anticipated to be earned. Cumulative Advances are reconciled against Earned Commissions, or other amounts, as set forth in this Plan and at the end of each Measurement Period. When an Advance exceeds the amount of Earned Commissions, the difference owed by the Eligible Employee generally is carried forward until reconciled against Commissions in one or more later Measurement Period(s), as set forth in this Plan. Advances are provided at the discretion of Twitter, and can be increased, decreased, or eliminated entirely, at any time in the Company’s sole discretion, to the greatest extent permissible by applicable law.

Advertiser – The term “advertiser” may be used interchangeably with “clients” and/or “customers” to describe the Company’s paid advertisers.

Base Pay – The minimum guaranteed form of payment to the Eligible Employee for services during his active employment with Twitter, which form of payment may be expressed as an hourly, weekly, monthly, or annual pay rate. Base pay does not include Commissions under this Plan, nor does it include benefits or other forms of compensation that are or may be offered by the Company, unless otherwise required by applicable law.

Commissions – A Commission is compensation the Eligible Employee may earn based on successful sales activities as set forth in his Target Document.

Company – The specific company within the Twitter group of companies that employs the Eligible Employee under this Plan.

Curve – A graphical depiction of Commission payouts relative to increasing Target achievement. Various Curves are depicted in the earnings charts contained in this Plan.

Earned Commission – A Commission payment becomes Earned only if each and every one of the following conditions is met: (1) you are an Eligible Employee; (2) you are employed by the Company on the date a Commission is determined to be Earned subject to the terms of this plan; (3) Twitter receives full payment within six months of invoicing from an Advertiser for Served ads; (4) such invoicing results in Net Revenue; and (5) all other earnings criteria as set out in this Plan and the associated Target Document are met. Commissions paid out prior to being Earned are Advances. Unless already Advanced, all Earned Commissions will be paid no later than the next regularly scheduled payroll period.

 

 

1


LOGO

 

Measurement Period – A three calendar month quarter during Twitter’s fiscal year, which coincides with the calendar year, beginning January 1 and ending the following December 31. The quarterly Measurement Periods are: Q1 = January 1–March 31; Q2 = April 1–June 30; Q3 = July 1–September 30; Q4 = October1–December 31.

Net Revenue – Amounts actually paid from Advertisers for Served and invoiced advertisements within six months of invoicing, after applying any applicable discounts. Net Revenue excludes each of the following types of revenue:

 

   

Self-serve ads – including ads the submitted by the advertiser directly through the Company’s online ads platform;

 

   

House ads – including advertisements running on Twitter-owned handles or, in rare cases, as part of a customer test;

 

   

Value-ads – including bonus media offered to the customer without cost, in addition to a paid media buy;

 

   

Make-goods – including bonus media credits granted to a customer;

 

   

Pro-bono advertisements – including free spend granted by the Company to a qualifying non-profit; and

 

   

Paid non-profit bonuses (i.e., free bonus impressions given after a non-profit pays and completes a Twitter buy).

On Target Earnings (OTE) –The sum of the Eligible Employee’s Target Commissions at 100% of achievement, plus Base Pay.

Plan Manager – Twitter’s Chief Financial Officer. Only the Plan Manager may authorize changes to the Plan.

Region – The geographically based territory or market assigned to the Eligible Employee that constitutes his book of business in whole or part.

Served – Occurs when all or some portion of a customer’s advertising intention signified in an insertion order actually results in a run advertisement. Only the Net Revenue from the portion of the advertising that actually runs has been “Served” and will be eligible for Commissions.

Slope – The ratio between the percentage of payout of Target Commissions for the Eligible Employee and his percentage achievement of identified Target(s), and associated with a particular band on a payout Curve.

Target – One or more quantifiable sales objective(s) that serve as a goal during a specified Measurement Period, and which determines in whole or part the commission earning possibilities under this Plan. A Target may sometimes be referred to as a “quota” internally. The Eligible Employee under this Plan is assigned an individual Target, a team Target, or both, which Target(s) will be specifically set out in a Target Document for such Eligible Employee. Targets are determined by and may be revised at any time in the discretion of the Company, to the greatest extent permissible by applicable laws.

Target Document – The document, which will be provided to you prior to the beginning of each Measurement Period, that sets out individual and/or team Targets for the Eligible Employee under this Plan, and for a given Measurement Period. The Eligible Employee must sign acknowledgement of the Target Document for each Measurement Period. The Eligible Employee’s Target Document becomes part of, and incorporated into this Plan for the governing Measurement Period.

Team Target – The Target set for a given Team Vertical or Region, for which certain the Eligible Employee may earn Commissions under this Plan, as identified in his Target Document.

Team Vertical – Refers to a team grouped to work cooperatively together and/or aligned to a particular industry, niche market, or other business category or characteristic, as defined by Twitter. Examples of potential Team Verticals include, but are not limited to, Entertainment, Finance, Automotive, etc. Team Verticals are selected in the absolute discretion of management based on business reasons, and will vary over time.

Total Target Commissions – The amount identified in the Target Document that would be earned as commissions at 100% achievement of individual and/or Team Target(s), as applicable, for the Measurement Period.

Twitter – Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Advances and Reconciliations

For the purpose of timely payouts, Commissions may, in the Company’s sole discretion, be Advanced following the end of each Measurement Period on the assumption that the Commission will be Earned. Any payment of Commissions made to the Eligible Employee prior to being Earned is an Advance.

If the Eligible Employee receives Advances under this Plan, he authorizes Twitter to reconcile any Advance by deducting Advances from the Eligible Employee’s Earned Commissions, other Advances, bonuses, severance, pay-in-lieu of notice, expense reimbursements, and other amounts due to the employee, up to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. The Eligible Employee also agrees to repay Twitter any amounts Advanced that are not Earned. However, in no event will any reconciliation against Advances be made against an employee’s Base Pay.

 

2


LOGO

 

Also, unless prohibited by applicable law, Twitter reserves the right to reconcile Advances as set forth above if revenue is deemed to be uncollectible. An uncollectable Account is defined as either being six (6) months past due, or written off by Accounting. An Account is written off when there is a good-faith reason to conclude that an amount will not be collected – such as a when a customer is in bankruptcy – in the sole discretion of Twitter. If an amount that was previously written off is later collected, the Net Revenue will be eligible for Earned Commissions in the Measurement Period in which the Net Revenue is received, if the Eligible Employee is still employed by Twitter at the time the Net Revenue is collected, and as permitted by law.

Failure to promptly repay the full amount of an Advance when requested by Twitter may result in legal action by Twitter to recover the full amount of the Advance still owed after any reconciliation, to the extent permissible by applicable law. If Twitter cannot fully deduct or the employee fails to repay unearned Advances in full, the employee agrees to pay Twitter’s reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in recovering the Advances owed from the employee, to the maximum extent permissible by applicable law.

Leaves of Absence

If the Eligible Employee is on a Company-approved leave of absence, he is entitled to be paid Advances or Earned Commissions for Served advertisements invoiced by him prior to the date the leave commences, which amounts will be considered Earned or Advanced and paid on the same timing as described above. Please see the Company’s applicable leaves of absence policies or applicable employment agreements for general information on leaves. Unless prohibited by law, Twitter retains sole discretion to determine eligibility for Commissions or Advances, to re-assign Accounts or Regions, to pro-rate Targets or OTE, or to determine splits under this Plan during a leave.

Termination

In the event the Eligible Employee’s employment is terminated for any reason, by the employee or the Company, he will be paid all Earned Commissions through the last day of active employment, or as required by applicable law. Payments, where due, will be made as soon as calculable,, or as required by applicable law. No Commission will be paid if the Eligible Employee’s employment terminates prior to the Commission being Earned. In other words, the Eligible Employee will not be eligible to Earn Commissions for Served advertisements if all requirements for Earning a Commission under this Plan have not been met by the Eligible Employee’s last date of active work, except where prohibited by applicable law. Nothing in this Plan guarantees employment for any period of time or alters the Eligible Employee’s or the Company’s ability to terminate employment as permitted by applicable law.

Transfer or Promotion

In the event the Eligible Employee is transferred or promoted out of a position covered by the Plan, he will be paid all Earned Commissions through the effective date of the change in status. If the Eligible Employee is transferred or promoted, achievement toward Targets will be calculated and prorated based on the proportion of the Measurement Period actively employed in the covered position.

Plan Review, Modification, and Termination

As Twitter is a rapidly developing business, Twitter will do its best to make good-faith revenue predictions with uncertain and changing information. Underlying the Targets are assumptions around product delivery, revenue predictions, hiring plans, and broad business factors. Unforeseen factors may change our assumptions and impact revenue projections, or Net Revenue recognized, adversely or otherwise. For these and other reasons, this Plan and the Target Document are subject to modification at the sole discretion of Twitter at any time, to the greatest extent permissible by applicable law. This Plan and the Target Document can be changed only by a written communication signed by the Plan Manager.

Ethical Considerations

All sales activities must be conducted in full compliance with all applicable laws and relevant regulations (including, but not limited to, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act), the Company’s Code of Conduct, and generally recognized ethical and legal business standards. Any failure to adhere to ethical and legal business standards will subject an employee to disciplinary action, up to and including immediate termination of employment, and revocation of the right to Commission compensation under this Plan, in accordance with applicable law.

Exceptions Process and Disputes

The Plan Manager reserves the right to review and approve exceptions to earnings criteria under this Plan and any related Target Document, such as where unforeseen circumstances negatively impact the Target earning potential (e.g., acts of God, major industry changes, bankruptcy of major Account, etc.), to the extent permissible by applicable law. Exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis at the request of the Eligible Employee.

 

3


LOGO

 

Conflict Resolution

All disputes regarding the interpretation, application or earning of Commissions must be submitted to the Eligible Employee’s manager within thirty days of the dispute first arising. Any dispute not resolved between the Eligible Employee and his manager within thirty days will be submitted to the Plan Manager within thirty days thereafter. The Company will have final and absolute authority to resolve any and all disputes related to the Plan and all Targets.

Severability

In the event that any portion or provision of this Plan becomes or is declared void by a court or administrative agency to be illegal, unenforceable or void, this Plan shall continue in full force and effect without said provision or portion.

Arbitration

Both the Eligible Employee and Twitter agree to arbitrate all employment claims, including but not limited to, any and all claims for commissions or any other claim arising out of or related to this Plan in accordance with the arbitration provisions required by Twitter as set forth in Twitter’s Employee Invention Assignment and Confidentiality Agreement.

 

X  

    /S/ Mike Gupta

      MIKE GUPTA
      PLAN MANAGER

COMPLETE AGREEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE

I acknowledge that I have read, understand, and agree to comply with all of the terms and conditions of this Plan and my Target Document, and authorize deductions from my wages, including from final pay, for Advances as set forth herein, to the maximum extent permissible by applicable law.

 

/s/ Adam Bain

Adam Bain

 

4

Exhibit 10.21

 

 

REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

dated as of

October 22, 2013

among

TWITTER, INC.,

The Lenders Party Hereto

and

MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.,

as Administrative Agent

 

 

 

 

MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC. and

J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES LLC,

as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners

JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as Syndication Agent

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

          P AGE  
ARTICLE 1   
Definitions   

Section 1.01.

  

Defined Terms

     1   

Section 1.02.

  

Classification of Loans and Borrowings

     20   

Section 1.03.

  

Terms Generally

     20   

Section 1.04.

  

Accounting Terms; GAAP

     20   
ARTICLE 2   
The Credits   

Section 2.01.

  

Commitments

     21   

Section 2.02.

  

Loans and Borrowings

     21   

Section 2.03.

  

Requests for Borrowings

     22   

Section 2.04.

  

Funding of Borrowings

     22   

Section 2.05.

  

Interest Elections

     23   

Section 2.06.

  

Termination and Reduction of Commitments

     24   

Section 2.07.

  

Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt

     25   

Section 2.08.

  

Prepayment of Loans

     25   

Section 2.09.

  

Fees

     26   

Section 2.10.

  

Interest

     26   

Section 2.11.

  

Alternate Rate of Interest

     27   

Section 2.12.

  

Increased Costs

     28   

Section 2.13.

  

Break Funding Payments

     29   

Section 2.14.

  

Taxes

     29   

Section 2.15.

  

Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs

     32   

Section 2.16.

  

Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders

     34   

Section 2.17.

  

Defaulting Lenders

     35   
ARTICLE 3   
Representations and Warranties   

Section 3.01.

  

Organization; Powers

     36   

Section 3.02.

  

Authorization; Enforceability

     36   

Section 3.03.

  

Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts

     36   

Section 3.04.

  

Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change

     37   

Section 3.05.

  

Properties

     37   

Section 3.06.

  

Litigation and Environmental Matters

     37   

Section 3.07.

  

Compliance with Laws and Agreements; No Default

     38   

Section 3.08.

  

Investment Company Status

     38   

Section 3.09.

  

Margin Stock

     38   

Section 3.10.

  

Taxes

     38   

 

i


Section 3.11.

  

ERISA

     38   

Section 3.12.

  

Disclosure

     40   

Section 3.13.

  

Subsidiaries

     40   

Section 3.14.

  

Solvency

     40   

Section 3.15.

  

Anti-Terrorism Law

     41   

Section 3.16.

  

FCPA

     41   
ARTICLE 4   
Conditions   

Section 4.01.

  

Effective Date

     42   

Section 4.02.

  

Each Credit Event

     43   
ARTICLE 5   
Affirmative Covenants   

Section 5.01.

  

Financial Statements; Ratings Change and Other Information

     44   

Section 5.02.

  

Notices of Material Events

     45   

Section 5.03.

  

Existence; Conduct of Business

     46   

Section 5.04.

  

Payment of Taxes

     46   

Section 5.05.

  

Maintenance of Properties; Insurance

     46   

Section 5.06.

  

Books and Records; Inspection Rights

     46   

Section 5.07.

  

ERISA-Related Information

     47   

Section 5.08.

  

Compliance with Laws and Agreements

     47   

Section 5.09.

  

Use of Proceeds

     48   

Section 5.10.

  

Guarantors

     48   
ARTICLE 6   
Negative Covenants   

Section 6.01.

  

Indebtedness

     48   

Section 6.02.

  

Liens

     49   

Section 6.03.

  

Fundamental Changes

     50   

Section 6.04.

  

Restricted Payments

     51   

Section 6.05.

  

Restrictive Agreements

     52   

Section 6.06.

  

Transactions with Affiliates

     53   

Section 6.07.

  

Sale and Leaseback Transactions

     53   
ARTICLE 7   
Events of Default   
ARTICLE 8   
The Administrative Agent   
ARTICLE 9   
Miscellaneous   

Section 9.01.

  

Notices

     59   

 

ii


Section 9.02.

  

Waivers; Amendments

     60   

Section 9.03.

  

Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver

     61   

Section 9.04.

  

Successors and Assigns

     63   

Section 9.05.

  

Survival

     68   

Section 9.06.

  

Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness

     68   

Section 9.07.

  

Severability

     68   

Section 9.08.

  

Right of Setoff

     69   

Section 9.09.

  

Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent to Service of Process

     69   

Section 9.10.

  

Waiver Of Jury Trial

     70   

Section 9.11.

  

Headings

     70   

Section 9.12.

  

Confidentiality

     70   

Section 9.13.

  

Interest Rate Limitation

     71   

Section 9.14.

  

No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility

     72   

Section 9.15.

  

Electronic Execution of Assignments and Certain Other Documents

     72   

Section 9.16.

  

USA PATRIOT Act

     73   

Section 9.17.

  

Release of Guarantors

     73   

SCHEDULES

 

Schedule 2.1       Commitments

EXHIBITS

 

Exhibit A       Form of Assignment and Assumption
Exhibit B       Form of Borrowing Request
Exhibit C       Form of Interest Election Request
Exhibit D       Form of Note
Exhibit E       Form of Guaranty Agreement
Exhibit F       Form of Compliance Certificate

 

iii


REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT dated as of October 22, 2013 among TWITTER, INC., as Borrower, the LENDERS party hereto and MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., as Administrative Agent.

The Borrower (such term and each other capitalized term used and not otherwise defined herein having the meaning assigned to it in Article 1), has requested the Lenders to make Loans to the Borrower on a revolving credit basis on and after the date hereof and at any time and from time to time prior to the Maturity Date.

The proceeds of borrowings hereunder are to be used for the purposes described in Section 5.09. The Lenders are willing to establish the credit facility referred to in the preceding paragraph upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein. Accordingly, the parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1

D EFINITIONS

Section 1.01. Defined Terms . As used in this Agreement, the following terms have the meanings specified below:

ABR ”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Alternate Base Rate.

Adjusted LIBO Rate ” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing for any Interest Period, an interest rate per annum (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) equal to (a) the LIBO Rate for such Interest Period multiplied by (b) the Statutory Reserve Rate.

Administrative Agent ” means Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., in its capacity as administrative agent for the Lenders hereunder, or any successor administrative agent.

Administrative Questionnaire ” means an Administrative Questionnaire in a form supplied by the Administrative Agent.

Affiliate ” means, with respect to a specified Person, another Person that directly, or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, Controls or is Controlled by or is under common Control with the Person specified.

Agent Parties ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.01.

Agreement ” means this Revolving Credit Agreement, as the same may hereafter be modified, supplemented, extended, amended, restated or amended and restated from time to time.


Alternate Base Rate ” means, for any day, a rate per annum equal to the highest of (a) the Prime Rate in effect on such day, (b) the Federal Funds Effective Rate in effect on such day plus  1 2 of 1% and (c) the Adjusted LIBO Rate for an Interest Period of 1 month commencing on such day (or if such day is not a Business Day, the immediately preceding Business Day) plus 1.00%. Any change in the Alternate Base Rate due to a change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate or the Adjusted LIBO Rate shall be effective from and including the effective date of such change in the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate or the Adjusted LIBO Rate, respectively.

Anti-Terrorism Laws ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.14(a).

Applicable Percentage ” means, with respect to any Lender, the percentage of the total Commitments represented by such Lender’s Commitment. If the Commitments have terminated or expired, the Applicable Percentages shall be determined based upon the Commitments most recently in effect, giving effect to any assignments.

Applicable Rate ” means, for any day, with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, any ABR Loan or the commitment fees payable hereunder, as the case may be, the applicable rate per annum set forth across from the caption “Applicable Rate for Eurodollar Loans”, “Applicable Rate for ABR Loans” or “Commitment Fee” in the table below, as the case may be, based upon the Total Leverage Ratio, as more fully described below.

 

     Level 1     Level 2     Level 3     Level 4  

Total Leverage Ratio

    
 
Less than
2.0:1.00
  
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
Less than
2.5:1.00
but greater
than or
equal to
2.0:1.00
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
 
 
 
 
 
Less than
3.0:1.00
but greater
than or
equal to
2.5:1.00
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
 
 
 
Greater
than or
equal to
3.0:1.00
  
  
  
  

Commitment Fee

     0.100     0.150     0.200     0.250

Applicable Rate for Eurodollar Loans

     1.000     1.250     1.500     1.750

Applicable Rate for ABR Loans

     0.000     0.250     0.500     0.750

The Total Leverage Ratio shall be determined on the basis of the most recent certificate of the Borrower to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(c), for the most recently ended fiscal quarter or fiscal year of the Borrower, as applicable, and any change in the Total Leverage Ratio shall be effective one Business Day after the date on which the Administrative Agent receives such certificate; provided , that for so long as the Borrower has not delivered such certificate when due pursuant to Section 5.01(c), the Total Leverage Ratio shall be deemed to be at Level 4 until the respective certificate is delivered to the Administrative Agent; provided further, that at all times prior to a Qualifying IPO, the Total Leverage Ratio shall be deemed to be at Level 4.

 

2


In the event that any financial statement or compliance certificate delivered pursuant to Sections 5.01(a), 5.01(b) or 5.01(c) is inaccurate (regardless of whether this Agreement or the Commitments are in effect when such inaccuracy is discovered), and such inaccuracy, if corrected, would have led to the application of a higher Applicable Rate for any period (an “Applicable Period”) than the Applicable Rate applied for such Applicable Period, then (i) the Borrower shall immediately deliver to the Administrative Agent a corrected financial statement and a corrected compliance certificate for such Applicable Period, (ii) the Applicable Rate shall be determined based on the corrected financial statement and corrected compliance certificate for such Applicable Period and (iii) the Borrower shall immediately pay to the Administrative Agent (for the account of the Lenders during the Applicable Period or their successors and assigns) the accrued additional interest owing as a result of such increased Applicable Rate for such Applicable Period. This paragraph shall not limit the rights of the Administrative Agent or the Lenders with respect to Section 2.10(c) and Article 7 hereof, and shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

Approved Fund ” means any Person (other than a natural person) that is engaged in making, purchasing, holding or investing in bank loans and similar extensions of credit in the ordinary course of its activities and that is administered or managed by (a) a Lender, (b) an Affiliate of a Lender or (c) an entity or an Affiliate of an entity that administers or manages a Lender.

Arrangers ” means Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, in their capacity as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, and any successor thereto.

Assignment and Assumption ” means an assignment and assumption entered into by a Lender and an assignee (with the consent of any party whose consent is required by Section 9.04), and accepted by the Administrative Agent, in the form of Exhibit A or any other form approved by the Administrative Agent.

Availability Period ” means the period from and including the Effective Date to but excluding the earlier of the Maturity Date and the date of termination of the Commitments.

Bankruptcy Code ” means Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code, as amended from time to time and any successor statute and all rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

Board ” means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System of the United States of America.

Borrower ” means Twitter, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Borrowing ” means Loans of the same Type, made, converted or continued on the same date and, in the case of Eurodollar Loans, as to which a single Interest Period is in effect.

 

3


Borrowing Request ” means a request by the Borrower for a Borrowing in accordance with Section 2.03.

Business Day ” means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York City are authorized or required by law to remain closed; provided that, when used in connection with a Eurodollar Loan, the term “ Business Day ” shall also exclude any day on which banks are not open for dealings in dollar deposits in the London interbank market.

Capital Lease Obligations ” of any Person means the obligations of such Person to pay rent or other amounts under any lease of (or other arrangement conveying the right to use) real or personal property, or a combination thereof, which obligations are required to be classified and accounted for as capital leases on a balance sheet of such Person under GAAP, and the amount of such obligations shall be the capitalized amount thereof determined in accordance with GAAP; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, any obligations relating to a lease that was accounted for by such Person as an operating lease as of the Effective Date and any similar lease entered into after the Effective Date by such Person shall be accounted for as obligations relating to an operating lease and not as Capital Lease Obligations.

Change in Control ” means (a) prior to an IPO, the failure by the holders of Borrower’s Equity Interests as of the Effective Date to continue to own, beneficially and of record, Equity Interests in the Borrower representing at least 50.1% of the aggregate ordinary voting power represented by the issued and outstanding Equity Interests in the Borrower; (b) after an IPO, the acquisition of ownership, directly or indirectly, beneficially or of record, by any Person or group (within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act and the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder), of Equity Interests in the Borrower representing more than 35% of the aggregate ordinary voting power represented by the issued and outstanding Equity Interests in the Borrower; or (c) persons who were (i) directors of the Borrower on the date hereof, (ii) nominated by the board of directors of the Borrower or whose nomination for election by the stockholders of Borrower was approved by the board of directors of the Borrower or (iii) appointed by directors that were directors of the Borrower or directors nominated as provided in the preceding clause (ii), ceasing to occupy a majority of the seats (excluding vacant seats) on the board of directors of the Borrower. The consummation of an IPO shall not be deemed a Change in Control.

Change in Law ” means the occurrence, after the date of this Agreement, of any of the following: (a) the adoption or taking effect of any law, rule, regulation or treaty, (b) any change in any law, rule, regulation or treaty or in the administration, interpretation, implementation or application thereof by any Governmental Authority or (c) the making or issuance of any request, rule, guideline or directive (whether or not having the force of law) by any Governmental Authority; provided that, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, (x) the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and all requests, rules, guidelines or directives thereunder or issued in connection therewith and (y) all requests, rules, guidelines or directives promulgated by the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (or

 

4


any successor or similar authority) or the United States or foreign regulatory authorities, in each case pursuant to Basel III, shall in each case be deemed to be a “Change in Law,” regardless of the date enacted, adopted or issued.

Charges ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.13.

Code ” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time.

Commitment ” means, with respect to each Lender, the commitment of such Lender to make Loans hereunder, expressed as an amount representing the maximum aggregate amount of such Lender’s Loans hereunder, as such commitment may be (a) reduced from time to time pursuant to Section 2.06 and (b) reduced or increased from time to time pursuant to assignments by or to such Lender pursuant to Section 9.04. The initial amount of each Lender’s Commitment as of the Effective Date is set forth on Schedule 2.1. The initial aggregate amount of the Lenders’ Commitments as of the Effective Date is $1,000,000,000.

Commitment Fee ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.09(a).

Communications ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.01.

Connection Income Taxes ” means Other Connection Taxes that are imposed on or measured by net income or gross profits (however denominated) or that are franchise Taxes or branch profits Taxes.

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA ” means, for any period, Consolidated Net Income for such period plus, without duplication and to the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, the sum of (a) income tax expense, (b) interest expense, amortization or write-off of debt discount and debt issuance costs and commissions, discounts and other fees and charges associated with Indebtedness (including the Loans), (c) depreciation and amortization expense, (d) amortization of intangibles (including, but not limited to, goodwill), (e) any extraordinary charges or losses determined in accordance with GAAP, (f) non-cash stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses and payroll tax expense related to stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses, (g) any other non-cash charges, non-cash expenses or non-cash losses of the Borrower or any Subsidiaries for such period (excluding any such charge, expense or loss incurred in the ordinary course of business that constitutes an accrual of, or a reserve for, cash charges for any future period), including, for the avoidance of doubt, non-cash foreign currency translation losses (including non-cash losses related to currency remeasurement of Indebtedness); provided , however that cash payments made in such period or in any future period in respect of such non-cash charges, expenses or losses (excluding any such charge, expense or loss incurred in the ordinary course of business that constitutes an accrual of, or a reserve for, cash charges for any future period) shall be subtracted from Consolidated Net Income in calculating Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA in the period when such payments are made, (h) transition, integration and similar fees, charges and expenses related acquisitions or

 

5


dispositions, (i) restructuring charges, and (j) charges related to settlements of legal claims (provided that the amount that may be added back pursuant to clause (h), (i) and (j) may not in the aggregate for any four fiscal quarter period exceed the greater of (x) $5,000,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for such period (determined without giving effect to any such adjustment pursuant to such clause (h), (i) and (j))) and minus, to the extent included in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period, the sum of (a) interest income, (b) any extraordinary income or gains determined in accordance with GAAP, and (c) any other non-cash income (excluding any items that represent the reversal of any accrual of, or cash reserve for, anticipated cash charges in any prior period that are described in the parenthetical to clause (g) above), including for the avoidance of doubt non-cash foreign currency translation gains (including non-cash gains related to currency remeasurement of Indebtedness), all as determined on a consolidated basis.

Consolidated Net Income ” means, for any period, the net income or loss of the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries for such period, determined on a consolidated basis in conformity with GAAP; provided that there shall be excluded (a) the income of any Person that is not a consolidated Subsidiary except to the extent of the amount of cash dividends or similar cash distributions actually paid by such Person to the Borrower or, subject to clauses (b) and (c) below, any consolidated Subsidiary during such period, (b) the income of, and any amounts referred to in clause (a) above paid to, any consolidated Subsidiary of the Borrower to the extent that, on the date of determination, the declaration or payment of cash dividends or similar cash distributions by such Subsidiary is not permitted without any prior approval of any Governmental Authority that has not been obtained or is not permitted by the operation of the terms of the organizational documents of such Subsidiary, any agreement or other instrument binding upon such Subsidiary or any law applicable to such Subsidiary, unless such restrictions with respect to the payment of cash dividends and other similar cash distributions have been legally and effectively waived, and (c) the income or loss of, and any amounts referred to in clause (a) above paid to, any consolidated Subsidiary that is not wholly owned by the Borrower to the extent such income or loss or such amounts are attributable to the noncontrolling interest in such consolidated Subsidiary.

Consolidated Net Tangible Assets ” means, at any date, the total assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis after deducting (a) all current liabilities (excluding the amount of those which are by their terms extendable or renewable at the option of the obligor to a date more than 12 months after the date of which the amount is being determined) and (b) all goodwill, tradenames, trademarks, patents, unamortized debt discount and expense and other like intangible assets, all as set forth on the most recent balance sheet of the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a) or (b).

Control ” means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of a Person, whether through the ability to exercise voting power, by contract or otherwise. “ Controlling ” and “ Controlled ” have meanings correlative thereto.

 

6


Debtor Relief Laws ” means the Bankruptcy Code, and all other liquidation, conservatorship, bankruptcy, assignment for the benefit of creditors, moratorium, rearrangement, receivership, insolvency, reorganization, or similar debtor relief Laws of the United States or other applicable jurisdictions from time to time in effect.

Default ” means any event or condition which constitutes an Event of Default or which upon notice, lapse of time or both would, unless cured or waived, become an Event of Default.

Defaulting Lender ” means, subject to Section 2.17(b), any Lender that (a) has failed to (i) fund all or any portion of its Loans within two Business Days of the date such Loans were required to be funded hereunder, unless such Lender notifies the Administrative Agent and the Borrower in writing that such failure is the result of such Lender’s good faith determination that one or more conditions precedent to such funding (each of which conditions precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing) has not been satisfied, or (ii) pay to the Administrative Agent or any other Lender any other amount required to be paid by it hereunder within two Business Days of the date when due, (b) has notified the Borrower or the Administrative Agent in writing that it does not intend to comply with its funding obligations hereunder, or has made a public statement to that effect (unless such writing or public statement relates to such Lender’s obligation to fund a Loan hereunder and states that such position is based on such Lender’s good faith determination that a condition precedent to funding (which condition precedent, together with any applicable default, shall be specifically identified in such writing or public statement) cannot be satisfied), (c) has failed, within three Business Days after written request by the Administrative Agent or the Borrower, to confirm in writing to the Administrative Agent and the Borrower that it will comply with its prospective funding obligations hereunder (provided that such Lender shall cease to be a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this clause (c) upon receipt of such written confirmation by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower), or (d) has, or has a direct or indirect parent company that has, (i) become the subject of a proceeding under any Debtor Relief Law, or (ii) had appointed for it a receiver, custodian, conservator, trustee, administrator, assignee for the benefit of creditors or similar Person charged with reorganization or liquidation of its business or assets, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other state or federal regulatory authority acting in such a capacity; provided that a Lender shall not be a Defaulting Lender solely by virtue of the ownership or acquisition of any equity interest in that Lender or any direct or indirect parent company thereof by a Governmental Authority so long as such ownership interest does not result in or provide such Lender with immunity from the jurisdiction of courts within the United States or from the enforcement of judgments or writs of attachment on its assets or permit such Lender (or such Governmental Authority) to reject, repudiate, disavow or disaffirm any contracts or agreements made with such Lender. Any determination by the Administrative Agent that a Lender is a Defaulting Lender under clauses (a) through (d) above shall be conclusive and binding absent manifest error, and such Lender shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender (subject to Section 2.17(b)) upon delivery of written notice of such determination to the Borrower and each Lender.

 

7


Disclosure Letter ” means the disclosure letter, dated as of the date hereof, as amended or supplemented from time to time by Borrower with the written consent of the Administrative Agent (or as supplemented by the Borrower pursuant to the terms of this Agreement), delivered by Borrower to Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Lenders.

dollars ” or “ $ ” refers to lawful money of the United States of America.

Domestic Subsidiary ” means any Subsidiary that is organized under the laws of any political subdivision of the United States, excluding (x) any such Subsidiary substantially all of the assets of which consist of Equity Interests in one or more Subsidiaries that are “controlled foreign corporations” within the meaning of Section 957 of the Code and (y) any such Subsidiary that is owned (directly or indirectly) by a Subsidiary that is a “controlled foreign corporation” within the meaning of Section 957 of the Code.

Earn-Out ” means any bona fide contingent obligation to make “earn-out” payments to one or more prior owners of any Person, business or division, the capital stock of which, or all or substantially all of the assets of which, have been acquired by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, which “earn-out” payment obligation is contingent upon, or varies in amount based upon, the performance of the Person or of the assets so acquired, as such performance is measured by one or more financial, business or other performance criteria.

Effective Date ” means the date on which the conditions specified in Section 4.01 are satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 9.02).

Environmental Laws ” means all laws, rules, regulations, codes, ordinances, orders, decrees, judgments, injunctions, notices or binding agreements issued, promulgated or entered into by any Governmental Authority, relating in any way to the environment, preservation or reclamation of natural resources, the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment, disposal, management, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Material or to health and safety matters.

Environmental Liability ” means any liability, contingent or otherwise (including any liability for damages, costs of investigation, reclamation or remediation, fines, penalties or indemnities), of the Borrower or any Subsidiary directly or indirectly resulting from or based upon (a) any Environmental Law, including compliance or noncompliance therewith, (b) the generation, use, handling, transportation, storage, treatment or disposal of any Hazardous Materials, (c) exposure to any Hazardous Materials, (d) the presence, release or threatened release of any Hazardous Materials into the environment or (e) any contract, agreement or other consensual arrangement pursuant to which liability is assumed or imposed with respect to any of the foregoing.

Equity Interests ” means shares of capital stock, partnership interests, membership interests in a limited liability company, beneficial interests in a trust or other equity ownership interests in a Person, and any warrants, options or other rights entitling

 

8


the holder thereof to purchase or acquire any such equity interest; provided that Equity Interests shall not include any debt securities that are convertible into or exchangeable for any combination of Equity Interests and/or cash.

ERISA ” means the U.S. Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time, and the regulations promulgated and rulings issued thereunder.

ERISA Affiliate ” means any person that for purposes of Title I or Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code would be deemed at any relevant time to be a single employer or otherwise aggregated with the Borrower or a Subsidiary under Section 414(b), (c), (m) or (o) of the Code or Section 4001 of ERISA.

ERISA Event ” means any one or more of the following: (a) any reportable event, as defined in Section 4043 of ERISA, with respect to a Plan, as to which the PBGC has not waived under subsection .22, .23, .25, .26, .27, .28, .29, .30, .31, .32, .34 or .35 of PBGC Regulation Section 4043 the requirement of Section 4043(a) of ERISA that it be notified of such event; (b) the termination of any Plan under Section 4041(c) of ERISA; (c) the institution of proceedings by the PBGC under Section 4042 of ERISA for the termination of, or the appointment of a trustee to administer, any Plan; (d) the failure to make a required contribution to any Plan that would result in the imposition of a lien or other encumbrance or the provision of security under Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 or 4068 of ERISA, or the arising of such a lien or encumbrance; (e) the failure to satisfy the minimum funding standard under Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, whether or not waived; or a determination that any Plan is, or is expected to be, considered an at-risk plan within the meaning of Section 430 of the Code or Section 303 of ERISA; (f) engaging in a non-exempt prohibited transaction within the meaning of Section 4975 of the Code or Section 406 of ERISA with respect to a Plan; (g) the complete or partial withdrawal of any Borrower, Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate from a Multiemployer Plan which results in the imposition of Withdrawal Liability or the reorganization or insolvency under Title IV of ERISA of any Multiemployer Plan or (h) a determination that any Multiemployer Plan is in endangered or critical status under Section 432 of the Code or Section 305 of ERISA.

Eurodollar ”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether such Loan, or the Loans comprising such Borrowing, are bearing interest at a rate determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate.

Event of Default ” has the meaning set forth in Article 7.

Excluded Taxes ” means, with respect to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, (a) Taxes imposed on (or measured by) its net income or gross profit, franchise Taxes, and branch profits Taxes, in each case (i) imposed by the jurisdiction (or any political subdivision thereof) under the laws of which such recipient is organized or in which its principal office is located or, in the case of any Lender, in which its applicable lending office is located or (ii) that otherwise are Other Connection

 

9


Taxes, (b) in the case of a Foreign Lender (other than an assignee pursuant to a request by the Borrower under Section 2.16(b)), any United States withholding Tax that is imposed on amounts payable to such Foreign Lender at the time such Foreign Lender becomes a party to this Agreement or designates a new lending office, except to the extent that such Foreign Lender (or its assignor, if any) was entitled, at the time of designation of a new lending office or assignment, to receive additional amounts from the Borrower with respect to such withholding tax pursuant to Section 2.14(a), (c) Taxes attributable to such recipient’s failure to comply with Section 2.14(f) and (d) any U.S. withholding Taxes imposed under FATCA.

Executive Order ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.15(a).

FATCA ” means Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code, as of the date of this Agreement (or any amended or successor version that is substantively comparable and not materially more onerous to comply with) and any current or future regulations or official interpretations thereof, any agreements entered into pursuant to Section 1471(b)(1) of the Code or any published intergovernmental agreement and any fiscal or regulatory legislation, rules or official practices adopted pursuant to any published intergovernmental agreement entered into in connection with the implementation of such sections of the Code.

Federal Funds Effective Rate ” means, for any day, the weighted average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the rates on overnight Federal funds transactions with members of the Federal Reserve System arranged by Federal funds brokers, as published on the next succeeding Business Day by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, or, if such rate is not so published for any day that is a Business Day, the average (rounded upwards, if necessary, to the next 1/100 of 1%) of the quotations for such day for such transactions received by the Administrative Agent from three Federal funds brokers of recognized standing selected by it.

Fee Letter ” means that certain Fee Letter, dated as of October 1, 2013, by and among the Borrower, Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Bank of America, N.A., Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch and Goldman Sachs Bank USA.

Financial Officer ” means the chief financial officer, principal accounting officer, vice president of finance or corporate controller of the Borrower.

Foreign Lender ” means any Lender that is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction other than that in which the Borrower is located. For purposes of this definition, the United States of America, each State thereof and the District of Columbia shall be deemed to constitute a single jurisdiction.

GAAP ” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America.

Governmental Authority ” means the government of the United States of America, any other nation or any political subdivision thereof, whether state or local, and

 

10


any agency, authority, instrumentality, regulatory body, court, central bank or other entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, taxing, regulatory or administrative powers or functions of or pertaining to government (including any supra-national bodies such as the European Union or the European Central Bank).

Guarantee ” of or by any Person (the “guarantor”) means any obligation, contingent or otherwise, of the guarantor guaranteeing or having the economic effect of guaranteeing any Indebtedness of any other Person (the “ primary obligor ”) in any manner, whether directly or indirectly, and including any obligation of the guarantor, direct or indirect, (a) to purchase or pay (or advance or supply funds for the purchase or payment of) such Indebtedness or other obligation or to purchase (or to advance or supply funds for the purchase of) any security for the payment thereof, (b) to purchase or lease property, securities or services for the purpose of assuring the owner of such Indebtedness of the payment thereof, (c) to maintain working capital, equity capital or any other financial statement condition or liquidity of the primary obligor so as to enable the primary obligor to pay such Indebtedness or other obligation or (d) as an account party in respect of any letter of credit or letter of guaranty issued to support such Indebtedness; provided , that the term Guarantee shall not include endorsements for collection or deposit in the ordinary course of business, or customary indemnification obligations entered into in connection with any acquisition or disposition of assets or of other entities (other than to the extent that the primary obligations that are the subject of such indemnification obligation would be considered Indebtedness hereunder).

Guarantor ” means any Material Domestic Subsidiary of the Borrower that has delivered a Guaranty or a joinder agreement to a Guaranty pursuant to Section 5.10 hereof.

Guaranty ” has the meaning set forth in Section 5.10.

Hazardous Materials ” means all explosive or radioactive substances or wastes and all hazardous or toxic substances, wastes or other pollutants, including petroleum or petroleum distillates, asbestos or asbestos containing materials, polychlorinated biphenyls, radon gas, infectious or medical wastes and all other substances or wastes of any nature regulated pursuant to any Environmental Law.

Indebtedness ” of any Person at any date means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness of such Person for borrowed money, (b) all obligations of such Person for the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than current trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of such Person’s business), (c) all obligations of such Person evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures or other similar instruments, (d) all indebtedness created or arising under any conditional sale or other title retention agreement with respect to property acquired by such Person (even though the rights and remedies of the seller or lender under such agreement in the event of default are limited to repossession or sale of such property), (e) all Capital Lease Obligations of such Person, (f) all obligations of such Person, contingent or otherwise, as an account party or applicant under or in respect of bankers’ acceptances, letters of credit, surety bonds or similar arrangements, (g) all Guarantees of such Person in respect of obligations of the

 

11


kind referred to in clauses (a) through (f) above, and (h) all obligations of the kind referred to in clauses (a) through (g) above secured by (or for which the holder of such obligation has an existing right, contingent or otherwise, to be secured by) any Lien on property (including accounts and contract rights) owned or acquired by such Person, whether or not such Person has assumed or become liable for the payment of such obligation. The Indebtedness of any Person shall include the Indebtedness of any other entity (including any partnership in which such Person is a general partner) to the extent such Person is liable therefor as a result of such Person’s ownership interest in or other relationship with such entity, except to the extent the terms of such Indebtedness expressly provide that such Person is not liable therefor.

Indemnified Taxes ” means (a) Taxes, other than Excluded Taxes, imposed on or with respect to any payment made by or on account of any obligation of any Loan Party under any Loan Document and (b) to the extent not otherwise described in (a), Other Taxes.

Indemnitee ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.03(b).

Information ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.12(a).

Interest Election Request ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.05(b).

Interest Payment Date ” means (a) with respect to any ABR Loan, the last day of each March, June, September and December and (b) with respect to any Eurodollar Loan, the last day of the Interest Period applicable to the Borrowing of which such Loan is a part and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing with an Interest Period of more than three months’ duration, each day prior to the last day of such Interest Period that occurs at intervals of three months’ duration after the first day of such Interest Period.

Interest Period ” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing, the period commencing on the date of such Borrowing and ending on the numerically corresponding day in the calendar month that is one, two, three or six months (or, with the consent of each Lender, twelve months or less than one month) thereafter, as the Borrower may elect; provided , that (i) if any Interest Period would end on a day other than a Business Day, such Interest Period shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day unless such next succeeding Business Day would fall in the next calendar month, in which case such Interest Period shall end on the next preceding Business Day and (ii) any Interest Period pertaining to a Eurodollar Borrowing that commences on the last Business Day of a calendar month (or on a day for which there is no numerically corresponding day in the last calendar month of such Interest Period) shall end on the last Business Day of the last calendar month of such Interest Period. For purposes hereof, the date of a Borrowing initially shall be the date on which such Borrowing is made and thereafter shall be the effective date of the most recent conversion or continuation of such Borrowing.

IPO ” means a bona fide underwritten sale to the public of common stock of the Borrower pursuant to a registration statement (other than on Form S-8 or any other form relating to securities issuable under any benefit plan of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, as the case may be) that is declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

12


IRS ” means the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

Lenders ” means the Persons listed on Schedule 2.1 and any other Person that shall have become a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption, other than any such Person that ceases to be a party hereto pursuant to an Assignment and Assumption.

LIBO Rate ” means, with respect to any Eurodollar Borrowing for any Interest Period, the rate appearing on Reuters Screen LIBOR01 Page (or on any successor or substitute page of such service, or any successor to or substitute for such service, providing rate quotations comparable to those currently provided on such page of such service, as determined by the Administrative Agent from time to time for purposes of providing quotations of interest rates applicable to dollar deposits in the London interbank market) at approximately 11:00 a.m., London time, two Business Days prior to the commencement of such Interest Period, as the rate for dollar deposits with a maturity comparable to such Interest Period.

Lien ” means, with respect to any asset, (a) any mortgage, deed of trust, lien, pledge, hypothecation, encumbrance, charge or security interest in, on or of such asset, and (b) the interest of a vendor or a lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or title retention agreement (or any financing lease having substantially the same economic effect as any of the foregoing) relating to such asset.

Loan Documents ” means this Agreement (including any amendment hereto or waiver hereunder), the Notes (if any), any Guaranty, any joinder agreements to any Guaranty delivered pursuant to Section 5.10 hereof and the Fee Letter.

Loan Parties ” means the Borrower and the Guarantors.

Loans ” means the loans made by the Lenders to the Borrower pursuant to this Agreement.

Material Adverse Effect ” means a material adverse effect on (a) the business, property, financial condition or results of operations of the Borrower and Subsidiaries taken as a whole or (b) the rights of or remedies available to the Lenders under this Agreement or any Guaranty.

Material Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness (other than any Indebtedness under the Loan Documents), or obligations in respect of one or more Swap Agreements, of any one or more of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries in a principal amount exceeding $75,000,000. For purposes of determining Material Indebtedness, the “principal amount” of the obligations of the Borrower or any Subsidiary in respect of any Swap Agreement at any time shall be the maximum aggregate amount (giving effect to any netting agreements) that the Borrower or such Subsidiary would be required to pay if such Swap Agreement were terminated at such time.

 

13


Material Domestic Subsidiary ” means a Domestic Subsidiary that is a Material Subsidiary.

Material Subsidiary ” means, at any date of determination, a Subsidiary of the Borrower (a) whose total assets as of the most recent available quarterly or year-end financial statements were equal to or greater than 5% of the total assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries at such date or (b) whose gross revenues as of the most recent available quarterly or year-end financial statements were equal to or greater than 5% of the consolidated gross revenues of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries for such period, in each case determined in accordance with GAAP.

Maturity Date ” means October 22, 2018.

Maximum Rate ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.13.

Measurement Period ” means, at any date of determination, the most recently completed four consecutive fiscal quarters of the Borrower ended on such date.

Multiemployer Plan ” means any multiemployer plan as defined in Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA, which is contributed to by (or to which there is or could be an obligation to contribute of) the Borrower or a Subsidiary or an ERISA Affiliate, and each such plan for the five- year period immediately following the latest date on which the Borrower, or a Subsidiary or an ERISA Affiliate contributed to or had an obligation to contribute to such plan.

Non-Consenting Lender ” means any Lender that does not approve any consent, waiver or amendment that (i) requires the approval of all Lenders or all affected Lenders in accordance with the terms of Section 9.02 and (ii) has been approved by the Required Lenders.

Non-Defaulting Lender ” means, at any time, each Lender that is not a Defaulting Lender at such time.

Non-U.S. Plan ” means any plan, fund (including, without limitation, any superannuation fund) or other similar program established, contributed to (regardless of whether through direct contributions or through employee withholding) or maintained outside the United States by the Borrower or one or more Subsidiaries primarily for the benefit of employees of the Borrower or such Subsidiaries residing outside the United States, which plan, fund or other similar program provides, or results in, retirement income, a deferral of income in contemplation of retirement or payments to be made upon termination of employment, and which plan is not subject to ERISA or the Code.

Note ” has the meaning set forth in Section 2.07.

Obligations ” means all amounts owing by any Loan Party to the Administrative Agent or any Lender pursuant to the terms of this Agreement or any other Loan Document (including all interest which accrues after the commencement of any case or proceeding in bankruptcy after the insolvency of, or for the reorganization of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, whether or not allowed in such case or proceeding).

 

14


OFAC ” has the meaning set forth in Section 3.15(b)(v).

Other Connection Taxes ” means, with respect to the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, Taxes imposed as a result of a present or former connection between such Administrative Agent, Lender or other recipient and the jurisdiction imposing such Tax (other than connections arising solely from such Administrative Agent, Lender or recipient having executed, delivered, become a party to, performed its obligations under, received payments under, received or perfected a security interest under, engaged in any other transaction pursuant to or enforced any Loan Document, or sold or assigned an interest in any Loan or Loan Document). For the avoidance of doubt, Taxes described in clause (a) of the definition of Excluded Taxes constitute Other Connection Taxes.

Other Taxes ” means any and all present or future stamp, court or documentary taxes or any other excise, property, intangible, recording, filing or similar Taxes which arise from any payment made, from the execution, delivery, performance, enforcement or registration of, from the receipt or perfection of a security interest under, or otherwise with respect to, this Agreement and the other Loan Documents; excluding, however, such taxes that are Other Connection Taxes imposed with respect to an assignment (other than such taxes imposed with respect to an assignment that occurs as a result of the Borrower’s request pursuant to Section 2.16(b)).

Participant ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.04(c)(i).

Participant Register ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.04(c)(iii).

PBGC ” means the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation referred to and defined in ERISA and any successor entity performing similar functions.

Pension Plan ” means any “employee pension benefit plan” within the meaning of Section 3(2) of ERISA, other than a Multiemployer Plan, that is subject to Title IV of ERISA, Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA and is maintained in whole or in part by the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate or with respect to which any of the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate has actual or contingent liability.

Permitted Encumbrances ” means:

(a) Liens imposed by law for taxes, assessments or governmental charges or levies that are not yet delinquent or are being contested in compliance with Section 5.04;

(b) carriers’, warehousemen’s, mechanics’, materialmen’s, landlord’s, supplier’s, repairmen’s and other like Liens imposed by law, arising in the ordinary course of business and securing obligations that are not overdue by more than 60 days or are being contested in compliance with Section 5.04;

 

15


(c) pledges and deposits made in the ordinary course of business in compliance with workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance and other social security laws or regulations;

(d) deposits to secure the performance of bids, trade contracts, leases, statutory obligations, surety and appeal bonds, performance bonds and other obligations of a like nature, in each case incurred in the ordinary course of business;

(e) judgment liens in respect of judgments that do not constitute an Event of Default under clause (k) of Article 7;

(f) easements, zoning restrictions, rights-of-way, encroachments and similar encumbrances on real property imposed by law or arising in the ordinary course of business that do not secure any monetary obligations and do not materially detract from the value of the affected property or interfere with the ordinary conduct of business of the Borrower or any Subsidiary; and

(g) Uniform Commercial Code financing statements filed (or similar filings under applicable law) solely as a precautionary measure in connection with operating leases.

Person ” means any natural person, corporation, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, association, company, partnership, Governmental Authority or other entity.

Plan ” means any “employee benefit plan” as defined in Section 3 of ERISA (other than a Multiemployer Plan) subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA maintained or contributed to by the Borrower, a Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate or to which the Borrower, a Subsidiary or an ERISA Affiliate has or could have an obligation to contribute, and each such plan subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA for the five-year period immediately following the latest date on which the Borrower, a Subsidiary or an ERISA Affiliate maintained, contributed to or had an obligation to contribute to (or is deemed under Section 4069 of ERISA to have maintained or contributed to or to have had an obligation to contribute to, or otherwise to have liability with respect to) such plan.

Platform ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.01.

Prime Rate ” means the rate of interest per annum from time to time published in the “Money Rates” or successor section of The Wall Street Journal as being the “Prime Lending Rate” or, if more than one rate is published as the “Prime Lending Rate”, then the highest of such rates (each change in the Prime Rate to be effective as of the date of publication in The Wall Street Journal of a “Prime Lending Rate” that is different from that published on the preceding Business Day); provided that in the event that The Wall Street Journal shall, for any reason, fail or cease to publish the “Prime Lending Rate”, the Administrative Agent shall choose a reasonably comparable index or source to use as the basis for the “Prime Lending Rate”.

 

16


Purchase Money Indebtedness ” means Indebtedness incurred to finance the acquisition, construction or improvement of any fixed or capital asset to the extent incurred prior to or within 180 days following such acquisition, construction or improvement.

Qualifying IPO ” means an IPO in which the Borrower raises at least $1,000,000,000 of gross primary proceeds.

Register ” has the meaning set forth in Section 9.04(b).

Related Parties ” means, with respect to any specified Person, such Person’s Affiliates and the respective directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors of such Person and such Person’s Affiliates.

Required Lenders ” means, at any time, Lenders having more than 50% of the aggregate amount of the Commitments or, if the Commitments shall have been terminated, holding more than 50% of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the Loans at such time. The Commitment and Loans of any Defaulting Lender shall be disregarded in determining Required Lenders at any time.

Resignation Effective Date ” has the meaning set forth in Article 8.

Responsible Officer ” means any of the President and Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the applicable Loan Party, or any person designated by any such Loan Party in writing to the Administrative Agent from time to time, acting singly.

Restricted Payment ” means any dividend or other distribution (whether in cash, securities or other property) with respect to any Equity Interests in the Borrower or any Subsidiary, or any payment (whether in cash, securities or other property), including any sinking fund or similar deposit, on account of the purchase, redemption, retirement, acquisition, cancellation or termination of any such Equity Interests in the Borrower. For the avoidance of doubt, the receipt or acceptance by the Borrower or any Subsidiary of the return of Equity Interests issued by the Borrower or any Subsidiary to the seller of a Person, business or division as consideration for the purchase of such Person, business or division, which return is in settlement of indemnification claims owed by such seller in connection with such acquisition, shall not be deemed to be a Restricted Payment.

Solvent ” means, with respect to the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a particular date, that on such date (a) the fair value of the present assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, is greater than the total amount of liabilities, including, without limitation, contingent liabilities, of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (b) the present fair saleable value of the assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, is not less than the amount that will be required to pay the probable liability of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, on their debts as

 

17


they become absolute and matured, (c) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, do not intend to, and do not believe that they will, incur debts or liabilities (including current obligations and contingent liabilities) beyond their ability to pay such debts and liabilities as they mature in the ordinary course of business and (d) the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, are not engaged in business or a transaction, and are not about to engage in business or a transaction, in relation to which their property would constitute an unreasonably small capital. The amount of contingent liabilities at any time shall be computed as the amount that, in the light of all the facts and circumstances existing at such time, represents the amount that can reasonably be expected to become an actual or matured liability (irrespective of whether such contingent liabilities meet the criteria for accrual under Statement of Financial Accounting Standard No. 5 (ASC 450)).

Specified Indebtedness ” means (i) indebtedness for borrowed money (including, for the avoidance of doubt, outstanding Loans), (ii) obligations for the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than current trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business and excluding Earn-Outs), (iii) obligations evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures and similar instruments, (iv) all obligations, contingent or otherwise, as an account party or applicant under or in respect of bankers acceptances or letters of credit, (v) Capital Lease Obligations, (vi) Purchase Money Indebtedness and (vii) Guarantees of indebtedness of the type referred to in clauses (i) through (vi), but in any case excluding (a) indebtedness among Loan Parties and (b) indebtedness owed by any Loan Party to a Subsidiary that is not a Loan Party.

Statutory Reserve Rate ” means a fraction (expressed as a decimal), the numerator of which is the number one and the denominator of which is the number one minus the aggregate of the maximum reserve percentages (including any marginal, special, emergency or supplemental reserves) expressed as a decimal established by the Board to which the Administrative Agent is subject for eurocurrency funding (currently referred to as “Eurocurrency Liabilities” in Regulation D of the Board). Such reserve percentages shall include those imposed pursuant to such Regulation D. Eurodollar Loans shall be deemed to constitute eurocurrency funding and to be subject to such reserve requirements without benefit of or credit for proration, exemptions or offsets that may be available from time to time to any Lender under such Regulation D or any comparable regulation. The Statutory Reserve Rate shall be adjusted automatically on and as of the effective date of any change in any reserve percentage.

Subsidiary ” means any subsidiary of the Borrower.

subsidiary ” means, with respect to any Person (the “ parent ”) at any date, any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other entity the accounts of which would be consolidated with those of the parent in the parent’s consolidated financial statements if such financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP as of such date, as well as any other corporation, limited liability company, partnership, association or other entity (a) of which securities or other ownership interests representing more than 50% of the equity or more than 50% of the ordinary voting power or, in the case of a partnership, more than 50% of the general

 

18


partnership interests are, as of such date, owned, controlled or held, or (b) that is, as of such date, otherwise Controlled, by the parent or one or more subsidiaries of the parent or by the parent and one or more subsidiaries of the parent and which is required by GAAP to be consolidated in the consolidated financial statements of the parent.

Swap Agreement ” means any agreement with respect to any swap, forward, future or derivative transaction or option or similar agreement involving, or settled by reference to, one or more rates, currencies, commodities, equity or debt instruments or securities, or economic, financial or pricing indices or measures of economic, financial or pricing risk or value or any similar transaction or any combination of these transactions; provided that no phantom stock or similar plan providing for payments only on account of services provided by current or former directors, officers, employees or consultants of the Borrower or the Subsidiaries shall be a Swap Agreement.

Syndication Agent ” means JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as syndication agent hereunder.

Taxes ” means any and all present or future taxes, levies, imposts, duties, deductions, charges or withholdings imposed by any Governmental Authority, including any interest, additions to tax or penalties applicable thereto.

Total Assets ” means the total assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis, as shown on the most recent balance sheet of the Borrower delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a) or (b).

Total Indebtedness ” means the aggregate principal amount of Specified Indebtedness of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, as determined on a consolidated basis.

Total Leverage Ratio ” means, as of the last day of any period, the ratio of (a) Total Indebtedness (excluding, solely for the purpose of determining the Applicable Rate, up to $250,000,000 of Capital Lease Obligations and Purchase Money Indebtedness) to (b) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for such period.

Transactions ” means the execution, delivery and performance by the Loan Parties of each Loan Document to which it is a party and the borrowing of Loans.

Type ”, when used in reference to any Loan or Borrowing, refers to whether the rate of interest on such Loan, or on the Loans comprising such Borrowing, is determined by reference to the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the Alternate Base Rate.

Unfunded Pension Liability ” means the excess of a Pension Plan’s benefit liabilities under Section 4001(a)(16) of ERISA, over the current value of that Pension Plan’s assets, determined in accordance with the assumptions used for funding the Pension Plan pursuant to Section 412 of the Code for the applicable plan year.

USA Patriot Act ” means the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (Title III of Pub. L. No. 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), as amended from time to time.

 

19


U.S. Person ” means any Person that is a “United States Person” as defined in Section 7701(a)(30) of the Code.

Withdrawal Liability ” means liability to a Multiemployer Plan as a result of a complete or partial withdrawal from such Multiemployer Plan, as such terms are defined in Title IV of ERISA.

Withholding Agent ” means any Loan Party and the Administrative Agent.

Section 1.02. Classification of Loans and Borrowings . For purposes of this Agreement, Loans may be classified and referred to by Type (e.g., a “ Eurodollar Loan ”). Borrowings also may be classified and referred to by Type (e.g., a “ Eurodollar Borrowing ”).

Section 1.03. Terms Generally . The definitions of terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The words “include,” “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation.” The word “will” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect as the word “shall.” Unless the context requires otherwise (a) any definition of or reference to any agreement, instrument or other document herein shall be construed as referring to such agreement, instrument or other document as from time to time amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented or otherwise modified (subject to any restrictions on such amendments, amendments and restatements, supplements or modifications set forth herein), (b) any reference herein to any Person shall be construed to include such Person’s successors and assigns, (c) the words “herein,” “hereof” and “hereunder,” and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof, (d) all references herein to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules shall be construed to refer to Articles and Sections of, and Exhibits and Schedules to, this Agreement, (e) the words “asset” and “property” shall be construed to have the same meaning and effect and to refer to any and all tangible and intangible assets and properties, including cash, securities, accounts and contract rights and (f) any reference to any law shall include all statutory and regulatory provisions consolidating, amending, replacing or interpreting such law and any reference to any law or regulation shall, unless otherwise specified, refer to such law or regulation as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time.

Section 1.04. Accounting Terms; GAAP . Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, all terms of an accounting or financial nature shall be construed in accordance with GAAP, as in effect from time to time; provided that, if the Borrower notifies the Administrative Agent that the Borrower requests an amendment to any provision hereof to eliminate the effect of any change occurring after the date hereof in GAAP or in the application thereof on the operation of such provision (or if the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower that the Required Lenders request an amendment to any provision hereof for such purpose), regardless of whether any such notice is given before or after such change in GAAP or in the application thereof, then such provision shall be interpreted on the basis of GAAP as in effect and applied immediately before such

 

20


change shall have become effective until such notice shall have been withdrawn or such provision amended in accordance herewith. Notwithstanding the foregoing, all financial covenants contained herein shall be calculated (1) without giving effect to any election under the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 159 (ASC 825) (or any similar accounting principle) permitting or requiring a Person to value its financial liabilities or Indebtedness at the fair value thereof and (2) without giving effect to any treatment of Indebtedness in respect of convertible debt instruments under Accounting Standards Codification 470-20 (or any other Accounting Standards Codification or Financial Accounting Standard having a similar result or effect) to value any such Indebtedness in a reduced or bifurcated manner as described therein, and such Indebtedness shall at all times be valued at the full stated principal amount thereof.

ARTICLE 2

T HE C REDITS

Section 2.01. Commitments . Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, each Lender severally agrees to make Loans in dollars to the Borrower from time to time during the Availability Period in an aggregate principal amount that will not result in (a) the aggregate outstanding principal amount of such Lender’s Loans exceeding such Lender’s Commitment or (b) the sum of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of all Loans exceeding the total Commitments. Within the foregoing limits and subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the Borrower may borrow, prepay and reborrow Loans.

Section 2.02. Loans and Borrowings . (a) Each Loan shall be made as part of a Borrowing consisting of Loans made by the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages. The failure of any Lender to make any Loan required to be made by it shall not relieve any other Lender of its obligations hereunder; provided that the Commitments of the Lenders are several and no Lender shall be responsible for any other Lender’s failure to make Loans as required.

(b) Subject to Section 2.11, each Borrowing shall be comprised entirely of ABR Loans or Eurodollar Loans as the Borrower may request in accordance herewith. Each Lender at its option may make any Eurodollar Loan by causing any domestic or foreign branch or Affiliate of such Lender to make such Loan; provided that any exercise of such option shall not affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay such Loan in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

(c) At the commencement of each Interest Period for any Eurodollar Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000. At the time that each ABR Borrowing is made, such Borrowing shall be in an aggregate amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000; provided that an ABR Borrowing may be in an aggregate amount that is equal to the entire unused balance of the total Commitments. Borrowings of more than one Type may be outstanding at the same time; provided that there shall not at any time be more than a total of ten Eurodollar Borrowings outstanding.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Borrower shall not be entitled to request, or to elect to convert or continue, any Borrowing if the Interest Period requested with respect thereto would end after the Maturity Date.

 

21


Section 2.03. Requests for Borrowings . To request a Borrowing, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such request by telephone or telecopy (a) in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the date of the proposed Borrowing or (b) in the case of an ABR Borrowing, not later than 12:00 noon, New York City time, one Business Day prior to the date of the proposed Borrowing. Each such telephonic Borrowing Request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by delivery to the Administrative Agent of a written Borrowing Request in substantially the form of Exhibit B attached hereto and signed by the Borrower. Each such telephonic and written Borrowing Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:

(i) the aggregate amount of the requested Borrowing;

(ii) the date of such Borrowing, which shall be a Business Day;

(iii) whether such Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a Eurodollar Borrowing;

(iv) in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, the initial Interest Period to be applicable thereto, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “ Interest Period ”; and

(v) the location and number of the account or accounts to which funds are to be disbursed, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 2.04.

If no election as to the Type of Borrowing is specified, then the requested Borrowing shall be an ABR Borrowing. If no Interest Period is specified with respect to any requested Eurodollar Borrowing, then the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Promptly following receipt of a Borrowing Request in accordance with this Section, the Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender of the details thereof and of the amount of such Lender’s Loan to be made as part of the requested Borrowing.

Section 2.04. Funding of Borrowings . (a) Each Lender shall make each Loan to be made by it hereunder on the proposed date thereof by wire transfer of immediately available funds by 12:00 Noon, New York City time, to the account of the Administrative Agent most recently designated by it for such purpose by notice to the Lenders. The Administrative Agent will make such Loans available to the Borrower by promptly crediting the amounts so received, in like funds, to an account or accounts designated by the Borrower in the applicable Borrowing Request.

(b) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from a Lender prior to the proposed date of any Borrowing that such Lender will not make available to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s Applicable Percentage of such Borrowing, the

 

22


Administrative Agent may assume that such Lender has made such Applicable Percentage available on such date in accordance with paragraph (a) of this Section and may, in reliance upon such assumption, make available to the Borrower a corresponding amount. In such event, if a Lender has not in fact made its Applicable Percentage of the applicable Borrowing available to the Administrative Agent, then the applicable Lender and the Borrower severally agree to pay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand such corresponding amount with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is made available to the Borrower to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at (i) in the case of such Lender, the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation or (ii) in the case of the Borrower, the interest rate applicable to ABR Loans. If such Lender pays such amount to the Administrative Agent, then such amount shall constitute such Lender’s Loan included in such Borrowing.

Section 2.05. Interest Elections . (a) Each Borrowing initially shall be of the Type specified in the applicable Borrowing Request and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, shall have an initial Interest Period as specified in such Borrowing Request. Thereafter, the Borrower may elect to convert such Borrowing to a different Type or to continue such Borrowing and, in the case of a Eurodollar Borrowing, may elect Interest Periods therefor, all as provided in this Section. The Borrower may elect different options with respect to different portions of the affected Borrowing, in which case each such portion shall be allocated among the Lenders holding the Loans comprising such Borrowing in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages, and the Loans comprising each such portion shall be considered a separate Borrowing.

(b) To make an election pursuant to this Section, the Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of such election by telephone by the time that a Borrowing Request would be required under Section 2.03 if the Borrower were requesting a Borrowing of the Type resulting from such election to be made on the effective date of such election. Each such telephonic request shall be irrevocable and shall be confirmed promptly by hand delivery or telecopy to the Administrative Agent of a written request (an “ Interest Election Request ”) in substantially the form of Exhibit C attached hereto and signed by the Borrower.

(c) Each telephonic and written Interest Election Request shall specify the following information in compliance with Section 2.02:

(i) the Borrowing to which such Interest Election Request applies and, if different options are being elected with respect to different portions thereof, the portions thereof to be allocated to each resulting Borrowing (in which case the information to be specified pursuant to clauses (iii) and (iv) below shall be specified for each resulting Borrowing);

(ii) the effective date of the election made pursuant to such Interest Election Request, which shall be a Business Day;

 

23


(iii) whether the resulting Borrowing is to be an ABR Borrowing or a Eurodollar Borrowing; and

(iv) if the resulting Borrowing is a Eurodollar Borrowing, the Interest Period to be applicable thereto after giving effect to such election, which shall be a period contemplated by the definition of the term “ Interest Period .”

If any such Interest Election Request requests a Eurodollar Borrowing but does not specify an Interest Period, then the Borrower shall be deemed to have selected an Interest Period of one month’s duration.

(d) Promptly following receipt of an Interest Election Request, the Administrative Agent shall advise each Lender of the details thereof and of such Lender’s portion of each resulting Borrowing.

(e) If the Borrower fails to deliver a timely Interest Election Request with respect to a Eurodollar Borrowing prior to the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto, then, unless such Borrowing is repaid as provided herein, at the end of such Interest Period such Borrowing shall be continued as a Eurodollar Borrowing with an Interest Period of one month’s duration. Notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, (i) no outstanding Borrowing may be converted to or continued as a Eurodollar Borrowing and (ii) unless repaid, each Eurodollar Borrowing shall be converted to an ABR Borrowing at the end of the Interest Period applicable thereto.

Section 2.06. Termination and Reduction of Commitments . (a) Unless previously terminated, the Commitments shall terminate on the Maturity Date.

(b) The Borrower may at any time terminate, or from time to time reduce, the Commitments; provided that (i) each reduction of the Commitments shall be in an amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000 and not less than $5,000,000 and (ii) the Borrower shall not terminate or reduce the Commitments if, after giving effect to any concurrent prepayment of the Loans in accordance with Section 2.08, the sum of the aggregate outstanding principal amount of Loans would exceed the total Commitments.

(c) The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent of any election to terminate or reduce the Commitments under paragraph (b) of this Section at least three Business Days prior to the effective date of such termination or reduction, specifying such election and the effective date thereof. Promptly following receipt of any notice, the Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each notice delivered by the Borrower pursuant to this Section shall be irrevocable; provided that a notice of termination of the Commitments delivered by the Borrower may state that such notice is conditioned upon the effectiveness of other credit facilities or another transaction, in which case such notice may be revoked by the Borrower (by notice to the Administrative Agent on or prior to the specified effective date) if such condition is not satisfied. Any termination or reduction of the Commitments shall be permanent. Each reduction of the Commitments shall be applied to the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages.

 

24


Section 2.07. Repayment of Loans; Evidence of Debt . (a) The Borrower hereby unconditionally promises to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender the then unpaid principal amount of each Loan on the Maturity Date.

(b) Each Lender shall maintain in accordance with its usual practice an account or accounts evidencing the indebtedness of the Borrower to such Lender resulting from each Loan made by such Lender, including the amounts of principal and interest payable and paid to such Lender from time to time hereunder.

(c) The Administrative Agent shall maintain accounts in which it shall record (i) the amount of each Loan made hereunder, the Type thereof and the Interest Period applicable thereto, (ii) the amount of any principal or interest due and payable or to become due and payable from the Borrower to each Lender hereunder and (iii) the amount of any sum received by the Administrative Agent hereunder for the account of the Lenders and each Lender’s share thereof.

(d) The entries made in the accounts maintained pursuant to paragraph (b) or (c) of this Section shall be prima facie evidence of the existence and amounts of the obligations recorded therein (absent manifest error); provided that the failure of any Lender or the Administrative Agent to maintain such accounts or any error therein shall not in any manner affect the obligation of the Borrower to repay the Loans in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

(e) Any Lender may request that Loans made by it be evidenced by a promissory note (each such promissory note being called a “ Note ” and all such promissory notes being collectively called the “ Notes ”). In such event, the Borrower shall prepare, execute and deliver to such Lender a Note payable to the order of such Lender (or, if requested by such Lender, to such Lender and its registered assigns) in substantially the form of Exhibit D attached hereto. Thereafter, the Loans evidenced by such Note and interest thereon shall at all times (including after assignment pursuant to Section 9.04) be represented by one or more promissory notes in such form payable to the order of the payee named therein (or, if such promissory note is a registered note, to such payee and its registered assigns).

Section 2.08. Prepayment of Loans . (a) The Borrower shall have the right at any time and from time to time to prepay any Borrowing in whole or in part, without premium or penalty (subject to the requirements of Section 2.13), subject to prior notice in accordance with paragraph (b) of this Section.

(b) The Borrower shall notify the Administrative Agent by telephone (confirmed by telecopy or delivery of written notice) or telecopy of any prepayment hereunder (i) in the case of prepayment of a Eurodollar Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City time, three Business Days before the date of prepayment or (ii) in the case of prepayment of an ABR Borrowing, not later than 11:00 a.m., New York City

 

25


time, one Business Day before the date of prepayment. Each such notice shall be irrevocable and shall specify the prepayment date and the principal amount of each Borrowing or portion thereof to be prepaid; provided that, if a notice of prepayment is given in connection with a conditional notice of termination of the Commitments as contemplated by Section 2.06, then such notice of prepayment may be revoked if such notice of termination is revoked in accordance with Section 2.06. Promptly following receipt of any such notice relating to a Borrowing, the Administrative Agent shall advise the Lenders of the contents thereof. Each partial prepayment of any Borrowing shall be in an amount that would be permitted in the case of an advance of a Borrowing of the same Type as provided in Section 2.02. Each prepayment of a Borrowing shall be applied ratably to the Loans of the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages. Prepayments shall be accompanied by accrued interest to the extent required by Section 2.10 and any costs incurred as contemplated by Section 2.13.

Section 2.09. Fees . (a) The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent for the account of each Lender (other than any Defaulting Lender) a commitment fee (the “ Commitment Fee ”), which shall accrue at the relevant percentage set forth in the row entitled “Commitment Fee” in the definition of “Applicable Rate” on the daily amount of the unused Commitment of such Lender during the period from and including the date hereof to but excluding the date on which such Commitment terminates. Accrued commitment fees shall be payable in arrears on the last day of March, June, September and December of each year and on the date on which the Commitments terminate, commencing on the first such date to occur after the date hereof; provided that any commitment fees accruing after the date on which the Commitments terminate shall be payable on demand. All commitment fees shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days and shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day).

(b) The Borrower agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent, for its own account, fees payable in the amounts and at the times separately agreed upon between the Borrower and the Administrative Agent.

(c) All fees payable hereunder shall be paid on the dates due, in immediately available funds, to the Administrative Agent for distribution, in the case of commitment fees, to the Lenders. Fees paid shall not be refundable under any circumstances.

Section 2.10. Interest . (a) The Loans comprising each ABR Borrowing shall bear interest at the Alternate Base Rate plus the Applicable Rate.

(b) The Loans comprising each Eurodollar Borrowing shall bear interest at the Adjusted LIBO Rate for the Interest Period in effect for such Borrowing plus the Applicable Rate.

(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing, at all times when an Event of Default listed in paragraph (a) or (b) of Article 7 has occurred hereunder and is continuing, all overdue amounts outstanding hereunder shall bear interest, after as well as before judgment, at a rate per annum equal to (i) in the case of overdue principal of any Loan, 2% plus the rate

 

26


otherwise applicable to such Loan as provided in the preceding paragraphs of this Section or (ii) in the case of any other overdue amount, 2% plus the rate applicable to ABR Loans as provided in paragraph (a) of this Section.

(d) Accrued interest on each Loan shall be payable in arrears on each Interest Payment Date for such Loan and upon termination of the Commitments; provided that (i) interest accrued pursuant to paragraph (c) of this Section shall be payable on demand, (ii) in the event of any repayment or prepayment of any Loan (other than a prepayment of an ABR Loan prior to the end of the Availability Period), accrued interest on the principal amount repaid or prepaid shall be payable on the date of such repayment or prepayment and (iii) in the event of any conversion of any Eurodollar Loan prior to the end of the current Interest Period therefor, accrued interest on such Loan shall be payable on the effective date of such conversion.

(e) All interest hereunder shall be computed on the basis of a year of 360 days, except that interest computed by reference to the Alternate Base Rate at times when the Alternate Base Rate is based on the Prime Rate shall be computed on the basis of a year of 365 days (or 366 days in a leap year), and in each case shall be payable for the actual number of days elapsed (including the first day but excluding the last day). The applicable Alternate Base Rate, Adjusted LIBO Rate or LIBO Rate shall be determined by the Administrative Agent, and such determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

Section 2.11. Alternate Rate of Interest . If prior to the commencement of any Interest Period for a Eurodollar Borrowing:

(a) the Administrative Agent determines (which determination shall be conclusive absent manifest error) that adequate and reasonable means do not exist for ascertaining the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the LIBO Rate, as applicable, for such Interest Period; or

(b) the Administrative Agent is advised by the Required Lenders that the Adjusted LIBO Rate or the LIBO Rate, as applicable, for such Interest Period will not adequately and fairly reflect the cost to such Lenders (or Lender) of making or maintaining their Loans (or its Loan) included in such Borrowing for such Interest Period;

then the Administrative Agent shall give notice thereof to the Borrower and the Lenders by telephone or telecopy as promptly as practicable thereafter and, until the Administrative Agent notifies the Borrower and the Lenders that the circumstances giving rise to such notice no longer exist, (i) any Interest Election Request that requests the conversion of any Borrowing to, or continuation of any Borrowing as, a Eurodollar Borrowing shall be ineffective, and (ii) if any Borrowing Request requests a Eurodollar Borrowing, such Borrowing shall be made as an ABR Borrowing.

 

27


Section 2.12. Increased Costs . (a) If any Change in Law shall:

(i) impose, modify or deem applicable any reserve, special deposit, compulsory loan, insurance charge or similar requirement against assets of, deposits with or for the account of, or credit extended by, any Lender (except any such reserve requirement reflected in the Adjusted LIBO Rate);

(ii) subject the Administrative Agent, any Lender or any other recipient of any payment to be made by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder, to any Taxes (other than (A) Indemnified Taxes, (B) Taxes described in clauses (b) through (d) of the definition of Excluded Taxes and (C) Connection Income Taxes, but excluding any capital or other non-income taxes) on its loans, loan principal, letters of credit, commitments, or other obligations, or its deposits, reserves, other liabilities or capital attributable thereto; or

(iii) impose on any Lender or the London interbank market any other condition, cost or expense (other than Indemnified Taxes and Excluded Taxes) affecting this Agreement or Eurodollar Loans made by such Lender;

and the result of any of the foregoing shall be to increase the cost to such Lender of making, continuing, converting to or maintaining any Loan (or of maintaining its obligation to make any such Loan) or to reduce the amount of any sum received or receivable by such Lender hereunder (whether of principal, interest or otherwise), then the Borrower will pay to such Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender for such additional costs incurred or reduction suffered.

(b) If any Lender determines that any Change in Law regarding capital or liquidity requirements has or would have the effect of reducing the rate of return on such Lender’s capital or on the capital of such Lender’s holding company, if any, as a consequence of this Agreement, the Commitments hereunder or the Loans made by such Lender to a level below that which such Lender or such Lender’s holding company could have achieved but for such Change in Law (taking into consideration such Lender’s policies and the policies of such Lender’s holding company with respect to capital adequacy), then from time to time the Borrower will pay to such Lender such additional amount or amounts as will compensate such Lender or such Lender’s holding company for any such reduction suffered.

(c) A certificate of a Lender setting forth in reasonable detail the amount or amounts necessary to compensate such Lender or its holding company, as the case may be, as specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10 days after receipt thereof.

(d) Failure or delay on the part of any Lender to demand compensation pursuant to this Section shall not constitute a waiver of such Lender’s right to demand such compensation; provided that the Borrower shall not be required to compensate a Lender pursuant to this Section for any increased costs or reductions incurred more than 180 days prior to the date that such Lender notifies the Borrower of the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions and of such Lender’s intention to claim

 

28


compensation therefore; provided further that, if the Change in Law giving rise to such increased costs or reductions is retroactive (or has retroactive effect), then the 180-day period referred to above shall be extended to include the period of retroactive effect thereof.

Section 2.13. Break Funding Payments . In the event of (a) the payment or prepayment of any principal of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of an Interest Period applicable thereto (whether voluntary, mandatory, automatic, by reason of acceleration, or otherwise), (b) the conversion of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto, (c) the failure to borrow, convert, continue or prepay any Eurodollar Loan on the date specified in any notice delivered pursuant hereto (regardless of whether such notice may be revoked under Section 2.08(b) and is revoked in accordance therewith), or (d) the assignment of any Eurodollar Loan other than on the last day of the Interest Period applicable thereto as a result of a request by the Borrower pursuant to Section 2.16, then, in any such event, the Borrower shall compensate each Lender for the loss, cost and expense attributable to such event. In the case of a Eurodollar Loan, such loss, cost or expense to any Lender shall be deemed to include an amount determined by such Lender to be the excess, if any, of (i) the amount of interest which would have accrued on the principal amount of such Loan had such event not occurred, at the Adjusted LIBO Rate that would have been applicable to such Loan, for the period from the date of such event to the last day of the then current Interest Period therefor (or, in the case of a failure to borrow, convert or continue, for the period that would have been the Interest Period for such Loan), over (ii) the amount of interest which would accrue on such principal amount for such period at the interest rate which such Lender would bid were it to bid, at the commencement of such period, for dollar deposits of a comparable amount and period from other banks in the eurodollar market. A certificate of any Lender setting forth in reasonable detail any amount or amounts that such Lender is entitled to receive pursuant to this Section shall be delivered to the Borrower and shall be conclusive absent manifest error. The Borrower shall pay such Lender the amount shown as due on any such certificate within 10 days after receipt thereof.

Section 2.14. Taxes . (a) Any and all payments by or on account of any obligation of any Loan Party under any Loan Document shall be made free and clear of and without deduction or withholding for any Taxes, except as required by law. If any applicable law (as determined in the good faith discretion of an applicable Withholding Agent) requires the deduction or withholding of any Tax from any such payment by a Withholding Agent, then the applicable Withholding Agent shall make such deduction or withholding and timely pay the full amount deducted or withheld to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law and, if such Tax is an Indemnified Tax, then the sum payable by the Borrower shall be increased as necessary so that after making such deduction or withholding for Indemnified Taxes (including such deductions and withholdings for Indemnified Taxes applicable to additional sums payable under this Section) the Administrative Agent or Lender (as the case may be) receives an amount equal to the sum it would have received had no such deduction or withholding for Indemnified Taxes been made.

 

29


(b) In addition, the Loan Parties shall timely pay any Other Taxes to the relevant Governmental Authority in accordance with applicable law.

(c) The Loan Parties shall jointly and severally indemnify the Administrative Agent and each Lender, within 10 days after demand therefore, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes paid by the Administrative Agent or such Lender, as the case may be, or required to be withheld or deducted from any payment by or on account of any obligation of the Borrower hereunder (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower by a Lender, or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.

(d) Each Lender shall severally indemnify the Administrative Agent, within 10 days after demand therefor, for (i) any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender (but only to the extent that the Loan Parties has not already indemnified the Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting the obligation of the Borrower to do so), (ii) any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 9.04 relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (iii) any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender, in each case, that are paid by the Administrative Agent in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by the Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender hereby authorizes the Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender under any Loan Document or otherwise payable by the Administrative Agent to the Lender from any other source against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this paragraph (d).

(e) As soon as practicable after any payment of Indemnified Taxes or Other Taxes by any Loan Party to a Governmental Authority, such Loan Party shall deliver to the Administrative Agent the original or a certified copy of a receipt issued by such Governmental Authority evidencing such payment, a copy of the return reporting such payment or other evidence of such payment reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

(f) Any Foreign Lender, if it is legally entitled to do so, shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent (in such number of copies as shall be required by law or requested by the recipient) on or prior to the date on which such Foreign Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter as required by law or upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, but only if such Foreign Lender is legally entitled to do so), whichever of the following is applicable:

(i) executed originals of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN claiming eligibility for benefits of an income tax treaty to which the United States of America is a party;

 

30


(ii) executed originals of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8ECI;

(iii) in the case of a Foreign Lender claiming the benefits of the exemption for portfolio interest under section 881(c) of the Code, (x) a certificate to the effect that such Foreign Lender is not (A) a “bank” within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(A) of the Code, (B) a “10 percent shareholder” of the Borrower within the meaning of section 881(c)(3)(B) of the Code, or (C) a “controlled foreign corporation” described in section 881(c)(3)(C) of the Code and (y) executed originals of Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN;

(iv) to the extent a Foreign Lender is not the beneficial owner, executed originals of IRS Form W-8IMY, accompanied by IRS Form W-8ECI, IRS Form W8BEN, a portfolio interest certificate in compliance with Section 2.14(f)(iii), IRS Form W-9, and/or other certification documents from each beneficial owner, as applicable; provided that if the Foreign Lender is a partnership and one or more direct or indirect partners of such Foreign Lender are claiming the portfolio interest exemption, such Foreign Lender may provide a certificate in compliance with Section 2.14(f)(iii) on behalf of such direct or indirect partner or partners; or

(v) any other form prescribed by applicable law as a basis for claiming exemption from or a reduction in United States federal withholding tax duly completed together with such supplementary documentation as may be prescribed by applicable law to permit the Borrower to determine the withholding or deduction required to be made unless, in the Foreign Lender’s sole determination exercised in good faith, such completion would subject such Foreign Lender to any material cost or expense or would materially prejudice the legal or commercial position of such Foreign Lender.

In addition, any Lender that is a U.S. Person shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent on or prior to the date on which such Lender becomes a Lender under this Agreement (and from time to time thereafter as required by law or upon the reasonable request of the Borrower or the Administrative Agent), executed originals of IRS Form W-9 certifying that such Lender is exempt from U.S. federal backup withholding. In addition, each Lender shall deliver such forms promptly upon the obsolescence or invalidity of any form previously delivered by such Lender.

(g) If a payment made to a Lender under any Loan Document would be subject to U.S. federal withholding Tax imposed by FATCA if such Lender failed to comply with the applicable reporting requirements of FATCA (including those contained in Section 1471(b) or 1472(b) of the Code, as applicable), such Lender shall deliver to the Borrower and the Administrative Agent at the time or times prescribed by law and at such time or times reasonably requested by the Borrower or the Administrative Agent such documentation prescribed by applicable law (including as prescribed by Section 1471(b)(3)(C)(i) of the Code) and such other documentation reasonably requested by the

 

31


Borrower and the Administrative Agent sufficient for the Administrative Agent and the Borrower to comply with their obligations under FATCA and to determine that such Lender has complied with such applicable reporting requirements or to determine the amount to deduct and withhold from such payment.

(h) If any Lender or the Administrative Agent determines, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith, that it has received a refund of any Taxes as to which it has been indemnified by any Loan Party pursuant to this Section (including by the payment of additional amounts pursuant to this Section), it shall pay to the applicable Loan Party an amount equal to such refund (but only to the extent of indemnity payments made under this Section with respect to the Taxes giving rise to such refund), net of all out-of-pocket expenses (including Taxes) of such indemnified party and without interest (other than any interest paid by the relevant Governmental Authority with respect to such refund); provided , however , that (w) any Lender or the Administrative Agent may determine, in its sole discretion exercised in good faith consistent with the policies of such Lender or the Administrative Agent, whether to seek a refund for any Taxes; (x) any Taxes that are incurred by a Lender or the Administrative Agent as a result of a disallowance or reduction of any Tax refund with respect to which such Lender or the Administrative Agent has made a payment to the Loan Party pursuant to this Section shall be treated as an Indemnified Tax for which the Loan Party is obligated to indemnify such Lender or the Administrative Agent pursuant to this Section without any exclusions or defenses; (y) nothing in this Section shall require the Lender or the Administrative Agent to disclose any confidential information to a Loan Party (including, without limitation, its tax returns); and (z) neither any Lender nor the Administrative Agent shall be required to pay any amounts pursuant to this Section for so long as a Default or Event of Default exists. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this paragraph (h), in no event will the indemnified party be required to pay any amount to an indemnifying party pursuant to this paragraph (h), the payment of which would place the indemnified party in a less favorable net after-Tax position than the indemnified party would have been in if the Tax subject to indemnification and giving rise to such refund had not been deducted, withheld or otherwise imposed and the indemnification payments or additional amounts with respect to such Tax had never been paid.

Section 2.15. Payments Generally; Pro Rata Treatment; Sharing of Set-offs . (a) The Borrower shall make each payment required to be made by it hereunder (whether of principal, interest or fees, or of amounts payable under Sections 2.12, 2.13 or 2.14, or otherwise) prior to 12:00 noon, New York City time, on the date when due, in immediately available funds, without set off or counterclaim. Any amounts received after such time on any date may, in the discretion of the Administrative Agent, be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day for purposes of calculating interest thereon. All such payments shall be made to the Administrative Agent at 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004 and except that payments pursuant to Sections 2.12, 2.13 or 2.14 and Section 9.03 shall be made directly to the Persons entitled thereto. The Administrative Agent shall distribute any such payments received by it for the account of any other Person to the appropriate recipient promptly following receipt thereof. If any payment or performance hereunder shall be due on a day that is not a Business Day, the date for payment or performance shall be extended to the next succeeding Business Day, and, in the case of any payment accruing interest, interest thereon shall be payable for the period of such extension. All payments hereunder shall be made in dollars.

 

32


(b) If at any time insufficient funds are received by and available to the Administrative Agent to pay fully all amounts of principal, interest and fees then due hereunder, such funds shall be applied (i) first, towards payment of interest and fees then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of interest and fees then due to such parties, and (ii) second, towards payment of principal then due hereunder, ratably among the parties entitled thereto in accordance with the amounts of principal then due to such parties.

(c) If any Lender shall, by exercising any right of set off or counterclaim or otherwise, obtain payment in respect of any principal of or interest on any of its Loans resulting in such Lender receiving payment of a greater proportion of the aggregate amount of its Loans and accrued interest thereon than the proportion received by any other Lender, then the Lender receiving such greater proportion shall purchase (for cash at face value) participations in the Loans of other Lenders to the extent necessary so that the benefit of all such payments shall be shared by the Lenders ratably in accordance with the aggregate amount of principal of and accrued interest on their respective Loans; provided that (i) if any such participations are purchased and all or any portion of the payment giving rise thereto is recovered, such participations shall be rescinded and the purchase price restored to the extent of such recovery, without interest, and (ii) the provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to apply to any payment made by the Borrower pursuant to and in accordance with the express terms of this Agreement (including the application of funds arising from the existence of a Defaulting Lender) or any payment obtained by a Lender as consideration for the assignment of or sale of a participation in any of its Loans to any assignee or participant, other than to the Borrower or any Subsidiary or Affiliate thereof (as to which the provisions of this paragraph shall apply). The Borrower consents to the foregoing and agrees, to the extent it may effectively do so under applicable law, that any Lender acquiring a participation pursuant to the foregoing arrangements may exercise against the Borrower rights of set-off and counterclaim with respect to such participation as fully as if such Lender were a direct creditor of the Borrower in the amount of such participation.

(d) Unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from the Borrower prior to the date on which any payment is due to the Administrative Agent for the account of the Lenders hereunder that the Borrower will not make such payment, the Administrative Agent may assume that the Borrower has made such payment on such date in accordance herewith and may, in reliance upon such assumption, distribute to the Lenders the amount due. In such event, if the Borrower has not in fact made such payment, then each of the Lenders severally agrees to repay to the Administrative Agent forthwith on demand the amount so distributed to such Lender with interest thereon, for each day from and including the date such amount is distributed to it to but excluding the date of payment to the Administrative Agent, at the greater of the Federal Funds Effective Rate and a rate determined by the Administrative Agent in accordance with banking industry rules on interbank compensation.

 

33


(e) If any Lender shall fail to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to Section 2.04(b) or paragraph (d) of this Section, then the Administrative Agent may, in its discretion (notwithstanding any contrary provision hereof), apply any amounts thereafter received by the Administrative Agent for the account of such Lender to satisfy such Lender’s obligations under such Sections until all such unsatisfied obligations are fully paid.

Section 2.16. Mitigation Obligations; Replacement of Lenders . (a) If any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.12, or if the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14, then such Lender shall use reasonable efforts to designate a different lending office for funding or booking its Loans hereunder or to assign its rights and obligations hereunder to another of its offices, branches or affiliates, if, in the judgment of such Lender, such designation or assignment (i) would eliminate or reduce amounts payable pursuant to Section 2.12 or Section 2.14, as the case may be, in the future and (ii) would not subject such Lender to any unreimbursed cost or expense and would not otherwise be disadvantageous to such Lender. The Borrower hereby agrees to pay all reasonable costs and expenses incurred by any Lender in connection with any such designation or assignment.

(b) If (i) any Lender requests compensation under Section 2.12, (ii) the Borrower is required to pay any additional amount to any Lender or any Governmental Authority for the account of any Lender pursuant to Section 2.14 or (iii) any Lender is a Defaulting Lender or a Non-Consenting Lender, then the Borrower may, at its sole expense and effort, upon notice to such Lender and the Administrative Agent, require such Lender to assign and delegate, without recourse (in accordance with and subject to the restrictions contained in Section 9.04), all its interests, rights and obligations under this Agreement and the other Loan Documents to an assignee that shall assume such obligations (which assignee may be another Lender, if a Lender accepts such assignment); provided that (i) the Borrower shall have received the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent, which consent shall not unreasonably be withheld, (ii) such Lender shall have received payment of an amount equal to the outstanding principal of its Loans, accrued interest thereon, accrued fees and all other amounts payable to it hereunder and under the other Loan Documents, from the assignee (to the extent of such outstanding principal and accrued interest and fees so assigned) or the Borrower (in the case of all other amounts so assigned), (iii) in the case of any such assignment resulting from a claim for compensation under Section 2.12 or payments required to be made pursuant to Section 2.14, such assignment will result in a reduction in such compensation or payments, (iv) such assignment does not conflict with applicable law and (v) in the case of any assignment resulting from a Lender becoming a Non-Consenting Lender, (x) the applicable assignee shall have consented to, or shall consent to, the applicable amendment, waiver or consent and (y) the Borrower exercises its rights pursuant to this clause (b) with respect to all Non-Consenting Lenders relating to the applicable amendment, waiver or consent. A Lender shall not be required to make any such assignment or delegation if, prior thereto, as a result of a waiver by such Lender or otherwise, the circumstances entitling the Borrower to require such assignment and delegation cease to apply.

 

34


Section 2.17. Defaulting Lenders . (a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Agreement, if any Lender becomes a Defaulting Lender, then, until such time as such Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, to the extent permitted by applicable law:

(i) Such Defaulting Lender’s right to approve or disapprove any amendment, waiver or consent with respect to this Agreement shall be restricted as set forth in the definition of Required Lenders and in Section 9.02.

(ii) Any payment of principal, interest, fees or other amounts received by the Administrative Agent for the account of such Defaulting Lender (whether voluntary or mandatory, at maturity, pursuant to Article 7 or otherwise) or received by the Administrative Agent from a Defaulting Lender pursuant to Section 9.08 shall be applied at such time or times as may be determined by the Administrative Agent as follows: first , to the payment of any amounts owing by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent hereunder; second , as the Borrower may request (so long as no Default or Event of Default exists), to the funding of any Loan in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has failed to fund its portion thereof as required by this Agreement, as determined by the Administrative Agent; third , if so determined by the Administrative Agent and the Borrower, to be held in a non-interest bearing deposit account and released pro rata in order to satisfy such Defaulting Lender’s potential future funding obligations with respect to Loans under this Agreement; fourth , to the payment of any amounts owing to the Lenders as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by any Lender against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; fifth , so long as no Default or Event of Default exists, to the payment of any amounts owing to the Borrower as a result of any judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction obtained by the Borrower against such Defaulting Lender as a result of such Defaulting Lender’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and sixth , to such Defaulting Lender or as otherwise directed by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that if (x) such payment is a payment of the principal amount of any Loans in respect of which such Defaulting Lender has not fully funded its appropriate share, and (y) such Loans were made when the conditions set forth in Section 4.02 were satisfied or waived, such payment shall be applied solely to pay the Loans of all Non-Defaulting Lenders on a pro rata basis prior to being applied to the payment of any Loans of such Defaulting Lender until such time as all Loans are held by the Lenders pro rata in accordance with the Commitments. Any payments, prepayments or other amounts paid or payable to a Defaulting Lender that are applied (or held) to pay amounts owed by a Defaulting Lender pursuant to this Section shall be deemed paid to and redirected by such Defaulting Lender, and each Lender irrevocably consents hereto.

(iii) No Defaulting Lender shall be entitled to receive any commitment fee pursuant to Section 2.09 for any period during which that Lender is a Defaulting Lender (and the Borrower shall not be required to pay any such fee that otherwise would have been required to have been paid to that Defaulting Lender).

(b) If the Borrower and the Administrative Agent agree in writing that a Lender is no longer a Defaulting Lender, the Administrative Agent will so notify the parties

 

35


hereto, whereupon as of the effective date specified in such notice and subject to any conditions set forth therein, that Lender will, to the extent applicable, purchase at par that portion of outstanding Loans of the other Lenders or take such other actions as the Administrative Agent may determine to be necessary to cause the Loans to be held on a pro rata basis by the Lenders in accordance with their respective Applicable Percentages, whereupon such Lender will cease to be a Defaulting Lender; provided that no adjustments will be made retroactively with respect to fees accrued or payments made by or on behalf of the Borrower while that Lender was a Defaulting Lender; and provided , further , that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no change hereunder from Defaulting Lender to Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender.

ARTICLE 3

R EPRESENTATIONS AND W ARRANTIES

The Borrower represents and warrants to the Lenders that:

Section 3.01. Organization; Powers . Each of the Borrower and its Material Subsidiaries is duly organized, validly existing and (to the extent the concept is applicable in such jurisdiction) in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has all requisite power and authority to carry on its business as now conducted and, except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, is qualified to do business in, and is in good standing in, every jurisdiction where such qualification is required.

Section 3.02. Authorization; Enforceability . The Transactions are within the Borrower’s and each Guarantor’s corporate or other organizational powers and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate or other organizational and, if required, equity holder action. Each of the Borrower and the Guarantors has duly executed and delivered each of the Loan Documents to which it is party, and each of such Loan Documents constitute its legal, valid and binding obligations, enforceable in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and subject to general principles of equity, regardless of whether considered in a proceeding in equity or at law.

Section 3.03. Governmental Approvals; No Conflicts . The Transactions (a) do not require any consent or approval of, registration or filing with, or any other action by, any Governmental Authority, except (i) such as have been obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (ii) those approvals, consents, registrations, filings or other actions, the failure of which to obtain or make could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (b) except as could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, will not violate any applicable law or regulation or any order of any Governmental Authority, (c) will not violate any charter, by-laws or other organizational document of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, (d) except as could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, will not violate or result in a default under any indenture, agreement or other instrument (other than the agreements

 

36


and instruments referred to in clause (c)) binding upon the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries or its assets, or give rise to a right thereunder to require any payment to be made by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, and (e) will not result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries.

Section 3.04. Financial Condition; No Material Adverse Change . (a) The Borrower has heretofore furnished to the Administrative Agent its consolidated balance sheet and statements of income, stockholders equity and cash flows (i) as of and for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2012, December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010, reported on by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent public accountants and (ii) as of and for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2013 and June 30, 2013, certified by its chief financial officer. Such financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position and results of operations and cash flows of the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of such dates and for such periods in accordance with GAAP, subject to year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes in the case of the unaudited financial statements referred to in clause (ii) above.

(b) Since December 31, 2012, no event, development or circumstance exists or has occurred that has had or could reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, property, financial condition or results of operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or on the ability of the Borrower to consummate the Transactions.

Section 3.05. Properties . (a) Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has good title to, or valid leasehold interests in or rights to use, all its real and personal property material to its business, except for minor defects in title that do not interfere with its ability to conduct its business as currently conducted or to utilize such properties for their intended purposes.

(b) Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed to use, all trademarks, trade names, copyrights, patents, software, domain names, trade secrets, know-how and other similar proprietary or intellectual property rights, including any registrations and applications for registration of, and all goodwill associated with, the foregoing, material to or necessary to its business as currently conducted, and the operation of such business or the use of any of the foregoing intellectual property rights by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries does not infringe upon, misappropriate, or otherwise violate the rights of any other Person, except for any such infringements, misappropriations, or violations that, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

Section 3.06. Litigation and Environmental Matters . (a) There are no actions, suits or proceedings by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority pending against or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, threatened in writing against or affecting the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries (i) that could reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect or (ii) that involve this Agreement, any other Loan Document or the Transactions.

 

37


(b) Except with respect to any matter that, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries (i) has failed to comply with any Environmental Law or to obtain, maintain or comply with any permit, license or other approval required under any Environmental Law, (ii) has become subject to any Environmental Liability, or (iii) has received notice of any claim with respect to any Environmental Liability.

Section 3.07. Compliance with Laws and Agreements; No Default . Each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries is in compliance with all laws, rules, regulations and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property and all indentures, agreements and other instruments binding upon it or its property, except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. No Default has occurred and is continuing.

Section 3.08. Investment Company Status . None of the Borrower or any Subsidiary is or is required to be registered as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Section 3.09. Margin Stock . None of the Borrower or any Subsidiary is engaged in the business of extending credit for the purpose of purchasing or carrying margin stock (within the meaning of Regulation U issued by the Board), and no proceeds of any Loan will be used to purchase or carry any margin stock or to extend credit to others for the purpose of purchasing or carrying any margin stock in violation of Regulation U or Regulation X issued by the Board and all official rulings and interpretations thereunder or thereof.

Section 3.10. Taxes. Except as could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, (i) each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has timely filed or caused to be filed all Tax returns and reports required to have been filed with respect to income, properties or operations of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, (ii) such returns accurately reflect in all material respects all liability for Taxes of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries as a whole for the periods covered thereby and (iii) each of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries has paid or caused to be paid all Taxes required to have been paid by it, except Taxes that are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and, to the extent required by GAAP, for which the Borrower or such Subsidiary, as applicable, has set aside on its books adequate reserves in accordance with GAAP.

Section 3.11. ERISA . (a) Schedule 3.11 to the Disclosure Letter sets forth each material Plan as of the Effective Date. Each Plan is in compliance in form and operation with its terms and with ERISA and the Code (including without limitation the Code provisions compliance with which is necessary for any intended favorable tax treatment) and all other applicable laws and regulations, except where any failure to comply could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (or, prior to a Qualifying IPO, any material liability). Each Plan (and each related trust, if any) which is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter from the IRS to the effect that it meets the requirements of Sections 401(a) and 501(a) of the Code covering all applicable tax law changes or is comprised of a master or

 

38


prototype plan that has received a favorable opinion letter from the IRS, and, nothing has occurred since the date of such determination that would adversely affect such determination (or, in the case of a Plan with no determination, nothing has occurred that would materially adversely affect the issuance of a favorable determination letter or otherwise materially adversely affect such qualification). No ERISA Event has occurred, or is reasonably expected to occur, other than as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect (or, prior to a Qualifying IPO, any material liability).

(b) There exists no material Unfunded Pension Liability with respect to any Plan, except as could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(c) None of the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate is making or accruing an obligation to make contributions, or has within any of the five calendar years immediately preceding the date this assurance is given or deemed given, made or accrued an obligation to make contributions to any Multiemployer Plan.

(d) There are no actions, suits or claims pending against or involving a Plan (other than routine claims for benefits) or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate, threatened, which would reasonably be expected to be asserted successfully against any Plan and, if so asserted successfully, would reasonably be expected either singly or in the aggregate to result in in a Material Adverse Effect (or, prior to a Qualifying IPO, any material liability).

(e) The Borrower, its Subsidiaries and its ERISA Affiliates have made all contributions to or under each Plan and Multiemployer Plan required by law within the applicable time limits prescribed thereby, the terms of such Plan or Multiemployer Plan, respectively, or any contract or agreement requiring contributions to a Plan or Multiemployer Plan save where any failure to comply, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in in a Material Adverse Effect (or, prior to a Qualifying IPO, any material liability).

(f) No Plan which is subject to Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA has applied for or received an extension of any amortization period, within the meaning of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 or 304 of ERISA. The Borrower, any Subsidiary, and any ERISA Affiliate have not ceased operations at a facility so as to become subject to the provisions of Section 4062(e) of ERISA, withdrawn as a substantial employer so as to become subject to the provisions of Section 4063 of ERISA or ceased making contributions to any Plan subject to Section 4064(a) of ERISA to which it made contributions. None of the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate have incurred or reasonably expect to incur any liability to PBGC except as could not reasonably be expected to result in material liability, save for any liability for premiums due in the ordinary course or other liability which could not reasonably be expected to result in material liability, and no lien imposed under the Code or ERISA on the assets of the Borrower or any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate exists or, to the knowledge of the Borrower, is likely to arise on account of any Plan. None of the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate has engaged in a transaction that could be subject to Section 4069 or 4212(c) of ERISA.

 

39


(g) Each Non-U.S. Plan has been maintained in compliance with its terms and with the requirements of any and all applicable laws, statutes, rules, regulations and orders and has been maintained, where required, in good standing with applicable regulatory authorities, except as could not reasonably be expected to result in a material liability. All contributions required to be made with respect to a Non-U.S. Plan have been timely made, except as could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries has incurred any material obligation in connection with the termination of, or withdrawal from, any Non-U.S. Plan. The present value of the accrued benefit liabilities (whether or not vested) under each Non-U.S. Plan, determined as of the end of the Borrower’s most recently ended fiscal year on the basis of actuarial assumptions, each of which is reasonable, did not exceed the current value of the assets of such Non-U.S. Plan allocable to such benefit liabilities, except as could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

Section 3.12. Disclosure . All written information or oral information provided in formal presentations or in any meeting or conference call with Lenders (other than any projected financial information and other than information of a general economic or industry specific nature) furnished by or on behalf of the Borrower to the Administrative Agent or any Lender in connection with the negotiation of this Agreement or delivered hereunder, as modified or supplemented by other information so furnished and when taken as a whole and together with any information disclosed in Borrower’s public filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, does not contain any material misstatement of fact or omit to state any material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not materially misleading; provided that, with respect to any projected financial information, the Borrower represents only that such information was prepared in good faith based upon assumptions believed to be reasonable at the time furnished (it being understood that such projected financial information is subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies, any of which are beyond the Borrower’s control, that no assurance can be given that any particular projections will be realized and that actual results during the period or periods covered by any such projected financial information may differ significantly from the projected results and such differences may be material).

Section 3.13. Subsidiaries . Schedule 3.13 to the Disclosure Letter sets forth as of the Effective Date a list of all Subsidiaries and the percentage ownership (directly or indirectly) of the Borrower therein. Except as could not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, the shares of capital stock or other ownership interests of all Subsidiaries of the Borrower are fully paid and non-assessable and are owned by the Borrower, directly or indirectly, free and clear of all Liens other than Liens permitted under Section 6.02.

Section 3.14. Solvency . As of the Effective Date, the Borrower is, individually and together with its Subsidiaries, and after giving effect to the incurrence of all Indebtedness and obligations being incurred in connection herewith will be, Solvent.

 

40


Section 3.15. Anti-Terrorism Law . (a) To the extent applicable, neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of any legal requirement relating to U.S. economic sanctions or any laws with respect to terrorism or money laundering (collectively, “ Anti-Terrorism Laws ”), including Executive Order No. 13224 on Terrorist Financing effective September 24, 2001 (the “ Executive Order ”) and the USA Patriot Act.

(b) Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries is any of the following:

(i) a Person that is listed in the annex to, or is otherwise subject to the provisions of, the Executive Order;

(ii) a Person owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, any Person that is listed in the annex to, or is otherwise subject to the provisions of, the Executive Order;

(iii) a Person with which any Lender is prohibited from dealing or otherwise engaging in any transaction by any Anti-Terrorism Law;

(iv) a Person that commits, threatens or conspires to commit or supports “terrorism” as defined in the Executive Order; or

(v) a Person that is named as a “specially designated national and blocked person” on the most current list published by the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (“ OFAC ”) at its official website or any replacement website or other replacement official publication of such list.

(c) Neither the Borrower nor any of its Subsidiaries (i) conducts any business with, or engages in making or receiving any contribution of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of, a Person described in Section 3.14(b)(i)-(v) above, except as permitted under U.S. law, (ii) deals in, or otherwise engages in any transaction relating to, any property or interests in property blocked pursuant to the Executive Order, or (iii) engages in or conspires to engage in any transaction that evades or avoids, or has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate, any of the prohibitions set forth in any Anti-Terrorism Law.

(d) The Borrower will not use, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to use, the proceeds of the Loans or otherwise make available such proceeds to any Person described in Section 3.14(b)(i)-(v) above, for the purpose of financing the activities of any Person described in Section 3.14(b)(i)-(v) above or in any other manner that would violate any Anti-Terrorism Laws.

Section 3.16. FCPA . No part of the proceeds of the Loans will be used by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, directly or indirectly, for any payments to any governmental official or employee, political party, official of a political party, candidate for political office, or anyone else acting in an official capacity, in order to obtain, retain or direct business or obtain any improper advantage, in violation of the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable anti-corruption law.

 

41


ARTICLE 4

C ONDITIONS

Section 4.01. Effective Date . The obligations of the Lenders to make Loans hereunder shall not become effective until the date on which each of the following conditions is satisfied (or waived in accordance with Section 9.02):

(a) The Administrative Agent (or its counsel) shall have received from each party hereto either (i) a counterpart of this Agreement signed on behalf of such party or (ii) written evidence satisfactory to the Administrative Agent (which may include telecopy or electronic transmission of a signed signature page of this Agreement) that such party has signed a counterpart of this Agreement.

(b) The Administrative Agent shall have received a Note executed by the Borrower in favor of each Lender requesting a Note in advance of the Effective Date.

(c) The Administrative Agent shall have received a favorable written opinion (addressed to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and dated the Effective Date) of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., counsel for the Borrower in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent. The Borrower hereby requests such counsel to deliver such opinion.

(d) The Administrative Agent shall have received (i) certified copies of the resolutions of the board of directors of the Borrower and the Guarantors approving the transactions contemplated by the Loan Documents to which each such Loan Party is a party and the execution and delivery of such Loan Documents to be delivered by such Loan Party on the Effective Date, and all documents evidencing other necessary organizational action and governmental approvals, if any, with respect to the Loan Documents and (ii) all other documents reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent relating to the organization, existence and good standing of the Guarantors and the Borrower and authorization of the transactions contemplated hereby.

(e) The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate of the Secretary or an Assistant Secretary of the Borrower and each Guarantor certifying the names and true signatures of the officers of such entity authorized to sign the Loan Documents to which it is a party, to be delivered by such entity on the Effective Date and the other documents to be delivered hereunder on the Effective Date.

(f) The Administrative Agent shall have received a certificate, dated the Effective Date and signed on behalf of the Borrower by the President, a Vice President or a Financial Officer of the Borrower, confirming compliance with the conditions set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 4.02 as of the Effective Date.

(g) The Lenders, the Administrative Agent and the Arrangers shall have received all fees required to be paid by the Borrower on the Effective Date, and all expenses required to be reimbursed by the Borrower for which invoices have been presented at least three business days prior to the Effective Date, on or before the Effective Date.

 

42


(h) The Administrative Agent shall have received, to the extent reasonably requested by any of the Lenders at least five Business Days prior to the Effective Date, all documentation and other information required by bank regulatory authorities under applicable “know-your-customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including the USA Patriot Act.

(i) The Administrative Agent shall have received reasonably detailed projections of the Borrower for at least the three fiscal years ended after the Effective Date.

The Administrative Agent shall notify the Borrower and the Lenders of the Effective Date, and such notice shall be conclusive and binding. Without limiting the generality of the provisions of Article 8, for purposes of determining compliance with the conditions specified in this Section, each Lender that has signed this Agreement shall be deemed to have consented to, approved or accepted or to be satisfied with, each document or other matter required thereunder to be consented to or approved by or acceptable or satisfactory to a Lender unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice from such Lender prior to the proposed Effective Date specifying its objection thereto.

Section 4.02. Each Credit Event . The obligation of each Lender to make a Loan on the occasion of any Borrowing is subject to the satisfaction of the following conditions:

(a) The representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth in this Agreement and the other Loan Documents shall be true and correct in all material respects on and as of the date of such Borrowing, except that (i) for purposes of this Section, the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.04(a) shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to clauses (a) and (b), respectively, of Section 5.01 and (ii) to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, they shall be true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date; and

(b) At the time of and immediately after giving effect to such Borrowing, no Default shall have occurred and be continuing.

Each Borrowing shall be deemed to constitute a representation and warranty by the Borrower that the conditions specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Section have been satisfied as of the date thereof.

 

43


ARTICLE 5

A FFIRMATIVE C OVENANTS

Until the Commitments have expired or been terminated and the principal of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable hereunder shall have been paid in full, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:

Section 5.01. Financial Statements; Ratings Change and Other Information . The Borrower will furnish to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to each Lender):

(a) within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year of the Borrower, its audited consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows as of the end of and for such year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the previous fiscal year, all reported on by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, or other independent public accountants of recognized national standing (without a “going concern” or like qualification or exception (other than a qualification related to the maturity of the Commitments and the Loans at the Maturity Date) and without any qualification or exception as to the scope of such audit) to the effect that such consolidated financial statements present fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied;

(b) within 45 days after the end of each of the first three fiscal quarters of each fiscal year of the Borrower, its consolidated balance sheet and related statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows as of the end of and for such fiscal quarter and the then elapsed portion of the fiscal year, setting forth in each case in comparative form the figures for the corresponding period or periods of (or, in the case of the balance sheet, as of the end of) the previous fiscal year, all certified by one of its Financial Officers as presenting fairly in all material respects the financial condition and results of operations of the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes;

(c) concurrently with any delivery of financial statements under clause (a) or (b) above, a certificate of a Financial Officer of the Borrower in substantially the form of Exhibit F attached hereto (i) certifying as to whether a Default has occurred and is continuing as of the date thereof and, if a Default has occurred and is continuing as of the date thereof, specifying the details thereof and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto, (ii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations demonstrating the Total Leverage Ratio for the Measurement Period ending on the last day of the applicable fiscal quarter or fiscal year for which such financial statements are being delivered, (iii) setting forth reasonably detailed calculations demonstrating compliance with Section 6.01(b) and (c) as of the last day of the applicable fiscal quarter or fiscal year for which such financial statements are being delivered, (iv) setting forth the amount of Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 6.04(ix) during the respective fiscal quarter or fiscal year and demonstrating compliance with such Section 6.04(ix) and (v) if and to the extent that any change in GAAP that has occurred since the date of the audited financial

 

44


statements referred to in Section 3.04 had an impact on such financial statements, specifying the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying such certificate;

(d) promptly after the same become publicly available, copies of all periodic and other reports, proxy statements and other materials filed by the Borrower or any Subsidiary with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any Governmental Authority succeeding to any or all of the functions of said Commission, or with any national securities exchange, as the case may be, in each case that is not otherwise required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant hereto, provided , that such information shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date on which such information has been posted on the Borrower’s website on the Internet on the investor relations page at https://twitter.com (or any successor page) or at http://www.sec.gov; and

(e) promptly following any request in writing (including any electronic message) therefor, such other information regarding the operations, business affairs and financial condition of the Borrower or any Subsidiary, or compliance with the terms of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, as the Administrative Agent or any Lender (through the Administrative Agent) may reasonably request.

Information required to be delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a) or Section 5.01(b) may be delivered electronically and if so delivered, shall be deemed to have been delivered on the date (i) on which the Borrower posts such information, or provides a link thereto on the Borrower’s website on the Internet on the investor relations page at https://twitter.com (or any successor page) or at http://www.sec.gov; or (ii) on which such information is posted on the Borrower’s behalf on an Internet or intranet website, if any, to which the Lenders and the Administrative Agent have been granted access (whether a commercial, third-party website or whether sponsored by the Administrative Agent).

Section 5.02. Notices of Material Events . The Borrower will furnish to the Administrative Agent (for distribution to each Lender) prompt written notice of the following:

(a) the occurrence of any Default;

(b) the filing or commencement of any action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator or Governmental Authority against or affecting the Borrower or any Subsidiary thereof that could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; and

(c) any other development that results in, or could reasonably be expected to result in, a Material Adverse Effect.

Each notice delivered under this Section shall be accompanied by a statement of a Responsible Officer or other executive officer of the Borrower setting forth the details of the event or development requiring such notice and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto.

 

45


Section 5.03. Existence; Conduct of Business . The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Material Subsidiaries to, do or cause to be done all things necessary to preserve, renew and keep in full force and effect its legal existence and the rights, licenses, permits, privileges and franchises material to the conduct of its business; provided that (i) the foregoing shall not prohibit any merger, consolidation, liquidation or dissolution permitted under Section 6.03 and (ii) none of the Borrower or any of its Material Subsidiaries shall be required to preserve, renew or keep in full force and effect its rights, licenses, permits, privileges or franchises where failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

Section 5.04. Payment of Taxes . The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, pay all Tax liabilities, including all Taxes imposed upon it or upon its income or profits or upon any properties belonging to it that, if not paid, could reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, before the same shall become delinquent or in default, and all lawful claims other than Tax liabilities that, if unpaid, would become a Lien upon any properties of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries not otherwise permitted under Section 6.02, in both cases except where (a) the validity or amount thereof is being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings and (b) to the extent required by GAAP, the Borrower or such Subsidiary has set aside on its books adequate reserves with respect thereto in accordance with GAAP.

Section 5.05. Maintenance of Properties; Insurance . The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, (a) keep and maintain all property used in the conduct of its business in good working order and condition, ordinary wear and tear and casualty events excepted, except to the extent that failure to do so could not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, and (b) maintain insurance with financially sound and reputable insurance companies in such amounts and against such risks as are customarily maintained by companies engaged in the same or similar businesses operating in the same or similar locations.

Section 5.06. Books and Records; Inspection Rights . The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, keep proper books of record and account in which entries full, true and correct in all material respects are made and are sufficient to prepare financial statements in accordance with GAAP. The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, permit any representatives designated by the Administrative Agent or any Lender (pursuant to the request made through the Administrative Agent), upon reasonable prior notice, to visit and inspect its properties, to examine and make extracts from its books and records, and to discuss its affairs, finances and condition with its officers and independent accountants ( provided , that the Borrower or such Subsidiary shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in any discussions with such independent accountants), all at such reasonable times and as often as reasonably requested (but no more than once annually if no Event of Default exists). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section, none of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries shall be required to disclose, permit the inspection, examination or making copies or abstracts of, or discussion of, any document, information or other matter that (i) constitutes non-financial trade secrets or non-financial proprietary information, (ii) in respect of which disclosure to the Administrative Agent or any Lender (or their respective representatives) is

 

46


prohibited by applicable law or any third party contract legally binding on Borrower or its Subsidiaries or (iii) is subject to attorney, client or similar privilege or constitutes attorney work-product.

Section 5.07. ERISA-Related Information . The Borrower shall supply to the Administrative Agent (in sufficient copies for all the Lenders, if the Administrative Agent so requests): (a) promptly and in any event within 15 days after the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate files a Schedule B (or such other schedule as contains actuarial information) to IRS Form 5500 in respect of a Plan with Unfunded Pension Liabilities, a copy of such IRS Form 5500 (including the Schedule B); (b) promptly and in any event within 30 days after the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate knows or has reason to know that any ERISA Event has occurred, a certificate of the chief financial officer of the Borrower describing such ERISA Event and the action, if any, proposed to be taken with respect to such ERISA Event and a copy of any notice filed with the PBGC or the IRS pertaining to such ERISA Event and any notices received by such Borrower, Subsidiary, or ERISA Affiliate from the PBGC or any other governmental agency with respect thereto; provided that, in the case of ERISA Events under paragraph (b) of the definition thereof, in no event shall notice be given later than the occurrence of the ERISA Event; (c) promptly, and in any event within 30 days, after becoming aware that there has been (i) a material increase in Unfunded Pension Liabilities (taking into account only Pension Plans with positive Unfunded Pension Liabilities) since the date the representations hereunder are given or deemed given, or from any prior notice, as applicable; (ii) the existence of potential withdrawal liability under Section 4201 of ERISA, if the Borrower, any Subsidiary and the ERISA Affiliates were to withdraw completely from any and all Multiemployer Plans, (iii) the adoption of, or the commencement of contributions to, any Plan subject to Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA by the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate, or (iv) the adoption of any amendment to a Plan subject to Title IV of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA which results in a material increase in contribution obligations of the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate, a detailed written description thereof from the chief financial officer of the Borrower; and (d) if, at any time after the Effective Date, the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any ERISA Affiliate maintains, or contributes to (or incurs an obligation to contribute to), a Pension Plan or Multiemployer Plan which is not set forth in Schedule 3.11 to the Disclosure Letter, then the Borrower shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an updated Schedule 3.11 to the Disclosure Letter as soon as practicable, and in any event within 20 days after the Borrower, such Subsidiary or such ERISA Affiliate maintains, or contributes to (or incurs an obligation to contribute to), thereto.

Section 5.08. Compliance with Laws and Agreements . The Borrower will, and will cause each of its Subsidiaries to, comply with all laws, rules, regulations and orders of any Governmental Authority applicable to it or its property and all indentures, agreements and other instruments binding upon it or its property, except where the failure to do so, individually or in the aggregate, could not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

 

47


Section 5.09. Use of Proceeds . The proceeds of the Loans will be used only for working capital and general corporate purposes, including, without limitation, for stock repurchases under stock repurchase programs approved by the Borrower and for acquisitions not prohibited hereunder. No part of the proceeds of any Loan will be used, whether directly or indirectly, for any purpose that entails a violation of any of the Regulations of the Board, including Regulations T, U and X.

Section 5.10. Guarantors . If, as of the date of the most recently available financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a) or (b), as the case may be, any Person shall have become a Material Domestic Subsidiary, then the Borrower shall, within 30 days (or such longer period of time as the Administrative Agent may agree in its sole discretion) after delivery of such financial statements, cause such Material Domestic Subsidiary to enter into a guaranty agreement (a “ Guaranty ”) in substantially the form of Exhibit E hereto, or, if a Guaranty has previously been entered into by a Material Domestic Subsidiary (and remains in effect), a joinder agreement in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent to such Guaranty. If requested by the Administrative Agent, the Administrative Agent shall receive an opinion of counsel for the Borrower in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent in respect of matters reasonably requested by the Administrative Agent relating to any Guaranty delivered pursuant to this Section, dated as of the date of such Guaranty.

ARTICLE 6

N EGATIVE C OVENANTS

Until the Commitments have expired or terminated and the principal of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable hereunder have been paid in full, the Borrower covenants and agrees with the Lenders that:

Section 6.01. Indebtedness . The Borrower will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Indebtedness other than:

(a) Indebtedness that is not Specified Indebtedness;

(b) Specified Indebtedness constituting Capital Lease Obligations and Purchase Money Indebtedness; provided that the aggregate principal amount of Indebtedness pursuant to this clause (b) shall not exceed $250,000,000 at any time outstanding; and

(c) Specified Indebtedness (including, for the avoidance of doubt, Capital Lease Obligations and Purchase Money Indebtedness) in an aggregate principal amount at any time outstanding not to exceed the greater of (A) $1,000,000,000 and (B) the product of (x) 2.5 and (y) Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the most recently ended Measurement Period for which financial statements have been delivered.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Specified Indebtedness owed by a Loan Party to a Subsidiary that is not a Loan Party shall be permitted only to the extent subordinated to the Obligations on customary terms reasonably satisfactory to the Administrative Agent.

 

48


Section 6.02. Liens . The Borrower will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, create, incur, assume or permit to exist any Lien on any property or asset now owned or hereafter acquired by it except:

(a) Permitted Encumbrances;

(b) any Lien on any property or asset of the Borrower or any Subsidiary existing on the date hereof and set forth in Schedule 6.2 to the Disclosure Letter and any modifications, renewals and extensions thereof and any Lien granted as a replacement or substitute therefor; provided that (i) such Lien shall not apply to any other property or asset of the Borrower or any Subsidiary other than improvements thereon or proceeds thereof and (ii) such Lien shall secure only those obligations which it secures on the date hereof and any refinancing, extension, renewal or replacement thereof that does not increase the outstanding principal amount thereof except by an amount equal to a reasonable premium or other reasonable amount paid, and fees and expenses reasonably incurred, in connection with such refinancing, extensions, renewals or replacements;

(c) any Lien existing on any property or asset prior to the acquisition thereof by the Borrower or any Subsidiary or existing on any property or asset of any Person that becomes a Subsidiary after the date hereof prior to the time such Person becomes a Subsidiary; provided that (i) such Lien is not created in contemplation of or in connection with such acquisition or such Person becoming a Subsidiary, as the case may be, (ii) such Lien shall not apply to any other property or assets of the Borrower or any Subsidiary and (iii) such Lien shall secure only those obligations which it secures on the date of such acquisition or the date such Person becomes a Subsidiary, as the case may be, and any refinancing, extension, renewal or replacement thereof that does not increase the outstanding principal amount thereof except by an amount equal to a reasonable premium or other reasonable amount paid, and fees and expenses reasonably incurred, in connection with such refinancing, extensions, renewals or replacements;

(d) Liens on fixed or capital assets acquired, constructed or improved by the Borrower or any Subsidiary; provided that (i) such security interests secure Indebtedness that is not prohibited by Section 6.01, (ii) such security interests and the Indebtedness secured thereby are initially incurred prior to or within 180 days after such acquisition or the completion of such construction or improvement, (iii) the Indebtedness secured thereby does not exceed 100% of the cost of acquiring, constructing or improving such fixed or capital assets and (iv) such security interests shall not apply to any other property or assets of the Borrower or any Subsidiary other than additions, accessions, parts, attachments or improvements thereon or proceeds thereof;

(e) licenses, sublicenses, leases or subleases granted to others in the ordinary course of business not interfering in any material respect with the business of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole;

(f) the interest and title of a lessor under any lease, license, sublease or sublicense entered into by the Borrower or any Subsidiary in the ordinary course of its business and other statutory and common law landlords’ Liens under leases;

 

49


(g) in connection with the sale or transfer of any assets in a transaction not prohibited hereunder, customary rights and restrictions contained in agreements relating to such sale or transfer pending the completion thereof;

(h) in the case of any joint venture, any put and call arrangements related to its Equity Interests set forth in its organizational documents or any related joint venture or similar agreement;

(i) Liens securing Indebtedness to finance insurance premiums owing in the ordinary course of business to the extent such financing is not prohibited hereunder;

(j) Liens on earnest money deposits of cash or cash equivalents made in connection with any acquisition not prohibited hereunder;

(k) bankers’ Liens, rights of setoff and other similar Liens existing solely with respect to cash and cash equivalents on deposit in one or more accounts maintained by the Borrower or any Subsidiary, in each case granted in the ordinary course of business in favor of the banks, securities intermediaries or other depository institutions with which such accounts are maintained, securing amounts owing to such institutions with respect to cash management and operating account arrangements;

(l) Liens in the nature of the right of setoff in favor of counterparties to contractual agreements not otherwise prohibited hereunder with the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course of business; and

(m) other Liens securing obligations in an aggregate amount at any time outstanding not to exceed, the greater of (x) $75,000,000 and (y) 5.0% of Consolidated Net Tangible Assets.

Section 6.03. Fundamental Changes . (a) The Borrower will not, and will not permit any Subsidiary to, (x) merge into or consolidate with any other Person, or permit any other Person to merge into or consolidate with it, (y) sell, transfer, license, lease, enter into any sale-leaseback transactions with respect to, or otherwise dispose of (in one transaction or in a series of transactions) all or substantially all of the assets of the Borrower and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or all or substantially all of the stock of any of its Subsidiaries (in each case, whether now owned or hereafter acquired), or (z) liquidate or dissolve, except that, if at the time thereof and immediately after giving effect thereto no Default shall have occurred and be continuing:

(i) any Subsidiary or any other Person may merge into or consolidate with the Borrower in a transaction in which the Borrower is the surviving corporation;

(ii) any Person (other than the Borrower) may merge into or consolidate with any Subsidiary in a transaction in which the surviving entity is a Subsidiary (provided that any such merger or consolidation involving a Guarantor must result in a Guarantor as the surviving entity);

 

50


(iii) any Subsidiary may sell, transfer, license, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets to the Borrower or to another Subsidiary;

(iv) any Loan Party may sell, transfer, license, lease or otherwise dispose of its assets to any other Loan Party;

(v) in connection with any acquisition, any Subsidiary may merge into or consolidate with any other Person, so long as the Person surviving such merger or consolidation shall be a Subsidiary (provided that any such merger or consolidation involving a Guarantor must result in a Guarantor as the surviving entity);

(vi) any Subsidiary may liquidate or dissolve if the Borrower determines in good faith that such liquidation or dissolution is in the best interests of the Borrower and is not materially disadvantageous to the Lenders; and

(vii) any Subsidiary may merge into or consolidate with any other Person in a transaction not otherwise prohibited hereunder and all or substantially all of the Equity Interests of any Subsidiary may be sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of, so long as the aggregate consideration received in respect of all such mergers or consolidations, sales, transfers or other disposals pursuant to this clause (vii) shall not exceed the greater of (a) $100,000,000 and (b) 10% of Total Assets as of the date of such merger, consolidation, sale, transfer or other disposal.

(b) The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, engage to any material extent in any business other than businesses of the type conducted by the Borrower and its Subsidiaries on the date of execution of this Agreement and businesses reasonably related, complementary or incidental thereto, which businesses, for the avoidance of doubt, may include or relate to internet, mobile and other media platforms or devices, mobile applications, publishing, advertising, and content creation and distribution.

Section 6.04. Restricted Payments . The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, declare or make any Restricted Payments with respect to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, except:

(i) any Subsidiary of the Borrower may make Restricted Payments to the Borrower or to any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Borrower, and any non-wholly-owned Subsidiary may make Restricted Payments to the Borrower or any of its other Subsidiaries and to each other owner of Equity Interests of such Subsidiary based on their relative ownership interests of the relevant class of Equity Interests;

(ii) the Borrower may declare and make dividends payable solely in additional shares of Borrower’s common stock;

(iii) the Borrower may repurchase fractional shares of its Equity Interests arising out of stock dividends, splits or combinations, business combinations or conversions of convertible securities or, so long as no Default or Event of Default then exists or would result therefrom, make cash settlement payments upon the exercise of warrants to purchase its Equity Interests, or “net exercise” or “net share settle” warrants;

 

51


(iv) the Borrower may redeem or otherwise cancel Equity Interests or rights in respect thereof granted to (or make payments on behalf of) directors, officers, employees or other providers of services to the Borrower and the Subsidiaries in an amount required to satisfy tax withholding obligations relating to the vesting, settlement or exercise of such Equity Interests or rights;

(v) following a Qualifying IPO, the Borrower or any Subsidiary may make any Restricted Payment that has been declared by the Borrower or such Subsidiary, so long as (A) such Restricted Payment was permitted under clause (ix) of this Section 6.04 at the time so declared and (B) such Restricted Payment is made within 30 days of such declaration;

(vi) following a Qualifying IPO, the Borrower may repurchase Equity Interests pursuant to any accelerated stock repurchase or similar agreement; provided that the payment made by the Borrower with respect to such repurchase was permitted under clause (ix) of this Section 6.04 at the time made as if it was a Restricted Payment made by the Borrower at such time;

(vii) the Borrower may make Restricted Payments pursuant to and in accordance with stock option plans or other benefit plans or agreements for directors, management, employees or other eligible service providers of the Borrower or its Subsidiaries;

(viii) the Borrower or any Subsidiary may make Restricted Payments to employees of and third party investors in a Person, business or division acquired by the Borrower or its Subsidiaries, the payment or amount of which is contingent upon the performance and/or continued employment of one or more employees of such acquired Person, business or division; and

(ix) so long as no Default or Event of Default then exists or would result therefrom, the Borrower may declare or make Restricted Payments if the Total Leverage Ratio for the most recent Measurement Period then ended and after giving pro forma effect to such Restricted Payment is less than 2.0:1.0; provided that, following a Qualifying IPO and so long as no Default or Event of Default then exists or would result therefrom, the Borrower may declare or make Restricted Payments not otherwise permitted under this clause (ix) in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $200,000,000.

Section 6.05. Restrictive Agreements. The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, directly or indirectly, enter into, incur or permit to exist any agreement or other arrangement that prohibits, restricts or imposes any condition upon (a) the ability of the Borrower or any Subsidiary to create, incur or permit to exist any Lien upon any of its property or assets to secure the Obligations, or (b) the ability of any Subsidiary to pay dividends or other distributions with respect to any shares of its capital stock or to make

 

52


or repay loans or advances to the Borrower or any other Subsidiary or of any Subsidiary to Guarantee Indebtedness of the Borrower or any other Subsidiary under the Loan Documents; provided that (i) the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions and conditions imposed by law or by this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions and conditions existing on the date hereof identified on Schedule 6.5 to the Disclosure Letter (and shall apply to any extension or renewal of, or any amendment or modification materially expanding the scope of, any such restrictions or conditions taken as a whole), (iii) the foregoing shall not apply to customary restrictions and conditions contained in agreements relating to the sale of a Subsidiary or assets of the Borrower or any Subsidiary pending such sale, provided such restrictions and conditions apply only to the Subsidiary or assets to be sold and such sale is not prohibited hereunder, (iv) the foregoing shall not apply to any agreement or restriction or condition in effect at the time any Subsidiary becomes a Subsidiary of the Borrower, so long as such agreement was not entered into solely in contemplation of such Person becoming a Subsidiary of the Borrower, (v) the foregoing shall not apply to customary provisions in joint venture agreements and other similar agreements applicable to joint ventures, (vi) clause (a) of the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions or conditions imposed by any agreement relating to secured Indebtedness permitted by this Agreement if such restrictions or conditions apply only to the property or assets securing such Indebtedness, (vii) clause (a) of the foregoing shall not apply to customary provisions in leases, licenses, sub-leases and sub-licenses and other contracts restricting the assignment thereof, (viii) the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions or conditions set forth in any agreement governing Indebtedness not prohibited by Section 6.02; provided that such restrictions and conditions are customary for such Indebtedness, and (ix) the foregoing shall not apply to restrictions on cash or other deposits (including escrowed funds) imposed under contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business.

Section 6.06. Transactions with Affiliates . The Borrower will not, and will not permit any of its Subsidiaries to, sell, lease or otherwise transfer any property or assets to, or purchase, lease or otherwise acquire any property or assets from, or otherwise engage in any other transactions with, any of its Affiliates (other than between or among the Borrower and its Subsidiaries and not involving any other Affiliate except as otherwise permitted hereunder), except (a) on terms and conditions not less favorable to the Borrower or such Subsidiary than could be obtained on an arm’s-length basis from unrelated third parties, (b) payment of customary directors’ fees, reasonable out-of-pocket expense reimbursement, indemnities (including the provision of directors and officers insurance) and compensation arrangements for members of the board of directors, officers or other employees of the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, (c) transactions approved by a majority of the disinterested directors of Borrower’s board of directors, (d) any transaction involving amounts less than $500,000 individually and $5,000,000 in the aggregate and (e) any Restricted Payment permitted by Section 6.04.

ARTICLE 7

E VENTS OF D EFAULT

If any of the following events (each, an “ Event of Default ”) shall occur:

(a) the Borrower shall fail to pay any principal of any Loan when and as the same shall become due and payable, whether at the due date thereof or at a date fixed for prepayment thereof or otherwise;

 

53


(b) the Borrower shall fail to pay any interest on any Loan or any fee or any other amount (other than an amount referred to in clause (a) of this Article) payable under any of the Loan Documents, when and as the same shall become due and payable, and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of five Business Days;

(c) any representation or warranty made or deemed made by or on behalf of the Borrower or any Subsidiary in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document or any amendment or modification hereof or thereof or waiver hereunder or thereunder, or in any report, certificate, financial statement or other document furnished pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any amendment or modification hereof or thereof or waiver hereunder or thereunder, shall prove to have been incorrect in any material respect when made or deemed made;

(d) the Borrower shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in Section 5.02, Section 5.03 (solely with respect to the Borrower’s existence), Section 5.09 or in Article 6;

(e) the Borrower shall fail to observe or perform any covenant, condition or agreement contained in any of the Loan Documents (other than those specified in clause (a), (b) or (d) of this Article of this Agreement), and such failure shall continue unremedied for a period of 30 days after notice thereof from the Administrative Agent to the Borrower (which notice will be given at the request of any Lender);

(f) the Borrower or any Subsidiary shall fail to make any payment (whether of principal or interest and regardless of amount) in respect of any Material Indebtedness, when and as the same shall become due and payable (whether by scheduled maturity, required prepayment, acceleration, demand, or otherwise) and such failure shall have continued after the applicable grace period, if any;

(g) any event or condition occurs that results in any Material Indebtedness becoming due prior to its scheduled maturity or that enables or permits (with or without the giving of notice, the lapse of time or both) the holder or holders of any Material Indebtedness or any trustee or agent on its or their behalf to cause any Material Indebtedness to become due, or to require the prepayment, repurchase, redemption or defeasance thereof, prior to its scheduled maturity; provided that this clause (g) shall not apply to (x) secured Indebtedness that becomes due as a result of the voluntary sale or transfer of the property or assets securing such Indebtedness, (y) any redemption, repurchase, conversion or settlement with respect to any convertible debt instrument (including any termination of any related Swap Agreement) pursuant to its terms unless such redemption, repurchase, conversion or settlement results from a default thereunder or an event of the type that constitutes an Event of Default or (z) an early payment requirement, unwinding or termination with respect to any Swap Agreement except (i) an early payment, unwinding or termination that results from a default or non-compliance

 

54


thereunder by the Borrower or any Subsidiary, or another event of the type that would constitute an Event of Default or (ii) an early termination of such Swap Agreement by the counterparty thereto;

(h) an involuntary proceeding shall be commenced or an involuntary petition shall be filed seeking (i) liquidation, reorganization or other relief in respect of the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary or its debts, or of a substantial part of its assets, under any Debtor Relief Law or (ii) the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator or similar official for the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary or for a substantial part of its assets, and, in any such case, such proceeding or petition shall continue undismissed for 60 days or an order or decree approving or ordering any of the foregoing shall be entered;

(i) except as may otherwise be permitted under Section 6.03, the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary shall (i) voluntarily commence any proceeding or file any petition seeking liquidation, reorganization or other relief under any Debtor Relief Law, (ii) consent to the institution of, or fail to contest in a timely and appropriate manner, any proceeding or petition described in clause (h) of this Article, (iii) apply for or consent to the appointment of a receiver, trustee, custodian, sequestrator, conservator or similar official for the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary or for a substantial part of its assets, (iv) file an answer admitting the material allegations of a petition filed against it in any such proceeding, (v) make a general assignment for the benefit of creditors or (vi) take any action for the purpose of effecting any of the foregoing;

(j) the Borrower or any Material Subsidiary shall become unable, admit in writing its inability or fail generally to pay its debts as they become due;

(k) one or more judgments for the payment of money in excess of $75,000,000 in the aggregate shall be rendered against the Borrower, any Subsidiary or any combination thereof (to the extent not paid or covered by a reputable and solvent independent third-party insurance company which has not disputed coverage) and the same shall remain undischarged for a period of 30 consecutive days during which execution shall not be effectively stayed, or any action shall be legally taken by a judgment creditor to attach or levy upon any assets of the Borrower or any Subsidiary to enforce any such judgment and such action shall not be stayed;

(l) one or more ERISA Events shall have occurred, other than as would not reasonably be expected to result, individually or in the aggregate, in a Material Adverse Effect;

(m) a Change in Control shall occur; or

(n) any Loan Document, at any time after its execution and delivery and for any reason other than as expressly permitted hereunder or thereunder or satisfaction in full of all the obligations hereunder or thereunder, ceases to be in full force and effect; or any Loan Party contests in any manner the validity or enforceability of any Loan Document;

 

55


then, and in every such event (other than an event with respect to the Borrower described in clause (h) or (i) of this Article), and at any time thereafter during the continuance of such event, the Administrative Agent may, and at the request of the Required Lenders shall, by notice to the Borrower, take either or both of the following actions, at the same or different times: (i) terminate the Commitments, and thereupon the Commitments shall terminate immediately, and (ii) declare the Loans then outstanding to be due and payable in whole (or in part, in which case any principal not so declared to be due and payable may thereafter be declared to be due and payable), and thereupon the principal of the Loans so declared to be due and payable, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder, shall become due and payable immediately, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower; and in case of any event with respect to the Borrower described in clause (h) or (i) of this Article, the Commitments shall automatically terminate and the principal of the Loans then outstanding, together with accrued interest thereon and all fees and other obligations of the Borrower accrued hereunder, shall automatically become due and payable, without presentment, demand, protest or other notice of any kind, all of which are hereby waived by the Borrower.

ARTICLE 8

T HE A DMINISTRATIVE A GENT

Each of the Lenders hereby irrevocably appoints Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. as the Administrative Agent and authorizes the Administrative Agent to take such actions on its behalf and to exercise such powers as are delegated to the Administrative Agent by the terms hereof, together with such actions and powers as are reasonably incidental thereto. Except, in each case, as set forth in the sixth paragraph of this Article, the provisions of this Article are solely for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and the Borrower shall not have rights as a third party beneficiary of any of such provisions.

The Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder shall have the same rights and powers in its capacity as a Lender as any other Lender and may exercise the same as though it were not the Administrative Agent and the term “ Lender ” or “ Lenders ” shall, unless otherwise expressly indicated or unless the context otherwise requires, include the Person serving as the Administrative Agent hereunder in its individual capacity. Such Person and its Affiliates may accept deposits from, lend money to and generally engage in any kind of business with the Borrower or any Subsidiary or other Affiliate thereof as if it were not the Administrative Agent hereunder and without any duty to account therefor to the Lenders.

The Administrative Agent shall not have any duties or obligations except those expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrative Agent: (a) shall not be subject to any fiduciary or other implied duties, regardless of whether a Default has occurred and is continuing, (b) shall not have any duty to take any discretionary action or exercise any discretionary powers, except discretionary rights and powers expressly contemplated hereby or by the other Loan Documents that the Administrative Agent is required to

 

56


exercise in writing as directed by the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 9.02 or in the other Loan Documents); provided that the Administrative Agent shall not be required to take any action that, in its opinion or the opinion of its counsel, may expose the Administrative Agent to liability or that is contrary to any Loan Document or applicable law, including for the avoidance of doubt any action that may be in violation of the automatic stay under any Debtor Relief Law or that may effect a forfeiture, modification or termination of property of a Defaulting Lender in violation of any Debtor Relief Law, and (c) shall not, except as expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents, have any duty to disclose, and shall not be liable for the failure to disclose, any information relating to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates that is communicated to or obtained by the Person serving as Administrative Agent or any of its Affiliates in any capacity. The Administrative Agent shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it (i) with the consent or at the request of the Required Lenders (or such other number or percentage of the Lenders as shall be necessary under the circumstances as provided in Section 9.02) or (ii) in the absence of its own gross negligence or willful misconduct (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final and non-appealable decision). The Administrative Agent shall be deemed not to have knowledge of any Default unless and until written notice thereof is given to the Administrative Agent by the Borrower or a Lender, and the Administrative Agent shall not be responsible for or have any duty to ascertain or inquire into (i) any statement, warranty or representation made in or in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the contents of any certificate, report or other document delivered hereunder or in connection herewith, (iii) the performance or observance of any of the covenants, agreements or other terms or conditions set forth herein or the occurrence of any Default, (iv) the validity, enforceability, effectiveness or genuineness of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any other agreement, instrument or document, or (v) the satisfaction of any condition set forth in Article 4 or elsewhere herein, other than to confirm receipt of items expressly required to be delivered to the Administrative Agent.

The Administrative Agent shall be entitled to rely upon, and shall not incur any liability for relying upon, any notice, request, certificate, consent, statement, instrument, document or other writing (including any electronic message, Internet or intranet website posting or other distribution) believed by it to be genuine and to have been signed or sent by the proper Person. The Administrative Agent also may rely upon any statement made to it orally or by telephone and believed by it to be made by the proper Person, and shall not incur any liability for relying thereon. In determining compliance with any condition hereunder to the making of a Loan, that by its terms must be fulfilled to the satisfaction of a Lender, the Administrative Agent may presume that such condition is satisfactory to such Lender unless the Administrative Agent shall have received notice to the contrary from such Lender prior to the making of such Loan. The Administrative Agent may consult with legal counsel (who may be counsel for the Borrower), independent accountants and other experts selected by it, and shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken by it in accordance with the advice of any such counsel, accountants or experts.

 

57


The Administrative Agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its rights and powers by or through any one or more sub-agents appointed by the Administrative Agent. The Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent may perform any and all of its duties and exercise its rights and powers through their respective Related Parties. The exculpatory provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply to any such sub-agent and to the Related Parties of the Administrative Agent and any such sub-agent, and shall apply to their respective activities in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities provided for herein as well as activities as Administrative Agent.

Subject to the provisions of this paragraph, the Administrative Agent may resign at any time by notifying the Lenders and the Borrower. Upon any such notice of resignation, the Required Lenders shall have the right, in consultation with the Borrower, to appoint a successor, which shall be a bank with an office in the United States, or an Affiliate of any such bank with an office in the United States; provided that, in the event that such successor or Administrative Agent appointed by the Required Lenders is not one of Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., Bank of America, N.A., Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch or Goldman Sachs Bank USA, or any of their respective affiliates, and so long as no Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, the Borrower shall have the right to consent to such successor Administrative Agent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed). If no successor shall have been so appointed by the Required Lenders and shall have accepted such appointment within 30 days after the retiring Administrative Agent gives notice of its resignation (or such earlier date as shall be agreed by the Required Lenders) (the “ Resignation Effective Date ”), then the retiring Administrative Agent may, on behalf of the Lenders, appoint a successor Administrative Agent meeting the qualifications set forth above. Whether or not a successor has been appointed, such resignation shall become effective in accordance with such notice on the Resignation Effective Date. Upon the acceptance of its appointment as Administrative Agent hereunder by a successor, such successor shall succeed to and become vested with all the rights, powers, privileges and duties of the retiring (or retired) Administrative Agent, and the retiring Administrative Agent shall be discharged from its duties and obligations hereunder or under the other Loan Documents (if not already discharged therefrom as provided above in this Article). The fees payable by the Borrower to a successor Administrative Agent shall be the same as those payable to its predecessor unless otherwise agreed between the Borrower and such successor. After the Administrative Agent’s resignation hereunder, the provisions of this Article and Section 9.03 shall continue in effect for the benefit of such retiring Administrative Agent, its sub-agents and their respective Related Parties in respect of any actions taken or omitted to be taken by any of them while it was acting as Administrative Agent.

Each Lender acknowledges that it has, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it has deemed appropriate, made its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Agreement. Each Lender also acknowledges that it will, independently and without reliance upon the Administrative Agent or any other Lender or any of their Related Parties and based on such documents and information as it shall from time to time deem appropriate, continue to make its own decisions in taking or not taking action under or based upon this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any related agreement or any document furnished hereunder or thereunder.

 

58


Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, none of the Arrangers shall have any powers, duties or responsibilities under this Agreement or any of the other Loan Documents, except in its capacity, as applicable, as the Administrative Agent or a Lender hereunder.

The Lenders irrevocably authorize the Administrative Agent, at its option and in its discretion to release any Guarantor from its obligations under any Guaranty if such Person ceases to be a Subsidiary as a result of a transaction permitted hereunder or ceases to be a Material Subsidiary. Upon request by the Administrative Agent at any time, the Required Lenders will confirm in writing the Administrative Agent’s authority to release any Guarantor from its obligations under any Guaranty pursuant to this paragraph.

ARTICLE 9

M ISCELLANEOUS

Section 9.01. Notices . (a) Except in the case of notices and other communications expressly permitted to be given by telephone (and subject to paragraph (b) below), all notices and other communications provided for herein shall be in writing and shall be delivered by hand or overnight courier service, mailed by certified or registered mail or sent by telecopy, as follows:

(i) if to the Borrower, to it at Twitter, Inc., 1355 Market Steet, Suite 900, San Francisco, CA 94103, Attention: Chief Financial Officer (email: treasurynotices@twitter.com);

(ii) if to the Administrative Agent, to it at Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004, Attention: Michael Gavin or Ryan Cobo, (Tel. No. 718-754-2889 / 718-754-2767 / 718-233-1870) (E-mail: primarydocs@morganstanley.com); and

(iii) if to any other Lender, to it at its address (or telecopy number) set forth in its Administrative Questionnaire.

Notices and other communications sent by hand or overnight courier service, or mailed by certified or registered mail, shall be deemed to have been given when received; notices and other communications sent by telecopier shall be deemed to have been given when sent (except that, if not given during normal business hours for the recipient, shall be deemed to have been given at the opening of business on the next business day for the recipient). Notices and other communications delivered through electronic communications to the extent provided in subsection (b) below, shall be effective as provided in such subsection (b).

(b) Notices and other communications to the Lenders hereunder may be delivered or furnished by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by

 

59


the Administrative Agent; provided that the foregoing shall not apply to notices pursuant to Article 2 unless otherwise agreed by the Administrative Agent and the applicable Lender. The Administrative Agent or the Borrower may, in its discretion, agree to accept notices and other communications to it hereunder by electronic communications pursuant to procedures approved by it; provided that approval of such procedures may be limited to particular notices or communications. Unless the Administrative Agent otherwise prescribes, (i) notices and other communications sent to an e-mail address shall be deemed received upon the sender’s receipt of an acknowledgement from the intended recipient (such as by the “return receipt requested” function, as available, return e-mail or other written acknowledgement), and (ii) notices or communications posted to an Internet or intranet website shall be deemed received upon the deemed receipt by the intended recipient, at its e-mail address as described in the foregoing clause (i), of notification that such notice or communication is available and identifying the website address therefor; provided that, for both clauses (i) and (ii) above, if such notice, email or other communication is not sent during the normal business hours of the recipient, such notice or communication shall be deemed to have been sent at the opening of business on the next Business Day for the recipient.

(c) Any party hereto may change its address or telecopy number for notices and other communications hereunder by notice to the other parties hereto.

(d) The Borrower agrees that the Administrative Agent may make the Communications (as defined below) available to the Lenders by posting the Communications on Debt Domain, IntraLinks, Syndtrak, the Internet or another similar electronic system (the “ Platform ”). THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” The Agent Parties (as defined below) do not warrant the adequacy of the Platform and expressly disclaim liability for errors or omissions in the communications effected thereby (the “ Communications ”). No warranty of any kind, express, implied or statutory, including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement of third-party rights or freedom from viruses or other code defects, is made by any Agent Party in connection with the Communications or the Platform. In no event shall the Administrative Agent or any of its Related Parties (collectively, the “ Agent Parties ”) be responsible or liable for damages arising from the unauthorized use by others of information or other materials obtained through internet, electronic, telecommunications or other information transmission, except to the extent that such damages have resulted from the willful misconduct or gross negligence of such Agent Party (as determined in a final, non-appealable judgment by a court of competent jurisdiction).

Section 9.02. Waivers; Amendments . (a) No failure or delay by the Administrative Agent or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders hereunder are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document or consent to any departure

 

60


by the Borrower therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by paragraph (b) of this Section, and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the making of a Loan shall not be construed as a waiver of any Default, regardless of whether the Administrative Agent or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of such Default at the time.

(b) None of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any provision hereof or thereof may be waived, amended or modified except pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into by the Borrower and the Required Lenders or by the Borrower and the Administrative Agent with the consent of the Required Lenders; provided , however , that no such amendment, waiver or consent shall: (i) extend or increase the Commitment of any Lender without the written consent of such Lender, (ii) reduce the principal amount of any Loan or reduce the rate of interest thereon, or reduce any fees payable hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby, (iii) postpone the scheduled date of payment of the principal amount of any Loan, or any interest thereon, or any fees payable hereunder, or reduce the amount of, waive or excuse any such payment, or postpone the scheduled date of expiration of any Commitment, without the written consent of each Lender directly affected thereby; provided , however , that notwithstanding clause (ii) or (iii) of this Section 9.02(b), only the consent of the Required Lenders shall be necessary to waive any obligation of the Borrower to pay interest at the default rate set forth in Section 2.10(c), (iv) change Section 2.15(b), Section 2.15(c) or any other Section hereof providing for the ratable treatment of the Lenders, in each case in a manner that would alter the pro rata sharing of payments required thereby, without the written consent of each Lender, (v) release all or substantially all of the value of any Guaranty, without the written consent of each Lender, except to the extent the release of any Guarantor is permitted pursuant to Article 8 or Section 9.17 (in which case such release may be made by the Administrative Agent acting alone), (vi) change any of the provisions of this Section or the percentage referred to in the definition of “Required Lenders” or any other provision hereof specifying the number or percentage of Lenders required to waive, amend or modify any rights hereunder or make any determination or grant any consent hereunder, without the written consent of each Lender or (vii) waive any condition set forth in Section 4.01 (other than as it relates to the payment of fees and expenses of counsel), or, in the case of any Loans made on the Effective Date, Section 4.02, without the written consent of each Lender. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no such agreement shall amend, modify or otherwise affect the rights or duties of the Administrative Agent hereunder without the prior written consent of the Administrative Agent.

Section 9.03. Expenses; Indemnity; Damage Waiver . (a) The Borrower shall pay (i) all reasonable and documented out of pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, Syndication Agent, Arrangers and their respective Affiliates, including, without limitation, the reasonable and documented fees, disbursements and other charges of one firm of counsel for the Administrative Agent, Syndication Agent and Arrangers, taken as a whole, (and if reasonably necessary (as determined by the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower), of a single regulatory counsel and a single local counsel in each appropriate jurisdiction) in connection with the syndication of the credit facilities

 

61


provided for herein, the preparation, execution, delivery and administration of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any amendments, modifications or waivers of the provisions hereof or thereof (whether or not the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby shall be consummated), and (ii) all documented out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the Administrative Agent, Syndication Agent, Arrangers or any Lender, including, without limitation, the fees, disbursements and other charges of one firm of counsel for the Administrative Agent and Arrangers, taken as a whole, (and if reasonably necessary (as determined by the Administrative Agent in consultation with the Borrower), of a single regulatory counsel and a single local counsel in each appropriate jurisdiction and in the case of an actual or potential conflict of interest where the Administrative Agent or any Arranger affected by such conflict informs the Borrower of such conflict and thereafter retains its own counsel, of another firm of counsel for such affected person), in connection with the enforcement or protection of its rights in connection with this Agreement or any other Loan Document, including its rights under this Section, or in connection with the Loans made hereunder, including all such out-of pocket expenses incurred during any workout, restructuring or negotiations in respect of such Loans.

(b) The Borrower shall indemnify the Administrative Agent, the Syndication Agent, the Arrangers and each Lender, and each Related Party, successor, partner, representative or assign of any of the foregoing Persons (each such Person being called an “ Indemnitee ”) against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs or reasonable and documented expenses, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for any Indemnitee, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee by any third party or by the Borrower or any other Loan Party arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby, or, in the case of the Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof) and its Related Parties only, the administration of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents, (ii) any Loan or the use of the proceeds therefrom, (iii) any actual or alleged presence or release of Hazardous Materials on or from any property owned, leased or operated by the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any Environmental Liability related in any way to the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or (iv) any actual or prospective claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or any other theory and regardless of whether any Indemnitee is a party thereto (and regardless of whether such matter is initiated by a third party or the Borrower or any Affiliate of the Borrower); provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available (v) with respect to Taxes (and amounts relating thereto), the indemnification for which shall be governed solely and exclusively by Section 2.14, (w) to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs or reasonable and documented expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee, (x) if arising from a material breach by such Indemnitee or one of its Affiliates of its obligations under this Agreement or any other Loan Document (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment), (y) if arising from any dispute between and among Indemnitees that does not involve an act or omission by the

 

62


Borrower or its Subsidiaries (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment) other than any proceeding against the Administrative Agent or Arrangers in such capacity and (z) if arising from any settlement with respect to indemnified liabilities which is entered into by such Indemnitee without Borrower’s written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed); provided that (A) Borrower shall be deemed to consent to such settlement if it does not respond to the Indemnitee’s request within 5 business days; (B) the foregoing indemnity will apply if the Borrower shall have been offered an opportunity to assume the defense of such matter and shall have declined to do so and (C) the foregoing indemnity will apply if there is a final judgment for the plaintiff in such proceeding. In the case of any proceeding to which the indemnity in this paragraph applies, such indemnity and reimbursement obligations shall be effective, whether or not such proceeding is brought by the Borrower, any of its securityholders or creditors, an Indemnitee or any other Person, or an Indemnitee is otherwise a party thereto.

(c) To the extent that the Borrower fails to pay any amount required to be paid by it to the Administrative Agent under paragraph (a) or (b) of this Section, each Lender severally agrees to pay to the Administrative Agent such Lender’s Applicable Percentage (determined as of the time that the applicable unreimbursed expense or indemnity payment is sought) of such unpaid amount; provided that the unreimbursed expense or indemnified loss, claim, damage, liability or related expense, as the case may be, was incurred by or asserted against the Administrative Agent in its capacity as such.

(d) Without limiting in any way the indemnification obligations of the Borrower pursuant to Section 9.03(b) or of the Lenders pursuant to Section 9.03(c), to the extent permitted by applicable law, each party hereto shall not assert, and hereby waives, any claim against any Indemnitee or the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, on any theory of liability, for special, indirect, consequential or punitive damages (as opposed to direct or actual damages) arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of, this Agreement, any other Loan Document or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the Transactions or any Loan or the use of the proceeds thereof. No Indemnitee shall be liable for any damages arising from the use by unintended recipients of any information or other materials distributed to such unintended recipients by such Indemnitee through telecommunications, electronic or other information transmission systems in connection with this Agreement or the other Loan Documents or the transactions contemplated hereby or thereby other than for direct or actual damages resulting from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee as determined by a final and non-appealable judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(e) All amounts due under this Section shall be payable promptly after written demand therefor.

Section 9.04. Successors and Assigns . (a) The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, except that (i) the Borrower may not assign or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder without the prior written consent of each Lender (and any attempted assignment or transfer by the Borrower without such

 

63


consent shall be null and void) and (ii) no Lender may assign or otherwise transfer its rights or obligations hereunder except in accordance with this Section. Nothing in this Agreement, expressed or implied, shall be construed to confer upon any Person (other than the parties hereto, their respective successors and assigns permitted hereby, Participants (to the extent provided in paragraph (c) of this Section) and, to the extent expressly contemplated hereby, the Related Parties of each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders) any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or by reason of this Agreement.

(b) (i) Subject to the conditions set forth in paragraph (b)(ii) below, any Lender may assign to one or more assignees (but not to the Borrower or an Affiliate thereof) all or a portion of its rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans at the time owing to it) with the prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) of:

(A) the Borrower, provided that no consent of the Borrower shall be required for an assignment to a Lender, an Affiliate of a Lender, an Approved Fund or, if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing, any other assignee and provided further that the Borrower shall be deemed to have consented to any such assignment unless it shall object thereto by written notice to the Administrative Agent within 10 Business Days after having received notice thereof; and

(B) the Administrative Agent, provided that no consent of the Administrative Agent shall be required for an assignment of any Commitment to an assignee that is a Lender with a Commitment immediately prior to giving effect to such assignment, an Affiliate of a Lender, or an Approved Fund.

(ii) Assignments shall be subject to the following additional conditions:

(A) except in the case of an assignment to a Lender or an Affiliate of a Lender or an assignment of the entire remaining amount of the assigning Lender’s Commitment or Loans, the amount of the Commitment or Loans of the assigning Lender subject to each such assignment (determined as of the date the Assignment and Assumption with respect to such assignment is delivered to the Administrative Agent) shall not be less than $5,000,000 (or a greater amount that is an integral multiple of $1,000,000) unless each of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent otherwise consent; provided that no such consent of the Borrower shall be required if an Event of Default has occurred and is continuing;

(B) each partial assignment shall be made as an assignment of a proportionate part of all the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement;

(C) the parties to each assignment shall execute and deliver to the Administrative Agent an Assignment and Assumption, together with a processing and recordation fee of $3,500;

 

64


(D) the assignee, if it shall not be a Lender, shall deliver to the Administrative Agent an Administrative Questionnaire in which the assignee designates one or more credit contacts to whom all syndicate-level information (which may contain material non-public information about the Borrower and its Related Parties or their respective securities) will be made available and who may receive such information in accordance with the assignee’s compliance procedures and applicable laws, including Federal and state securities laws;

(E) no such assignment shall be made to (i) any Loan Party nor any Affiliate of a Loan Party, (ii) any Defaulting Lender or any of its subsidiaries, or any Person, who, upon becoming a Lender hereunder, would constitute any of the foregoing Persons described in this clause (ii), or (iii) any natural person; and

(F) in connection with any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder, no such assignment shall be effective unless and until, in addition to the other conditions thereto set forth herein, the parties to the assignment shall make such additional payments to the Administrative Agent in an aggregate amount sufficient, upon distribution thereof as appropriate (which may be outright payment, purchases by the assignee of participations or subparticipations, or other compensating actions, including funding, with the consent of the Borrower and the Administrative Agent, the applicable pro rata share of Loans previously requested but not funded by the Defaulting Lender, to each of which the applicable assignee and assignor hereby irrevocably consent), to (x) pay and satisfy in full all payment liabilities then owed by such Defaulting Lender to the Administrative Agent or any Lender hereunder (and interest accrued thereon), and (y) acquire (and fund as appropriate) its full pro rata share of all Loans in accordance with its Applicable Percentage. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any assignment of rights and obligations of any Defaulting Lender hereunder shall become effective under applicable Law without compliance with the provisions of this paragraph, then the assignee of such interest shall be deemed to be a Defaulting Lender for all purposes of this Agreement until such compliance occurs.

(iii) Subject to acceptance and recording thereof pursuant to paragraph (b)(iv) of this Section, from and after the effective date specified in each Assignment and Assumption the assignee thereunder shall be a party hereto and, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender under this Agreement, and the assigning Lender thereunder shall, to the extent of the interest assigned by such Assignment and Assumption, be released from its obligations under this Agreement (and, in the case of an Assignment and Assumption covering all of the assigning Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement, such Lender shall cease to be a party hereto but shall continue to be entitled to the benefits of Section 2.12, Section 2.13, Section 2.14 and Section 9.03); provided , that except to the extent otherwise expressly agreed by the affected parties, no assignment by a Defaulting Lender will constitute a waiver or release of any claim of any party hereunder arising from that Lender’s having been a Defaulting Lender. Any assignment or transfer by a Lender of rights or obligations under this Agreement that does not comply with this Section shall be treated for purposes of this Agreement as a sale by such Lender of a participation in such rights and obligations in accordance with paragraph (c) of this Section.

 

65


(iv) The Administrative Agent, acting for this purpose as an agent of the Borrower, shall maintain at one of its offices a copy of each Assignment and Assumption delivered to it and a register for the recordation of the names and addresses of the Lenders, and the Commitment of, and amounts on the Loans owing to, each Lender pursuant to the terms hereof from time to time (the “ Register ”). The entries in the Register shall be conclusive (absent manifest error), and the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Register pursuant to the terms hereof as a Lender hereunder for all purposes of this Agreement, notwithstanding notice to the contrary. The Register shall be available for inspection by the Borrower and any Lender, at any reasonable time and from time to time upon reasonable prior notice. The Borrower agrees to indemnify the Administrative Agent from and against any and all losses, claims, damages and liabilities of whatsoever nature which may be imposed on, asserted against or incurred by the Administrative Agent in performing its duties under this Section 9.04(b)(iv), except to the extent that such losses, claims, damages or liabilities are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Administrative Agent. The Loans (including principal and interest) are registered obligations and the right, title, and interest of any Lender or its assigns in and to such Loans shall be transferable only upon notation of such transfer in the Register.

(v) Upon its receipt of a duly completed Assignment and Assumption executed by an assigning Lender and an assignee, the assignee’s completed Administrative Questionnaire (unless the assignee shall already be a Lender hereunder), the processing and recordation fee referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section and any written consent to such assignment required by paragraph (b) of this Section, the Administrative Agent shall accept such Assignment and Assumption and record the information contained therein in the Register; provided that if either the assigning Lender or the assignee shall have failed to make any payment required to be made by it pursuant to Section 2.04(b), Section 2.15(d) or Section 9.03(c), the Administrative Agent shall have no obligation to accept such Assignment and Assumption and record the information therein in the Register unless and until such payment shall have been made in full, together with all accrued interest thereon. No assignment shall be effective for purposes of this Agreement unless it has been recorded in the Register as provided in this paragraph.

(c) (i) Any Lender may, without the consent of, or notice to, the Borrower or the Administrative Agent, sell participations to one or more banks or other entities (but not to the Borrower or an Affiliate thereof) (a “ Participant ”) in all or a portion of such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement (including all or a portion of its Commitment and the Loans owing to it); provided that (A) such Lender’s obligations under this Agreement shall remain unchanged, (B) such Lender shall remain solely responsible to the other parties hereto for the performance of such obligations and (C) the Borrower, the Administrative Agent and the other Lenders shall continue to deal solely

 

66


and directly with such Lender in connection with such Lender’s rights and obligations under this Agreement. Any agreement or instrument pursuant to which a Lender sells such a participation shall provide that such Lender shall retain the sole right to enforce this Agreement and to approve any amendment, modification or waiver of any provision of this Agreement; provided that such agreement or instrument may provide that such Lender will not, without the consent of the Participant, agree to any amendment, modification or waiver described in the first proviso to Section 9.02(b) that affects such Participant. Subject to paragraph (c)(ii) of this Section, the Borrower agrees that each Participant shall be entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.12, 2.13 and 2.14 to the same extent as if it were a Lender and had acquired its interest by assignment pursuant to paragraph (b) of this Section. To the extent permitted by law, each Participant also shall be entitled to the benefits of Section 9.08 as though it were a Lender, provided such Participant agrees to be subject to Section 2.15(c) as though it were a Lender.

(ii) A Participant shall not be entitled to receive any greater payment under Sections 2.12 or 2.14 than the applicable Lender would have been entitled to receive with respect to the participation sold to such Participant except to the extent such entitlement to receive a greater payment results from a Change in Law requiring a payment under Section 2.12 that occurs after the Participant acquired the applicable participation. Participants entitled to the benefits of Sections 2.12, 2.13 and 2.14 are entitled to such benefits subject to the requirements and limitations therein, including the requirements under Section 2.14(f) (it being understood that the documentation required under Section 2.14(f) shall be delivered to the participating Lender).

(iii) Each Lender that sells a participation shall, acting solely for this purpose as a nonfiduciary agent of the Borrower, maintain a register on which it enters the name and address of each Participant and the principal amounts (and stated interest) of each Participant’s interest in the Loans or other obligations under the Loan Documents (the “ Participant Register ”); provided that no Lender shall have any obligation to disclose all or any portion of the Participant Register (including the identity of any Participant or any information relating to a Participant’s interest in any commitments, loans, letters of credit or its other obligations under any Loan Document) to any Person except to the extent that such disclosure is necessary to establish that such commitment, loan, letter of credit or other obligation is in registered form under Section 5f.103-1(c) of the United States Treasury Regulations. The entries in the Participant Register shall be conclusive absent manifest error, and such Lender shall treat each Person whose name is recorded in the Participant Register as the owner of such participation for all purposes of this Agreement notwithstanding any notice to the contrary. For the avoidance of doubt, the Administrative Agent (in its capacity as Administrative Agent) shall have no responsibility for maintaining a Participant Register.

(d) Any Lender may at any time pledge or assign a security interest in all or any portion of its rights under this Agreement to secure obligations of such Lender, including without limitation any pledge or assignment to secure obligations to a Federal Reserve Bank, and this Section shall not apply to any such pledge or assignment of a security interest; provided that no such pledge or assignment of a security interest shall release a Lender from any of its obligations hereunder or substitute any such pledgee or assignee for such Lender as a party hereto.

 

67


Section 9.05. Survival . All covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made by the Borrower herein and in the certificates or other instruments delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement shall be considered to have been relied upon by the other parties hereto and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the making of any Loans, regardless of any investigation made by any such other party or on its behalf and notwithstanding that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect representation or warranty at the time any credit is extended hereunder, and shall continue in full force and effect as long as the principal of or any accrued interest on any Loan or any fee or any other amount payable under this Agreement is outstanding and unpaid and so long as the Commitments have not expired or terminated. The provisions of Section 2.12, Section 2.13, Section 2.14 and Section 9.03 and Article 8 shall survive and remain in full force and effect regardless of the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the repayment of the Loans, the expiration or termination of the Commitments, the resignation of the Administrative Agent, the replacement of any Lender, or the termination of this Agreement or any provision hereof.

Section 9.06. Counterparts; Integration; Effectiveness . This Agreement may be executed in counterparts (and by different parties hereto on different counterparts), each of which shall constitute an original, but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract. This Agreement, the other Loan Documents and any separate letter agreements with respect to fees payable to the Administrative Agent constitute the entire contract among the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede any and all previous agreements and understandings, oral or written, relating to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided in Section 4.01, this Agreement shall become effective when it shall have been executed by the Administrative Agent and when the Administrative Agent shall have received counterparts hereof which, when taken together, bear the signatures of each of the other parties hereto, and thereafter shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Agreement by telecopy or other electronic imaging means shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

Section 9.07. Severability . Any provision of this Agreement held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction shall, as to such jurisdiction, be ineffective to the extent of such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability without affecting the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof; and the invalidity of a particular provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not invalidate such provision in any other jurisdiction. Without limiting the foregoing provisions of this Section, if and to the extent that the enforceability of any provisions in this Agreement relating to Defaulting Lenders shall be limited by Debtor Relief Laws, as determined in good faith by the Administrative Agent, then such provisions shall be deemed to be in effect only to the extent not so limited.

 

68


Section 9.08. Right of Setoff . If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender and each of its Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final) at any time held by, and other obligations at any time owing by such Lender or Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of the Borrower against any of and all the obligations of the Borrower now or hereafter existing under this Agreement held by such Lender, irrespective of whether or not such Lender shall have made any demand under this Agreement and although such obligations may be unmatured; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (x) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.17 and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and (y) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender under this Section are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) which such Lender may have. Each Lender agrees to notify the Borrower and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application; provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

Section 9.09. Governing Law; Jurisdiction; Consent to Service of Process .

(a) This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with and governed by the law of the State of New York.

(b) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits, for itself and its property, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County, Borough of Manhattan and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or for recognition or enforcement of any judgment, and each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that all claims in respect of any such action or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State or, to the extent permitted by law, in such Federal court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Nothing in this Agreement shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement against the Borrower or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

(c) The Borrower hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement in any court referred to in paragraph (b) of this Section. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

(d) Each party to this Agreement irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 9.01. Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.

 

69


Section 9.10. Waiver Of Jury Trial . EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY). EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.

Section 9.11. Headings . Article and Section headings and the Table of Contents used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the construction of, or be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

Section 9.12. Confidentiality . (a) Each of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the Information (as defined below) and to not use the Information for any purpose except in connection with the Loan Documents, except that Information may be disclosed (i) to its and its Affiliates’ directors, officers, employees, and agents, including accountants, legal counsel and other professionals, experts or advisors, or to any credit insurance provider relating to the Borrower and its obligations, in each case whom it reasonably determines needs to know such information in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby and who are informed of the confidential nature of such Information and instructed to keep such Information confidential, (ii) to the extent requested by any rating agency or regulatory authority, examiner regulating banks or banking, or other self-regulatory authority having or claiming oversight over Administrative Agent, any Lender or any of their respective Affiliates, (iii) pursuant to the order of any court or administrative agency or in any pending legal, judicial or administrative proceeding, or otherwise as required by applicable laws or regulations or by any subpoena or similar legal process based on the advice of counsel (in which case the Administrative Agent or such Lender, as applicable, agrees, to the extent permitted by applicable law, to inform the Borrower promptly thereof), (iv) to any other party to this Agreement, (v) in connection with the exercise of any remedies hereunder or any suit, action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or the enforcement of rights hereunder, (vi) subject to an agreement containing provisions

 

70


substantially the same as those of this Section, to (A) any assignee of or Participant in, or any prospective assignee of or prospective Participant in, any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement or (B) any actual or prospective counterparty (or its advisors) to any swap or derivative transaction relating to the Borrower and its obligations, (vii) with the consent of the Borrower, (viii) to the extent such Information (A) becomes publicly available other than as a result of a breach of this Section, (B) becomes available to the Administrative Agent or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis from a source other than the Borrower or (C) is independently developed by the Administrative Agent or a Lender or (ix) for purposes of establishing a “due diligence” defense. In addition, the Administrative Agent and each Lender may disclose the existence of this Agreement and the information about this Agreement to market data collectors, similar services providers to the lending industry, and service providers to the Administrative Agent and the Lenders in connection with the administration and management of this Agreement and the other Loan Documents. For the purposes of this Section, “ Information ” means all memoranda or other information received from or on behalf of the Borrower relating to the Borrower or its business that is clearly identified by the Borrower as confidential, other than any such information that is available to the Administrative Agent or any Lender on a nonconfidential basis prior to disclosure by the Borrower. Any Person required to maintain the confidentiality of Information as provided in this Section shall be considered to have complied with its obligation to do so if such Person has exercised the same degree of care to maintain the confidentiality of such Information as such Person would accord to its own confidential information.

(b) EACH LENDER ACKNOWLEDGES THAT INFORMATION AS DEFINED IN SECTION 9.12(A) FURNISHED TO IT PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT MAY INCLUDE MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION CONCERNING THE BORROWER AND ITS RELATED PARTIES OR THEIR RESPECTIVE SECURITIES, AND CONFIRMS THAT IT HAS DEVELOPED COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES REGARDING THE USE OF MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION AND THAT IT WILL HANDLE SUCH MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THOSE PROCEDURES AND APPLICABLE LAW, INCLUDING FEDERAL AND STATE SECURITIES LAWS.

(c) ALL INFORMATION, INCLUDING REQUESTS FOR WAIVERS AND AMENDMENTS, FURNISHED BY THE BORROWER OR THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT PURSUANT TO, OR IN THE COURSE OF ADMINISTERING, THIS AGREEMENT WILL BE SYNDICATE-LEVEL INFORMATION, WHICH MAY CONTAIN MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE BORROWER AND ITS RELATED PARTIES OR ITS SECURITIES. ACCORDINGLY, EACH LENDER REPRESENTS TO THE BORROWER AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT THAT IT HAS IDENTIFIED IN ITS ADMINISTRATIVE QUESTIONNAIRE A CREDIT CONTACT WHO MAY RECEIVE INFORMATION THAT MAY CONTAIN MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES AND APPLICABLE LAW.

Section 9.13. Interest Rate Limitation . Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, if at any time the interest rate applicable to any Loan, together with all fees, charges and

 

71


other amounts which are treated as interest on such Loan under applicable law (collectively the “ Charges ”), shall exceed the maximum lawful rate (the “ Maximum Rate ”) which may be contracted for, charged, taken, received or reserved by the Lender holding such Loan in accordance with applicable law, the rate of interest payable in respect of such Loan hereunder, together with all Charges payable in respect thereof, shall be limited to the Maximum Rate and, to the extent lawful, the interest and Charges that would have been payable in respect of such Loan but were not payable as a result of the operation of this Section shall be cumulated and the interest and Charges payable to such Lender in respect of other Loans or periods shall be increased (but not above the Maximum Rate therefor) until such cumulated amount, together with interest thereon at the Federal Funds Effective Rate to the date of repayment, shall have been received by such Lender.

Section 9.14. No Advisory or Fiduciary Responsibility . In connection with all aspects of each Transaction contemplated hereby (including in connection with any amendment, waiver or other modification hereof or of any other Loan Document), the Borrower acknowledges and agrees, and acknowledges its Subsidiaries’ understanding, that: (a) (i) the arranging and other services regarding this Agreement provided by the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders are arm’s-length commercial transactions between the Borrower and its Affiliates, on the one hand, and the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders, on the other hand, (ii) the Borrower has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it has deemed appropriate, and (iii) the Borrower is capable of evaluating, and understands and accepts, the terms, risks and conditions of the Transactions contemplated hereby and by the other Loan Documents; (b) (i) each of the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders is and has been acting solely as a principal and, except as expressly agreed in writing by the relevant parties, has not been, is not, and will not be acting as an advisor, agent or fiduciary for the Borrower or any of its Subsidiaries, or any other Person and (ii) neither the Administrative Agent, any Arranger nor any Lender has any obligation to the Borrower or any of its Affiliates with respect to the Transactions contemplated hereby except those obligations expressly set forth herein and in the other Loan Documents; and (c) the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders and their respective Affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Borrower and its Affiliates, and neither the Administrative Agent, any Arranger nor any Lender has any obligation to disclose any of such interests to the Borrower or its Affiliates. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Borrower hereby waives and releases any claims that it may have against the Administrative Agent, the Arrangers and the Lenders with respect to any breach or alleged breach of agency or fiduciary duty in connection with any aspect of any transaction contemplated hereby.

Section 9.15. Electronic Execution of Assignments and Certain Other Documents . The words “execution,” “signed,” “signature,” and words of like import in any Assignment and Assumption or in any amendment or other modification hereof (including waivers and consents) shall be deemed to include electronic signatures or the keeping of records in electronic form, each of which shall be of the same legal effect, validity or enforceability as a manually executed signature or the use of a paper-based recordkeeping

 

72


system, as the case may be, to the extent and as provided for in any applicable law, including the Federal Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the New York State Electronic Signatures and Records Act, or any other similar state laws based on the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

Section 9.16. USA PATRIOT Act . Each Lender that is subject to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act hereby notifies the Borrower that pursuant to the requirements of the USA Patriot Act, it is required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies the Borrower, which information includes the name and address of the Borrower and other information that will allow such Lender to identify the Borrower in accordance with the USA Patriot Act. The Borrower shall, promptly following a request by the Administrative Agent or any Lender, provide all documentation and other information that the Administrative Agent or such Lender requests in order to comply with its ongoing obligations under applicable “know your customer” and anti-money laundering rules and regulations, including the USA Patriot Act.

Section 9.17. Release of Guarantors . In the event that all the Equity Interests in any Guarantor are sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of to a Person other than the Borrower or its Subsidiaries in a transaction permitted under this Agreement or in the event that a Guarantor ceases to be a Material Subsidiary, the Administrative Agent shall, at the Borrower’s expense, promptly take such action and execute such documents as the Borrower may reasonably request to terminate the guarantee of such Guarantor.

 

73


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized officers as of the day and year first above written.

 

TWITTER, INC.,

as Borrower

By:  

/s/ Mike Gupta

  Name:   Mike Gupta
  Title:   Chief Financial Officer

 

[Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement]


MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.,

as Administrative Agent and as a Lender

By:  

/s/ Subhalakshmi Ghosh-Kohli

  Name:   Subhalakshmi Ghosh-Kohli
  Title:   Authorized Signatory

 

[Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement]


JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.,

as a Lender

By:  

/s/ John G. Kowalczuk

  Name:   John G. Kowalczuk
  Title:   Executive Director

 

[Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement]


BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

as a Lender

By:  

/s/ Maile Douglas Giaquinto

  Name:   Maile Douglas Giaquinto
  Title:   Senior Vice President

 

[Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement]


DEUTSCHE BANK AG NEW YORK BRANCH,

as a Lender

By:  

/s/ Virginia Cosenza

  Name:   Virginia Cosenza
  Title:   Vice President
By:  

/s/ Philippe Sandmeier

  Name:   Philippe Sandmeier
  Title:   Managing Director

 

[Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement]


GOLDMAN SACHS BANK USA,

as a Lender

By:  

/s/ Robert Ehudin

  Name:   Robert Ehudin
  Title:   Authorized Signatory

 

[Signature Page to Revolving Credit Agreement]


SCHEDULE 2.1

Commitments

 

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc.

   $ 250,000,000   

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

   $ 250,000,000   

Bank of America, N.A.

   $ 175,000,000   

Deutsche Bank AG New York Branch

   $ 175,000,000   

Goldman Sachs Bank USA

   $ 150,000,000   
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 1,000,000,000   


EXHIBIT A

FORM OF

ASSIGNMENT AND ASSUMPTION

This Assignment and Assumption (the “ Assignment and Assumption ”) is dated as of the Effective Date set forth below and is entered into by and between [NAME OF ASSIGNOR] (the “ Assignor ”) and [NAME OF ASSIGNEE] (the “ Assignee ”). Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Credit Agreement identified below (as amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented, extended and/or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ”), receipt of a copy of which is hereby acknowledged by the Assignee. The Standard Terms and Conditions set forth in Annex I attached hereto are hereby agreed to and incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Assignment and Assumption as if set forth herein in full.

For an agreed consideration, the Assignor hereby irrevocably sells and assigns to the Assignee, and the Assignee hereby irrevocably purchases and assumes from the Assignor, subject to and in accordance with the Standard Terms and Conditions and the Credit Agreement, as of the Effective Date inserted by the Administrative Agent as contemplated below (i) all of the Assignor’s rights and obligations in its capacity as a Lender under the Credit Agreement and any other documents or instruments delivered pursuant thereto to the extent related to the amount and percentage interest identified below of all of such outstanding rights and obligations of the Assignor under the facility identified below and (ii) to the extent permitted to be assigned under applicable law, all claims, suits, causes of action and any other right of the Assignor (in its capacity as a Lender) against any Person, whether known or unknown, arising under or in connection with the Credit Agreement, any other documents or instruments delivered pursuant thereto or the loan transactions governed thereby or in any way based on or related to any of the foregoing, including contract claims, tort claims, malpractice claims, statutory claims and all other claims at law or in equity related to the rights and obligations sold and assigned pursuant to clause (i) above (the rights and obligations sold and assigned pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii) above being referred to herein collectively as the “ Assigned Interest ”). Such sale and assignment is without recourse to the Assignor and, except as expressly provided in this Assignment and Assumption, without representation or warranty by the Assignor.

 

1.   Assignor:   

 

  
     [Assignor [is] [is not] a Defaulting Lender]   
2.   Assignee:   

 

  
     [and is an Affiliate of [identify Lender]]   
3.   Borrower:    Twitter, Inc. (the “ Company ”)   


4.   Administrative Agent:    Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as administrative agent under the Credit Agreement
5.   Credit Agreement:    Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2013, among Twitter, Inc., as Borrower, the Lenders party thereto and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent.
6.   Assigned Interest:      

 

Facility Assigned

   Aggregate Amount of
Commitment/Loans for
all Lenders
     Amount of
Commitment/Loans
Assigned
     Percentage Assigned of
Commitment/Loans1
 

Revolving Facility

   $                    $                          

Effective Date:              , 20     [TO BE INSERTED BY ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT AND WHICH SHALL BE THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF RECORDATION OF TRANSFER IN THE REGISTER THEREFOR.]

The Assignee agrees to deliver to the Administrative Agent a completed Administrative Questionnaire in which the Assignee designates one or more credit contacts to whom all syndicate-level information (which may contain material non-public information) will be made available and who may receive such information in accordance with the Assignee’s compliance procedures and applicable laws, including Federal and state securities laws.

The terms set forth in this Assignment and Assumption are hereby agreed to:

 

ASSIGNOR
[NAME OF ASSIGNOR],
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:

 

1 Set forth, to at least 9 decimals, as a percentage of the Commitment/Loans of all Lenders thereunder.


ASSIGNEE
[NAME OF ASSIGNEE],
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
Consented to and Accepted:
MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT,
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
[Consented to:
TWITTER, INC.,
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:]2

 

2 To be added only if the consent of the Company is required by the terms of the Credit Agreement.


ANNEX I

TWITTER, INC. REVOLVING CREDIT AGREEMENT

Standard Terms and Conditions for

Assignment and Assumption

1. Representations and Warranties.

1.1 Assignor . The Assignor (a) represents and warrants that (i) it is the legal and beneficial owner of the Assigned Interest, (ii) the Assigned Interest is free and clear of any lien, encumbrance or other adverse claim, (iii) it has full power and authority, and has taken all action necessary, to execute and deliver this Assignment and Assumption and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and (iv) it is [not] a Defaulting Lender; and (b) assumes no responsibility with respect to (i) any statements, warranties or representations made in or in connection with the Credit Agreement or any other Loan Document, (ii) the execution, legality, validity, enforceability, genuineness, sufficiency or value of the Loan Documents or any collateral thereunder, (iii) the financial condition of the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates or any other Person obligated in respect of any Loan Document or (iv) the performance or observance by the Company, any of its Subsidiaries or Affiliates or any other Person of any of their respective obligations under any Loan Document.

1.2. Assignee . The Assignee (a) represents and warrants that (i) it has full power and authority, and has taken all action necessary, to execute and deliver this Assignment and Assumption and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and to become a Lender under the Credit Agreement, (ii) it satisfies the requirements, if any, specified in the Credit Agreement that are required to be satisfied by it in order to acquire the Assigned Interest and become a Lender, (iii) from and after the Effective Date, it shall be bound by the provisions of the Credit Agreement as a Lender thereunder and, to the extent of the Assigned Interest, shall have the obligations of a Lender thereunder, (iv) it has received and/or had the opportunity to review a copy of the Credit Agreement to the extent it has in its sole discretion deemed necessary, together with copies of the most recent financial statements delivered pursuant to Section 5.01(a) and Section 5.01(b) thereof, as applicable, and such other documents and information as it has in its sole discretion deemed appropriate to make its own credit analysis and decision to enter into this Assignment and Assumption and to purchase the Assigned Interest on the basis of which it has made such analysis and decision independently and without reliance on the Administrative Agent or any other Lender, and (v) attached to this Assignment and Assumption is any documentation required to be delivered by it pursuant to the terms of the Credit Agreement, duly completed and executed by the Assignee; (b) agrees that it will, independently and without reliance on the Administrative Agent, the Assignor or any other Lender, and based on such documents and information as it shall deem appropriate at the time, continue to make its own credit decisions in taking or not taking action under the Loan Documents; (c) appoints and authorizes each of the Administrative Agent and the Syndication Agent to take such action as agent on its behalf and to exercise such powers under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents as are delegated


to or otherwise conferred upon the Administrative Agent or the Syndication Agent, as the case may be, by the terms thereof, together with such powers as are reasonably incidental thereto; and (d) agrees that it will perform in accordance with their terms all of the obligations which by the terms of the Loan Documents are required to be performed by it as a Lender.

2. Payments . From and after the Effective Date, the Administrative Agent shall make all payments in respect of the Assigned Interest (including payments of principal, interest, fees and other amounts) to the Assignor for amounts which have accrued to but excluding the Effective Date and to the Assignee for amounts which have accrued from and after the Effective Date.

3. Effect of Assignment . Upon the delivery of a fully executed original hereof to the Administrative Agent, as of the Effective Date, (i) the Assignee shall be a party to the Credit Agreement and, to the extent provided in this Assignment and Assumption, have the rights and obligations of a Lender thereunder and under the other Loan Documents and (ii) the Assignor shall, to the extent provided in this Assignment and Assumption, relinquish its rights and be released from its obligations under the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents.

4. General Provisions . This Assignment and Assumption shall be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. This Assignment and Assumption may be executed in any number of counterparts, which together shall constitute one instrument. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page of this Assignment and Assumption by telecopy or other means of electronic imaging shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Assignment and Assumption. THIS ASSIGNMENT AND ASSUMPTION SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH, THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.


EXHIBIT B

FORM OF

BORROWING REQUEST

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent

for the Lenders party to the

Credit Agreement referred to below

1 New York Plaza,

New York, NY 10004

Attention: Michael Gavin / Ryan Cobo

[Date]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The undersigned, Twitter, Inc. (the “ Borrower ”), refers to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2013 (as amended, restated, amended and restated, modified, extended and/or supplemented from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ,” the terms defined therein being used herein as therein defined), among the Borrower, the lenders from time to time party thereto (each a “ Lender ” and collectively, the “ Lenders ”) and you, as Administrative Agent for such Lenders, and hereby gives you notice, irrevocably, pursuant to Section 2.03 of the Credit Agreement, that the undersigned hereby requests a Borrowing under the Credit Agreement, and in that connection sets forth below the information relating to such Borrowing (the “ Proposed Borrowing ”) as required by Section 2.03 of the Credit Agreement:

(i) The Business Day of the Proposed Borrowing is              20    . 1

(ii) The aggregate principal amount of the Proposed Borrowing is [        ]. 2

(iii) The Proposed Borrowing is to consist of [ABR Loans] [Eurodollar Loans].

[(iv) The initial Interest Period for the Proposed Borrowing is [one/two/three/six/ twelve months][ insert period less than one month ]. 3 ]

(v) The location and number of the account or accounts to which funds are to be disbursed is as follows:

[ Insert location and number of the account(s) ]

 

1 Shall be a Business Day at least one Business Day in the case of ABR Loans and at least three Business Days in the case of Eurodollar Loans, in each case, after the date hereof, provided that any such notice shall be deemed to have been given on a certain day only if given before 12 Noon (New York City time) in the case of ABR Loans or before 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) in the case of Eurodollar Loans, on such day.
2 Such amount to be stated in Dollars.
3 To be included for a Proposed Borrowing of Eurodollar Loans. Interest Periods of twelve or less than one month only available with the consent of each Lender.


The undersigned hereby certifies that the following statements are true on the date hereof, and will be true on the date of the Proposed Borrowing:

(A) the representations and warranties of the Borrower set forth in the Credit Agreement and in the other Loan Documents are and will be true and correct in all material respects, on and as of the date of the Proposed Borrowing, except that (i) for purposes of this Borrowing Request, the representations and warranties contained in Section 3.04(a) of the Credit Agreement shall be deemed to refer to the most recent statements furnished pursuant to clauses (a) and (b), respectively, of Section 5.01 of the Credit Agreement and (ii) to the extent that such representations and warranties specifically refer to an earlier date, they were true and correct in all material respects as of such earlier date; and

(B) at the time of and immediately after giving effect to the Proposed Borrowing, no Default has occurred and is continuing.

[Signature Page Follows]


The Borrower has caused this Borrowing Request to be executed and delivered by its duly authorized officer as of the date first written above.

 

Very truly yours,
TWITTER, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:


EXHIBIT C

FORM OF

INTEREST ELECTION REQUEST

Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent

for the Lenders party to the

Credit Agreement referred to below

1 New York Plaza,

New York, NY 10004

Attention: Michael Gavin / Ryan Cobo

[Date]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The undersigned, Twitter, Inc. (the “ Borrower ”), refers to the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2013 (as amended, restated, amended and restated, modified, extended and/or supplemented from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ,” the terms defined therein being used herein as therein defined), among the Borrower, the lenders from time to time party thereto (the “ Lenders ”) and you, as Administrative Agent for such Lenders, and hereby gives you notice, irrevocably, pursuant to Section 2.05 of the Credit Agreement, that the undersigned hereby requests to [convert] [continue] the Borrowing of Loans referred to below, and in that connection sets forth below the information relating to such [conversion] [continuation] (the “ Proposed [Conversion] [Continuation] ”) as required by Section 2.05 of the Credit Agreement:

(i) The Proposed [Conversion] [Continuation] relates to the Borrowing of Loans originally made on              , 20     (the “ Outstanding Borrowing ”) in the principal amount of $         and currently maintained as a Borrowing of [ABR Loans] [Eurodollar Loans with an Interest Period ending on              ,         ].

(ii) The Business Day of the Proposed [Conversion] [Continuation] is              ,         . 1

(iii) [The Outstanding Borrowing][A portion of the Outstanding Borrowing in the principal amount of $            ] shall be [continued as a Borrowing of [Eurodollar Loans with an Interest Period of [one/two/three/six/ twelve months][ insert period less than one month ] 2 ]] [converted into a Borrowing of [ABR Loans] [Eurodollar Loans with an Interest Period of [one/two/three/six/ twelve months][ insert period less than one month ] 3 ]]. 4

 

1 Shall be a Business Day at least one Business Day in the case of ABR Loans and at least three Business Days in the case of Eurodollar Loans, in each case, after the date hereof, provided that any such notice shall be deemed to have been given on a certain day only if given before 12 Noon (New York City time) in the case of ABR Loans or before 11:00 a.m. (New York City time) in the case of Eurodollar Loans, on such day.
2 Interest Periods of twelve or less than one month only available with the consent of each Lender.
3 Interest Periods of twelve or less than one month only available with the consent of each Lender.
4   In the event that either (x) only a portion of the Outstanding Borrowing is to be so converted or continued or (y) the Outstanding Borrowing is to be divided into separate Borrowings with different Interest Periods, the Borrower should make appropriate modifications to this clause to reflect same.


[The undersigned hereby certifies that no Default or Event of Default has occurred and will be continuing on the date of the Proposed [Conversion] [Continuation] or will have occurred and be continuing on the date of the Proposed [Conversion] [Continuation]]. 5

[Signature Page Follows]

 

5 In the case of a Proposed Conversion or Continuation, insert this sentence only in the event that the conversion is from an ABR Loan to a Eurodollar Loan or in the case of a continuation of a Eurodollar Loan.


The Borrower has caused this Interest Election Request to be executed and delivered by its duly authorized officer as of the date first written above.

 

Very truly yours,
TWITTER, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:


EXHIBIT D

FORM OF

REVOLVING NOTE

New York, New York

             ,         

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, TWITTER, INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “ Borrower ”), hereby promises to pay to                                          or its registered assigns (the “ Lender ”), in Dollars, in immediately available funds, at the office of MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC. (the “ Administrative Agent ”) located at 1 New York Plaza, New York, NY 10004 on the Maturity Date (as defined in the Credit Agreement referred to below) the unpaid principal amount of all Loans (as defined in the Credit Agreement) made by the Lender to the Borrower pursuant to the Credit Agreement, payable at such times and in such amounts as are specified in the Credit Agreement.

The Borrower promises also to pay to the Lender interest on the unpaid principal amount of each Loan incurred by the Borrower from the Lender in like money at said office from the date such Loan is made until paid at the rates and at the times provided in Section 2.10 of the Credit Agreement.

This Note is one of the Notes referred to in the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2013, among the Borrower, the lenders party thereto (including the Lender) and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent (as the same may be amended, restated, amended and restated, modified, extended and/or supplemented from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ”) and is entitled to the benefits thereof and of the other Loan Documents (as defined in the Credit Agreement). As provided in the Credit Agreement, this Note is subject to voluntary prepayment, in whole or in part, prior to the Maturity Date and the Loans may be converted from one Type (as defined in the Credit Agreement) into another Type to the extent provided in the Credit Agreement.

In case an Event of Default (as defined in the Credit Agreement) shall occur and be continuing, the principal of and accrued interest on this Note may be declared to be due and payable in the manner and with the effect provided in the Credit Agreement.

The Borrower hereby waives presentment, demand, protest or notice of any kind in connection with this Note.

[Signature page follows]


THIS NOTE SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND BE GOVERNED BY THE LAW OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

 

TWITTER, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:


EXHIBIT E

GUARANTY AGREEMENT, dated as of             , 20     (as amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented, extended or otherwise modified from time to time, this “ Agreement ”), made by and among each of the undersigned guarantors (together with any other entity that becomes a guarantor hereunder pursuant to Section 19 hereof, each, a “ Guarantor ” and collectively, the “ Guarantors ”) in favor of MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., as Administrative Agent (together with any successor administrative agent, the “ Administrative Agent ”), for the benefit of the Lenders (as defined below) and the Administrative Agent.

Reference is made to the Revolving Credit Agreement dated as of October 22, 2013 (as amended, restated, amended and restated, extended, supplemented or otherwise modified from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ”), among Twitter, Inc. (the “ Borrower ”), the lenders from time to time party thereto (the “ Lenders ”) and the Administrative Agent.

Each Guarantor is a direct or indirect Subsidiary of the Borrower.

It is a condition precedent to the making of Loans to the Borrower under the Credit Agreement that each Guarantor shall have executed and delivered to the Administrative Agent this Agreement.

The Lenders have agreed to extend credit to the Borrower subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the Credit Agreement. Each Guarantor will derive substantial benefits from the extension of credit to the Borrower pursuant to the Credit Agreement and is willing to execute and deliver this Agreement in order to induce the Lenders to continue to extend such credit. Accordingly, the parties hereto agree as follows:

SECTION 1. Definitions . (a) Capitalized terms used in this Agreement and not otherwise defined herein have the meanings specified in the Credit Agreement.

(b) The rules of construction specified in Section 1.03 of the Credit Agreement also apply to this Agreement.

SECTION 2. Guarantee . (a) Each Guarantor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally guarantees, jointly with the other Guarantors and severally, as a primary obligor and not merely as a surety, the Obligations of the Borrower. Each Guarantor further agrees that the due and punctual payment of the Obligations of the Borrower may be extended or renewed, in whole or in part, without notice to or further assent from it, and that it will remain bound upon its guarantee hereunder notwithstanding any such extension or renewal of any Obligation.

(b) To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, each Guarantor waives presentment to, demand of payment from and protest to the Borrower of any of the Obligations, and also waives notice of acceptance of its obligations and notice of protest for nonpayment. The obligations of each Guarantor hereunder shall not be affected by (i) the failure of any Lender to assert any claim or demand or to enforce any


right or remedy against the Borrower under the provisions of this Agreement, any other Loan Document or otherwise; (ii) any extension or renewal of any of the Obligations; (iii) any rescission, waiver, amendment or modification of, or release from, any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement or any other Loan Document or other agreement; (iv) the failure or delay of any Lender to exercise any right or remedy against any other guarantor of the Obligations; (v) the failure of any Lender to assert any claim or demand or to enforce any remedy under any Loan Document or any other agreement or instrument; (vi) any default, failure or delay, wilful or otherwise, in the performance of the Obligations; or (vii) any other act, omission or delay to do any other act which may or might in any manner or to any extent vary the risk of such Guarantor or otherwise operate as a discharge of such Guarantor as a matter of law or equity or which would impair or eliminate any right of any Guarantor to subrogation (other than payment in full of the Obligations (excluding contingent obligations as to which no claim has been made) or release pursuant to Section 17 hereof).

(c) Each Guarantor further agrees that its guarantee hereunder constitutes a promise of payment when due (whether or not any bankruptcy or similar proceeding shall have stayed the accrual or collection of any of the Obligations or operated as a discharge thereof) and not merely of collection, and waives any right to require that any resort be had by any Lender to any balance of any deposit account or credit on the books of any Lender in favor of the Borrower or any Subsidiary or any other Person.

(d) Except for the release or termination of a Guarantor’s obligations hereunder as provided in Section 17, the obligations of each Guarantor hereunder shall not be subject to any reduction, limitation, impairment or termination for any reason other than the payment in full in cash of the Obligations (excluding contingent obligations as to which no claim has been made), and shall not be subject to any defense or setoff, counterclaim, recoupment or termination whatsoever, by reason of the invalidity, illegality or unenforceability of the Obligations, any impossibility in the performance of the Obligations or otherwise.

(e) Each Guarantor further agrees that its obligations hereunder shall continue to be effective or be reinstated, as the case may be, if at any time payment, or any part thereof, of any Obligation is rescinded or must otherwise be restored by any Lender upon the bankruptcy or reorganization of the Borrower or otherwise.

(f) In furtherance of the foregoing and not in limitation of any other right which any Lender may have at law or in equity against any Guarantor by virtue hereof, upon the failure of the Borrower to pay any Obligation when and as the same shall become due, whether at maturity, by acceleration, after notice of prepayment or otherwise, each Guarantor hereby promises to and will, upon receipt of written demand by the Administrative Agent, forthwith pay, or cause to be paid, to the Administrative Agent for distribution to the applicable Lenders in cash an amount equal to the unpaid principal amount of such Obligation.

(g) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, each Guarantor shall be liable under this Agreement only for amounts aggregating up to the


largest amount that would not render its obligations hereunder subject to avoidance under Section 548 of the United States Bankruptcy Code or any comparable provision of any other applicable law.

(h) Upon payment in full by any Guarantor of any Obligation of the Borrower, each Lender shall, in a reasonable manner, assign to such Guarantor the amount of such Obligation owed to such Lender and so paid, such assignment to be pro tanto to the extent to which the Obligation in question was discharged by such Guarantor, or make such disposition thereof as such Guarantor shall direct (all without recourse to any Lender and without any representation or warranty by any Lender). Upon payment by any Guarantor of any sums as provided above, all rights of such Guarantor against the Borrower arising as a result thereof by way of right of subrogation or otherwise shall in all respects be subordinated and junior in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all the Obligations owed by the Borrower to the Lenders (it being understood that, after the discharge of all the Obligations due and payable from the Borrower, such rights may be exercised by such Guarantor notwithstanding that the Borrower may remain contingently liable for indemnity or other Obligations).

SECTION 3. Additional Agreements . Until the Commitments have expired or terminated and the principal of and interest on each Loan and all fees payable under the Credit Agreement have been paid in full, each Guarantor covenants and agrees with the Administrative Agent for the benefit of the Lenders that it will be bound by each of the covenants contained in the Credit Agreement to the extent applicable to such Guarantor.

SECTION 4. Information . Each Guarantor assumes all responsibility for being and keeping itself informed of the Borrower’s financial condition and assets, and of all other circumstances bearing upon the risk of nonpayment of the Obligations and the nature, scope and extent of the risks that such Guarantor assumes and incurs hereunder, and agrees that neither the Administrative Agent nor any Lender will have any duty to advise such Guarantor of information known to it or any of them regarding such circumstances or risks.

SECTION 5. Notices . All communications and notices hereunder shall (except as otherwise expressly permitted herein) be in writing and given as provided in Section 9.01 of the Credit Agreement. All communications and notices hereunder to any Guarantor shall be given to it in care of the Borrower as provided in Section 9.01 of the Credit Agreement.

SECTION 6. Survival of Agreement . All covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made by each Guarantor herein and in the certificates or other instruments prepared or delivered in connection with or pursuant to this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall be considered to have been relied upon by the Administrative Agent and shall survive the execution and delivery of this Agreement, the other Loan Documents and the making of any Loans, regardless of any investigation made by the Administrative Agent or on its behalf and notwithstanding that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may have had notice or knowledge of any Default or incorrect representation or warranty at the time any credit is extended under the Credit Agreement, and shall continue in full


force and effect as long as any Obligation (excluding contingent obligations as to which no claim has been made) is outstanding and unpaid and so long as the Commitments have not expired or terminated.

SECTION 7. Binding Effect; Several Agreement . (a) This Agreement shall become effective as to each Guarantor when a counterpart hereof executed on behalf of such Guarantor shall have been delivered to the Administrative Agent (regardless of whether any other Guarantor has executed and delivered a counterpart hereof) and a counterpart hereof shall have been executed on behalf of the Administrative Agent.

(b) Following the effectiveness of this Agreement as to a Guarantor in accordance with subsection (a) of this Section 7, this Agreement shall be binding upon such Guarantor and the Administrative Agent and their respective permitted successors and assigns, and shall inure to the benefit of such Guarantor, the Administrative Agent and the Lenders and their respective successors and assigns, except that no Guarantor shall have the right to assign or transfer any of its rights or obligations hereunder or any interest herein (and any such assignment or transfer shall be void) except as expressly contemplated by this Agreement or the Credit Agreement. This Agreement shall be construed as a separate agreement with respect to each Guarantor and may be amended, modified, supplemented, waived or released with respect to any Guarantor without the approval of any other Guarantor and without affecting the obligations of any other Guarantor hereunder.

SECTION 8. Successors and Assigns . Whenever in this Agreement any of the parties hereto is referred to, such reference shall be deemed to include the permitted successors and assigns of such party; and all covenants, promises and agreements by or on behalf of any Guarantor or the Administrative Agent that are contained in this Agreement shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns.

SECTION 9. Administrative Agent’s Fees and Expenses; Indemnification . (a) The parties hereto agree that the Administrative Agent shall be entitled to reimbursement of its expenses incurred hereunder as provided in Section 9.03 of the Credit Agreement.

(b) Each Guarantor, jointly and severally, agrees to indemnify the Administrative Agent and the other Indemnitees against, and hold each Indemnitee harmless from, any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs or reasonable and documented expenses, including the fees, charges and disbursements of any counsel for any Indemnitee, incurred by or asserted against any Indemnitee by any third party or by the Borrower or any other Loan Party arising out of, in connection with, or as a result of (i) the execution or delivery of this Agreement or any agreement or instrument contemplated hereby, the performance by the parties hereto of their respective obligations hereunder or the consummation of the Transactions or any other transactions contemplated hereby, or, in the case of the Administrative Agent (and any sub-agent thereof) and its Related Parties only, the administration of this Agreement or (ii) any actual or prospective claim, litigation, investigation or proceeding relating to any of the foregoing, whether based on contract, tort or any other theory and regardless of whether


any Indemnitee is a party thereto (and regardless of whether such matter is initiated by a third party or the Borrower or any Affiliate of the Borrower); provided that such indemnity shall not, as to any Indemnitee, be available (x) to the extent that such losses, claims, damages, liabilities, costs or reasonable and documented expenses are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Indemnitee, (y) if arising from a material breach by such Indemnitee or one of its Affiliates of its obligations under this Agreement (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment) or (z) if arising from any dispute between and among Indemnitees that does not involve an act or omission by the Borrower or its Subsidiaries (as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction by final and non-appealable judgment) other than any proceeding against the Administrative Agent or Arrangers in such capacity and (z) if arising from any settlement with respect to indemnified liabilities which is entered into by such Indemnitee without Borrower’s written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed); provided that (i) Borrower shall be deemed to consent to such settlement if it does not respond to the Indemnitee’s request within 5 business days; (ii) the foregoing indemnity will apply if the Borrower shall have been offered an opportunity to assume the defense of such matter and shall have declined to do so and (iii) if settled with your consent or if there is a final judgment for the plaintiff in such proceeding, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless each Indemnitee from and against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses by reason of such settlement or judgment in accordance with this paragraph). In the case of any proceeding to which the indemnity in this paragraph applies, such indemnity and reimbursement obligations shall be effective, whether or not such proceeding is brought by the Borrower, any of its securityholders or creditors, an Indemnitee or any other Person, or an Indemnitee is otherwise a party thereto.

(c) Any such amounts payable as provided hereunder shall be additional Obligations. The provisions of this Section 9 shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of the termination of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby, the repayment of any of the Obligations, the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision of this Agreement or any other Loan Document, or any investigation made by or on behalf of the Administrative Agent or any Lender. All amounts due under this Section 9 shall be payable on written demand therefor.

SECTION 10. APPLICABLE LAW . THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH AND GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

SECTION 11. Waivers; Amendment . (a) No failure or delay by the Administrative Agent or any Lender in exercising any right or power hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof, nor shall any single or partial exercise of any such right or power, or any abandonment or discontinuance of steps to enforce such a right or power, preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right or power. The rights and remedies of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders hereunder and under the other Loan Documents are cumulative and are not exclusive of any rights or remedies that they


would otherwise have. No waiver of any provision of this Agreement or consent to any departure by any Guarantor therefrom shall in any event be effective unless the same shall be permitted by paragraph (b) of this Section 11, and then such waiver or consent shall be effective only in the specific instance and for the purpose for which given. No notice or demand on any Guarantor in any case shall entitle such Guarantor to any other or further notice or demand in similar or other circumstances.

(b) Except as expressly provided in Section 19, neither this Agreement nor any provision hereof may be waived, amended or modified except pursuant to an agreement or agreements in writing entered into between the Administrative Agent and each Guarantor with respect to which such waiver, amendment or modification is to apply, in accordance with Section 9.02 of the Credit Agreement.

SECTION 12. WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL . EACH PARTY HERETO HEREBY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT, ANY OTHER LOAN DOCUMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT OR ANY OTHER THEORY). EACH PARTY HERETO (A) CERTIFIES THAT NO REPRESENTATIVE, AGENT OR ATTORNEY OF ANY OTHER PARTY HAS REPRESENTED, EXPRESSLY OR OTHERWISE, THAT SUCH OTHER PARTY WOULD NOT, IN THE EVENT OF LITIGATION, SEEK TO ENFORCE THE FOREGOING WAIVER AND (B) ACKNOWLEDGES THAT IT AND THE OTHER PARTIES HERETO HAVE BEEN INDUCED TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE MUTUAL WAIVERS AND CERTIFICATIONS IN THIS SECTION.

SECTION 13. Severability . In the event any one or more of the provisions contained in this Agreement should be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions contained herein shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby (it being understood that the invalidity of a particular provision in a particular jurisdiction shall not in and of itself affect the validity of such provision in any other jurisdiction). The parties shall endeavor in good-faith negotiations to replace the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions with valid provisions the economic effect of which comes as close as possible to that of the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provisions.

SECTION 14. Counterparts . This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original but all of which when taken together shall constitute a single contract, and shall become effective as provided in Section 7. Delivery of an executed signature page to this Agreement by facsimile transmission or other electronic means shall be as effective as delivery of a manually signed counterpart of this Agreement.


SECTION 15. Headings . Section headings used herein are for convenience of reference only, are not part of this Agreement and are not to affect the construction of, or to be taken into consideration in interpreting, this Agreement.

SECTION 16. Jurisdiction; Consent to Service of Process . (a) Each Guarantor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally submits, for itself and its property, to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of the State of New York sitting in New York County, Borough of Manhattan and of the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, and any appellate court from any thereof, in any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document, or for recognition or enforcement of any judgment, and each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably and unconditionally agrees that all claims in respect of any such action or proceeding may be heard and determined in such New York State or, to the extent permitted by law, in such Federal court. Each of the parties hereto agrees that a final judgment in any such action or proceeding shall be conclusive and may be enforced in other jurisdictions by suit on the judgment or in any other manner provided by law. Nothing in this Agreement or any other Loan Document shall affect any right that the Administrative Agent or any Lender may otherwise have to bring any action or proceeding relating to this Agreement or any other Loan Document against any Guarantor or its properties in the courts of any jurisdiction.

(b) Each Guarantor hereby irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent it may legally and effectively do so, any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement in any court referred to in paragraph (a) of this Section 16. Each of the parties hereto hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the defense of an inconvenient forum to the maintenance of such action or proceeding in any such court.

(c) Each party to this Agreement irrevocably consents to service of process in the manner provided for notices in Section 5. Nothing in this Agreement will affect the right of any party to this Agreement to serve process in any other manner permitted by law.

SECTION 17. Termination; Release of a Guarantor . (a) This Agreement and the guarantees set forth herein shall terminate when all the Obligations (excluding contingent obligations as to which no claim has been made) have been paid in full and the Lenders have no further commitment to lend under the Credit Agreement.

(b) In the event that all the Equity Interests in any Guarantor are sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of to a Person other than the Borrower or its Subsidiaries in a transaction permitted under the Credit Agreement or in the event that a Guarantor ceases to be a Material Subsidiary, the Administrative Agent shall, at the Borrower’s expense, promptly take such action and execute such documents as the Borrower may reasonably request to terminate the guarantee of such Guarantor hereunder.


SECTION 18. Right of Setoff . If an Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing, each Lender and each of its Affiliates is hereby authorized at any time and from time to time, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to set off and apply any and all deposits (general or special, time or demand, provisional or final) at any time held by, and other obligations at any time owing by such Lender or Affiliate to or for the credit or the account of any Guarantor against any of and all the obligations of such Guarantor now or hereafter existing under this Agreement held by such Lender, irrespective of whether or not such Lender shall have made any demand under this Agreement and although such obligations may be unmatured; provided that in the event that any Defaulting Lender shall exercise any such right of setoff, (x) all amounts so set off shall be paid over immediately to the Administrative Agent for further application in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.17 of the Credit Agreement and, pending such payment, shall be segregated by such Defaulting Lender from its other funds and deemed held in trust for the benefit of the Administrative Agent and the Lenders, and (y) the Defaulting Lender shall provide promptly to the Administrative Agent a statement describing in reasonable detail the obligations owing to such Defaulting Lender as to which it exercised such right of setoff. The rights of each Lender under this Section 18 are in addition to other rights and remedies (including other rights of setoff) which such Lender may have. Each Lender agrees to notify such Guarantor and the Administrative Agent promptly after any such setoff and application; provided that the failure to give such notice shall not affect the validity of such setoff and application.

SECTION 19. Additional Guarantors . It is understood and agreed that any Subsidiary of the Borrower that is required to execute a counterpart of, or joinder to, this Agreement after the date hereof pursuant to Section 5.10 of the Credit Agreement shall become a Guarantor hereunder by (x) executing and delivering a counterpart hereof to the Administrative Agent or executing a joinder agreement hereto and delivering same to the Administrative Agent, in each case as may be requested by (and in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to) the Administrative Agent and (y) taking all actions as specified in this Agreement as would have been taken by such Guarantor had it been an original party to this Agreement, in each case with all documents and actions required to be taken above to be taken to the reasonable satisfaction of the Administrative Agent.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have duly executed this Agreement as of the day and year first above written.

 

[INSERT GUARANTOR NAME],
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
[INSERT GUARANTOR NAME],
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:
MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., as Administrative Agent,
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:


EXHIBIT F

FORM OF

COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE

This Compliance Certificate is delivered to you pursuant to Section 5.01(c) of the Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of October 22, 2013 (as amended, restated, amended and restated, supplemented, extended or modified from time to time, the “ Credit Agreement ”), among Twitter, Inc. (the “ Borrower ”), the lenders from time to time party thereto and Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc., as Administrative Agent. Terms defined in the Credit Agreement and not otherwise defined herein are used herein as therein defined.

1. I am the duly elected, qualified and acting [            ]1 of the Borrower.

2. I have reviewed and am familiar with the contents of this Compliance Certificate. I am providing this Compliance Certificate solely in my capacity as an officer of the Borrower.

3. I have reviewed the terms of the Credit Agreement and the other Loan Documents. The financial statements for the fiscal [quarter][year] of the Borrower ended [                    ] attached hereto as ANNEX 1 or otherwise delivered to the Administrative Agent pursuant to the requirements of Section 5.01 of the Credit Agreement (the “ Financial Statements ”) present fairly in all material respects as of the date of each such statement the financial condition and results of operations of the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries on a consolidated basis in accordance with GAAP consistently applied[, subject to normal year-end audit adjustments and the absence of footnotes]. 2 No Default has occurred and is continuing as of the date hereof[, except for             ]. 3 There has been no change in GAAP or in the application thereof applicable to the Borrower and its consolidated Subsidiaries since the date of the audited financial statements referred to in Section 3.04 of the Credit Agreement that has had an impact on the Financial Statements [, except for             , the effect of which on the Financial Statements has been [            ]]. 4

4. Attached hereto as ANNEX 2 are the computations showing (in reasonable detail) the Total Leverage Ratio for the Measurement Period ending on the last day of [                    ]. 5

 

1 Certificate may be signed by any Financial Officer of the Borrower (chief financial officer, principal accounting officer or vice president of finance or corporate controller of the Borrower).
2 To be included only if the Compliance Certificate is certifying the quarterly financials.
3 Specify the details of any Default, if any, and any action taken or proposed to be taken with respect thereto.
4 If and to the extent that any change in GAAP that has occurred since the date of the audited financial statements referred to in Section 3.4 of the Credit Agreement had an impact on such financial statements, specify the effect of such change on the financial statements accompanying this Compliance Certificate.
5 Insert the last day of the respective fiscal quarter or fiscal year covered by the financial statements which are required to be accompanied by this Compliance Certificate.


5. Attached hereto as ANNEX 3 are the computations showing (in reasonable detail) (a) information required by Section 5.01(c)(iii) of the Credit Agreement and (b) information required by Section 5.01(c)(iv) of the Credit Agreement as of the date of this Compliance Certificate.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have executed this Compliance Certificate as of the date first written above.

 

TWITTER, INC.
By:  

 

  Name:
  Title:


ANNEX 1

[Applicable Financial Statements to be attached if applicable]


ANNEX 2

The information described herein is as of [            ,         ], 1 (the “ Computation Date ”) and, except as otherwise indicated below, pertains to the period from [            ,         ] 2 to the Computation Date (the “ Relevant Period ”).

Total Leverage Ratio

 

a.    Total Indebtedness as of the Computation Date, (excluding solely for the purpose of determining the Applicable Rate, up to $250,000,000 of Capital Lease Obligations and Purchase Money Indebtedness)      $               
b.    Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA 3 for the Relevant Period ended on the Computation Date      $               
c.    Ratio of line a to line b              :1.00   
d.    Level for the purposes of the Applicable Rate 4      Level  [1][2][3][4] 

 

1 Insert the last day of the respective fiscal quarter or fiscal year covered by the financial statements which are required to be accompanied by this Compliance Certificate.
2 Insert the first day of the most recently completed four consecutive fiscal quarters of the Borrower ended on the Computation Date.
3 Insert amount from line B.15 of Annex 3, or otherwise attach hereto in reasonable detail the calculations required to arrive at Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA.
4 At all times prior to a Qualifying IPO, the Total Leverage Ratio shall be deemed to be at Level 4.


ANNEX 3

The information described herein is as of the Computation Date and, except as otherwise indicated below, pertains to the Relevant Period.

 

Negative Covenants

   Amount  

Section 6.01 - Indebtedness Covenant

  
  A.   2.5   
  B.   Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for the Relevant Period ended on the Computation Date   
      1.   Consolidated Net Income    $                
      2.   Income tax expense    $                
      3.   Interest expense, amortization or write-off of debt discount and debt issuance costs and commissions, discounts and other fees and charges associated with Indebtedness (including the Loans)    $                
      4.   Depreciation and amortization expense    $                
      5.   Amortization of intangibles (including, but not limited to, goodwill)    $                
      6.   Any extraordinary charges or losses determined in accordance with GAAP    $                
      7.   Non-cash stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses and payroll tax expense related to stock option and other equity-based compensation expenses    $                
      8.   Any other non-cash charges, non-cash expenses or non-cash losses of the Borrower or any Subsidiaries for such period (excluding any such charge, expense or loss incurred in the ordinary course of business that constitutes an accrual of, or a reserve for, cash charges for any future period), including, for the avoidance of doubt, non-cash foreign currency translation losses (including non-cash losses related to currency remeasurement of Indebtedness) 1    $                
      9.   Transition, integration and similar fees, charges and expenses related to acquisitions or dispositions    $                
      10.   Restructuring charges    $                
      11.   Charges related to settlements of legal claims    $                

 

1 Cash payments made in such period or in any future period in respect of such non-cash charges, expenses or losses (excluding any such charge, expense or loss incurred in the ordinary course of business that constitutes an accrual of, or a reserve for, cash charges for any future period) shall be subtracted from Consolidated Net Income in calculating Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA in the period when such payments are made.


      12.   Interest income    $                
      13.   Any extraordinary income or gains determined in accordance with GAAP    $                
      14.   Any other non-cash income (excluding any items that represent the reversal of any accrual of, or cash reserve for, anticipated cash charges in any prior period that are described in the footnote to line 8)    $                
      15.   Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA (line B.1 + (lines B.2 + 3 + 4 + 5 +6 +7 +8 + (9 + 10 + 11) 2 ) 3 – (lines B.12 + 13 + 14) 4 )    $                
  C.   Specified Indebtedness 5   
      1.   $1,000,000,000    $                
      2.   line A x line B.15    $                
    Maximum Permitted: Greater of line C.1 and C.2 plus an additional $250,000,000 constituting Capital Lease Obligations and Purchase Money Indebtedness   

Section 6.04(ix) - Restricted Payments

  
  A.   Aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made pursuant to Section 6.04(ix)    $                
  B.   Total Leverage Ratio 6              :1.00   
    Permitted When: Total Leverage Ratio as of the date of such Restricted Payment (and giving pro forma effect to such Restricted Payment) is less than 2.0:1.0   
  C.   [Aggregate amount of Restricted Payments made following a Qualifying IPO pursuant to Section 6.04(ix)    $                
    Maximum Permitted: $200,000,000]   

 

2 The amount that may be added back pursuant to lines 9, 10 and 11 may not in the aggregate for any four fiscal quarter period exceed the greater of (x) $5,000,000 and (y) 15% of Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA for such period (determined without giving effect to any such adjustment pursuant to such line 9, 10 and 11).
3 To the extent reflected as a charge in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period.
4 To the extent included in the statement of such Consolidated Net Income for such period.
5 Specified Indebtedness means (i) indebtedness for borrowed money (including, for the avoidance of doubt, outstanding Loans), (ii) obligations for the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than current trade payables incurred in the ordinary course of business and excluding Earn-Outs), (iii) obligations evidenced by notes, bonds, debentures and similar instruments, (iv) all obligations, contingent or otherwise, as an account party or applicant under or in respect of bankers acceptances or letters of credit, (v) Capital Lease Obligations, (vi) Purchase Money Indebtedness and (vii) Guarantees of indebtedness of the type referred to in clauses (i) through (vi), but in any case excluding (a) indebtedness among Loan Parties and (b) indebtedness owed by any Loan Party to a Subsidiary that is not a Loan Party.
6 Insert ratio from line c of Annex 2, or otherwise attach hereto in reasonable detail the calculations required to arrive at Total Leverage Ratio.

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We hereby consent to the use in this Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 of Twitter, Inc. of our report dated July 12, 2013 relating to the financial statements and financial statement schedule of Twitter, Inc., which appears in such Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the heading “Experts” in such Registration Statement.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

San Jose, California

October 22, 2013