DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following summary of the material terms of the securities of Hostess Brands, Inc. (the “Company” or “we”) is not intended to be a complete summary of the rights and preferences of such securities. We urge you to read our certificate of incorporation and the Warrant Agreement (as defined below) in their entirety for a complete description of the rights and preferences of our securities. This summary is qualified in its entirety by such certificate of incorporation and Warrant Agreement, each of which is filed as an exhibit to our Annual Report on Form 10-K to which this summary is filed as an exhibit.
The Company (f/k/a Gores Holdings, Inc.) was originally incorporated in Delaware on June 1, 2015 as a special purpose acquisition company, or a SPAC, formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more target businesses. On August 19, 2015, the Company consummated its initial public offering (the “IPO”), following which its shares began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“NASDAQ”). On November 4, 2016 (the “Closing Date”), in a transaction referred to as the “Business Combination,” Gores Holdings, Inc. acquired a controlling interest in Hostess Holdings, L.P. (“Hostess Holdings”), an entity owned indirectly by C. Dean Metropoulos, and certain equity funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (“Apollo”). Hostess Holdings had acquired the Hostess brand and certain strategic assets out of the bankruptcy liquidation proceedings of its prior owner, free and clear of all past liabilities, in April 2013, and relaunched the Hostess brand later that year.
Authorized and Outstanding Stock
Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of 261,000,000 shares of capital stock, consisting of (i) 260,000,000 shares of common stock, including 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Class A Common Stock”), 50,000,000 shares of Class B Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Class B Common Stock”), and 10,000,000 shares of Class F Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share (“Class F Common Stock” and, together with the Class A Common Stock and Class B Common Stock, “Common Stock”) and (ii) 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. The outstanding shares of our Common Stock are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. As of February 21, 2020, there were 130,626,895 shares of Common Stock outstanding, held of record by approximately fifteen holders of Common Stock, including 123,186,308 shares of Class A Common Stock and 7,440,587 shares of Class B Common Stock, no shares of Class F Common Stock and no shares of preferred stock outstanding and 56,499,440 warrants outstanding held of record by approximately five holders of warrants, including 48,452,804 Public Warrants (as defined below) and 8,046,636 Private Warrants (as defined below). Such numbers do not include DTC participants or beneficial owners holding shares through nominee names.
The Class B Common Stock may only be issued to and held by CDM Hostess Class C, LLC, a Delaware series limited liability company controlled by our Chairman, C. Dean Metropoulos (“CDM Hostess”), Hostess CDM Co-Invest, LLC, a Delaware series limited liability company controlled by Mr. Metropoulos (“Hostess CDM Co-Invest”), CDM HB Holdings, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company controlled by Mr. Metropoulos (“CDM HB Holdings” and, together with CDM Hostess, Hostess CDM Co-Invest and Mr. Metropoulos, the “CDM Holders”) and their respective permitted transferees and any other transferee of Class B units (“Class B Units”) of Hostess Holdings (to the extent permitted by the limited partnership agreement of Hostess Holdings then in effect) (collectively, the “Permitted Holders”). At any time Hostess Holdings issues a Class B Unit to a Permitted Holder, the Company will issue a share of Class B Common Stock to such Permitted Holder. Upon the conversion or cancellation of any Class B Units pursuant to the Exchange Agreement, dated as of the Closing Date, by the Company, Hostess Holdings, the CDM Holders and such other holders of Class B Units from time to time party thereto (the “Exchange Agreement”), the corresponding share of Class B Common Stock automatically will be cancelled for no consideration. Shares of Class B Common Stock may only be transferred to a person other than the Company or Hostess Holdings if the transferee is a Permitted Holder and an equal number of Class B Units are simultaneously transferred to such transferee.
Voting Power
Except as otherwise required by law or as otherwise provided in any certificate of designation for any series of preferred stock, the holders of Common Stock possess all voting power for the election of our directors and all other matters requiring stockholder action and will at all times vote together as one class on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Company. Holders of Common Stock are entitled to one vote per share on matters to be voted on by stockholders.
Dividends
Holders of Class A Common Stock will be entitled to receive such dividends and other distributions, if any, as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors in its discretion out of funds legally available therefor and shall share equally on a per share basis in such dividends and distributions. Holders of Class B Common Stock are not entitled to share in any such dividends or other distributions.
Liquidation, Dissolution and Winding Up
In the event of the voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution, distribution of assets or winding-up of the post-combination company, the holders of the Class A Common Stock will be entitled to receive an equal amount per share of all of our assets of whatever kind available for distribution to stockholders, after the rights of the holders of the preferred stock, if any, have been satisfied. Holders of Class B Stock are not entitled to receive any portion of any such assets in respect of their shares of Class B Stock.
Preemptive or Other Rights
Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights and there are no sinking fund or redemption provisions applicable to our Common Stock.
Election of Directors
Our Board is currently divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class serving a three-year term. Class I directors will serve until the 2020 annual meeting, Class II directors will serve until the 2021 annual meeting and Class III directors will serve until the 2022 annual meeting. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that directions will be elected by a plurality of the votes cast at an annual meeting of stockholders by holders of our common stock.
Preferred Stock
Our certificate of incorporation provides that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors is authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors is able, without stockholder approval, to issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the Common Stock and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
Warrants
Public Warrants
The warrants included in the units issued in the IPO are referred to as “Public Warrants”. Each Public Warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one-half of one share of our Class A Common Stock at a price of $5.75 per half share, subject to adjustment as discussed below. For example, if a warrant holder holds two Public Warrants,
such Public Warrants are exercisable for one share of the company’s Class A Common Stock. Public Warrants must be exercised for a whole share. The Public Warrants will expire November 4, 2021 (i.e., five years after the completion of the Business Combination), at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We are not obligated to deliver any shares of Class A Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) with respect to the shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No Public Warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their Public Warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption is available. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a Public Warrant, the holder of such Public Warrant will not be entitled to exercise such Public Warrant and such Public Warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such Public Warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Class A Common Stock underlying such unit.
The issuance of the shares of Class A Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants has been registered on a registration statement under the Securities Act. We will use our best efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the Public Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A Common Stock is at the time of any exercise of a Public Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their Public Warrants to do so a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but will use our best efforts to qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Once the Public Warrants become exercisable, we may call the Public Warrants for redemption:
• in whole and not in part;
• at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
• upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
• if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A Common Stock equals or exceeds $24.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holder.
If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the Public Warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the Public Warrants, each Public Warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its Public Warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A Common Stock may fall below the $24.00 redemption trigger price as well as the $11.50 Public Warrant exercise price (for whole shares) after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the Public Warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its Public Warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of Public Warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A Stock issuable upon the exercise of our Public Warrant. If we take advantage of this option, all holders of Public Warrants would pay the exercise price by
surrendering their Public Warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the Public Warrant, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the Public Warrant and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A Common Stock for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of Public Warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be received upon exercise of the Public Warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the Public Warrants. If we call our Public Warrants for redemption and we do not take advantage of this option, holders of Private Warrants would still be entitled to exercise their Private Warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other Public Warrant holders would have been required to use had all Public Warrant holders been required to exercise their Public Warrant on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
A holder of a Public Warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such Public Warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Class A Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Class A Common Stock, or by a split-up of shares of Class A Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Public Warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock. A rights offering to holders of Class A Common Stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Class A Common Stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Class A Common Stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A Common Stock) multiplied by (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A Common Stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A Common Stock, in determining the price payable for Class A Common Stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A Common Stock as reported during the ten trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Class A Common Stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the Public Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A Common Stock on account of such shares of Class A Common Stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the Public Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, or (c) certain other limited exceptions, then the Public Warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A Common Stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A Common Stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Class A Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Class A Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Public Warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Class A Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants is adjusted, as described above, the Public Warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the Public Warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Class A Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Public Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Class A Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A Common Stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the Public Warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Public Warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A Common Stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Public Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised its Public Warrants immediately prior to such event. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each Public Warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding shares of Class A Common Stock, the holder of a Public Warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a stockholder if such Public Warrant holder had exercised the Public Warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A Common Stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustments (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the Warrant Agreement, dated as of August 13, 2015, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent (the “Warrant Agreement”). Additionally, if less than seventy percent (70%) of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A Common Stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A Common Stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the Public Warrant properly exercises the Public Warrant within 30 days following public disclosure of such transaction, the Public Warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in Warrant Agreement based on the per share consideration minus Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of the Public Warrant.
The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the Public Warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding Public Warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of Public Warrants.
The Public Warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the Public Warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the Public Warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the Public Warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of Public Warrants being
exercised. The Public Warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A Common Stock and any voting rights until they exercise their Public Warrants and receive shares of Class A Common Stock. After the issuance of shares of Class A Common Stock upon exercise of the Public Warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
Public Warrants may be exercised only for a whole number of shares of Class A Common Stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. If, upon exercise of the Public Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Class A Common Stock to be issued to the Public Warrant holder.
Private Warrants
Gores Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”) purchased 19,000,000 warrants at a price of $0.50 per warrant for an aggregate purchase price of $9,500,000 in a private placement that occurred prior to the IPO. Such warrants are referred to as the “Private Warrants”. The Private Warrants will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees. Otherwise, the Private Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the Public Warrants. At the closing of the Business Combination, our Sponsor transferred 2,000,000 Private Warrants to Mr. Metropoulos. If the Private Warrants are held by holders other than the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
If holders of the Private Warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering his, her or its warrants for that number of shares of Class A Common Stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A Common Stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (defined below) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last sale price of the Class A Common Stock for the ten trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition. The payment of any cash dividends is within the discretion of our board of directors. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, restrictive covenants in our credit facilities limit our ability to declare dividends.
Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our Common Stock and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law, the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
We have “opted out” of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which we refer to as “Section 203,” regulating corporate takeovers. Instead, our certificate of incorporation contains a provision that is substantially similar to Section 203, but excludes our Sponsor, Apollo and the CDM Holders, each of their successors, certain affiliates and each of their respective transferees from the definition of “interested stockholder”.
Section 203 prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
• a stockholder who owns fifteen percent (15%) or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
• an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
• an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than ten percent (10%) of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
• our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
• after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least eighty-five percent (85%) of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
• on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our Board and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board of directors only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at three or more annual meetings.
Our certificate of incorporation requires the approval by affirmative vote of the holders of at least two-thirds of our Common Stock to make any amendment to key provisions of our certificate of incorporation or bylaws.
In addition, our certificate of incorporation does not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors. Our board of directors is empowered to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or the resignation, death, or removal of a director in certain circumstances; and our advance notice provisions require that stockholders must comply with certain procedures in order to nominate candidates to our board of directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a stockholders’ meeting.
Our authorized but unissued Common Stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved Common Stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.