Attached files
| file | filename |
|---|---|
| 10-K/A - 10-K/A - Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. | bsprt-201910k.htm |
| EX-32 - EXHIBIT 32 - Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. | bsprt-exhibit32_12312019.htm |
| EX-31.2 - EXHIBIT 31.2 - Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. | bsprt-exhibit312_12312019.htm |
| EX-31.1 - EXHIBIT 31.1 - Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. | bsprt-exhibit311_12312019.htm |
| EX-23.1 - EXHIBIT 23.1 - Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. | bsprt-exhibit231_12312019.htm |
| EX-21 - EXHIBIT 21 - Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. | bsprt-exhibit21_12312019.htm |
Exhibit 4.3
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): our common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”).
The general terms and provisions of our Common Stock are summarized below. This summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to our Articles of Amendment and Restatement (our “Charter”) and our Amended and Restated Bylaws (our “Bylaws”), each of which is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.3 is a part. We encourage you to read our Charter and Bylaws and the applicable provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”) for additional information.
Common Stock
Pursuant to our Charter, the Company is authorized to issue up to 1,000,000,000 shares of Common Stock. All of the outstanding shares of our Common Stock are fully paid and nonassessable. Our shares of Common Stock are not listed on a national securities exchange.
Dividend Rights. Subject to any preferential rights of any other class or series of stock and to the provisions of our Charter regarding the restriction on the transfer of stock, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to such distributions as may be authorized from time to time by our board of directors out of legally available funds and declared by us.
Voting Rights. Subject to our Charter restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock and except as may otherwise be specified in our Charter, each holder of Common Stock is entitled at each meeting of stockholders to one vote per share owned by such stockholder on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our board of directors, which means that the holders of a majority of shares of our outstanding stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors can elect all of the directors then standing for election and the holders of the remaining shares of Common Stock will not be able to elect any directors. In addition, on all matters submitted to a vote of the holders of Common Stock of the Company, the holders of the Common Stock vote together as a single class with the holders of our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, with such series of preferred stock voting on an as-converted basis.
Liquidation Rights. Subject to any preferential rights of any other class or series of stock, upon our liquidation, holders of Common Stock are entitled to receive all assets available for distribution to our stockholders.
Preemptive or Similar Rights. Holders of Common Stock do not have preemptive rights, which means that they will not have an automatic option to purchase any new shares that we issue, or preference, conversion, exchange, sinking fund or redemption rights. Holders of Common Stock will not have appraisal rights unless our board of directors determines that appraisal rights apply, with respect to all or any classes or series of stock, to one or more transactions occurring after the date of such determination in connection with which holders would otherwise be entitled to exercise appraisal rights.
Preferred Stock
Our Charter authorizes our board of directors, without stockholder approval, to designate and issue one or more classes or series of preferred stock and to set or change the voting, conversion or other rights, preferences, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions and qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption of each class of shares so issued. Because our board of directors has the power to establish the preferences and rights of each class or series of preferred stock, it may afford the holders of any series or class of preferred stock preferences, powers, and rights senior to the rights of holders of common stock. Our board of directors has designated two series of preferred stock which are currently outstanding: our Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, each of which rank senior to our Common Stock with respect to rights to receive dividends, distributions, redemptions and payments upon the liquidation, dissolution and winding up of the Company. Holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series C Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the stockholders of the Company upon which the holders of Common Stock are entitled to vote, upon which the holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock and Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and holders of the Common Stock vote together as a single class. The number of votes applicable to a share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or Series C Convertible Preferred Stock will be equal to the number of shares of Common Stock a share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or Series C Convertible Preferred Stock could have been converted into as of the record date set for purposes of such stockholder vote (rounded down to the nearest whole number of shares of Common Stock), respectively.
Restrictions on Ownership and Transfer
In order for us to qualify as a Real Estate Investment Trust (“REIT”) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), we must meet the following criteria regarding our stockholders’ ownership of our shares:
• | five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include specified private foundations, employee benefit plans and trusts and charitable trusts) may not own, directly or indirectly, more than 50% in value of our outstanding shares during the last half of a taxable year, other than our first REIT taxable year; and |
• | 100 or more persons must beneficially own our shares during at least 335 days of a taxable year of twelve months or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year. |
We may prohibit certain acquisitions and transfers of shares so as to ensure our initial and continued qualification as a REIT under the Code. However, there can be no assurance that this prohibition will be effective. Because we believe it is essential for us to qualify as a REIT, and, once qualified, to continue to qualify, among other purposes, our Charter provides (subject to certain exceptions) that no person may own, or be deemed to own by virtue of the attribution provisions of the Code, more than 7.9% in value of the aggregate of our outstanding shares of stock or more than 7.9% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of any class or series of shares of our stock.
Our board of directors, in its sole discretion, may (prospectively or retroactively) waive this ownership limit if evidence satisfactory to our directors, including certain representations and undertakings required by our Charter, is presented that such ownership will not then or in the future jeopardize our status as a REIT. Also, these restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply if our directors determine that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT or that compliance is no longer necessary for REIT qualification.
Additionally, our Charter prohibits the transfer or ownership of our stock if such transfer or ownership would:
• | with respect to transfers only, result in our stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons, determined without reference to any rules of attribution; |
• | result in our being “closely held” within the meaning of Code Section 856(h) (regardless of whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year); |
• | result in our owning, directly or indirectly, more than 9.8% of the ownership interests in any tenant or subtenant; or |
• | otherwise result in our disqualification as a REIT. |
Any attempted transfer of our stock which, if effective, would result in our stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons will be null and void and the proposed transferee will not acquire any rights in such stock. In the event of any attempted transfer of our stock which, if effective, would result in (i) violation of the ownership limit discussed above, (ii) in our being “closely held” under Code Section 856(h), (iii) our owning (directly or indirectly) more than 9.8% of the ownership interests in any tenant or subtenant or (iv) our otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT, then the number of shares causing the violation (rounded to the nearest whole share) will be automatically transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable beneficiaries, and the proposed transferee will not acquire any rights in the shares. To avoid confusion, these shares so transferred to a beneficial trust will be referred to in this prospectus as “Excess Securities.” If the transfer of Excess Securities to a beneficial trust would not be effective for any reason to prevent any of the above violations, then the transfer of that number of shares that would otherwise cause the violation will be null and void and the proposed transferee will not acquire any rights in the shares. Excess Securities will remain issued and outstanding shares and will be entitled to the same rights and privileges as all other shares of the same class or series. The trustee of the beneficial trust, as holder of the Excess Securities, will be entitled to receive all dividends and other distributions authorized by the board of directors on such securities for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. Our Charter further entitles the trustee of the beneficial trust to vote all Excess Securities. Subject to Maryland law, the trustee will also have the authority (i) to rescind as void any vote cast by the intended transferee prior to our discovery that the shares have been transferred to the trust and (ii) to recast the vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. However, if we have already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee will not have the authority to rescind and recast the vote.
The trustee of the beneficial trust will select a transferee to whom the Excess Securities may be sold as long as such sale does not violate the 9.8% ownership limit or the other restrictions on ownership and transfer. Upon sale of the Excess Securities, the intended transferee (the transferee of the Excess Securities whose ownership would have violated the 9.8% ownership limit or the other restrictions on ownership and transfer) will receive from the trustee of the beneficial trust the lesser of such sale proceeds, or the price per share the intended transferee paid for the Excess Securities (or, in the case of a gift or devise to the intended transferee, the price per share equal to the market value per share on the date of the transfer to the intended transferee). The trustee may reduce the amount payable to the intended transferee by the amount of dividends and other distributions which have been paid to the intended transferee and are owed by the intended transferee to the trustee. The trustee of the beneficial trust will distribute to the charitable beneficiary any amount the trustee receives in excess of the amount to be paid to the intended transferee.
In addition, we have the right to purchase any Excess Securities at the lesser of (i) the price per share paid in the transfer that created the Excess Securities (or, in the case of a devise or gift, the market price at the time of such devise or gift) and (ii) the market price on the date we, or our designee, exercise such right. We may reduce the amount payable to the intended transferee by the amount of dividends and other distributions which have been paid to the intended transferee and are owed by the intended transferee to the trustee. We will have the right to purchase the Excess Securities until the trustee has sold the shares. Upon a sale to us, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the intended transferee.
Any person who (i) acquires or attempts or intends to acquire shares in violation of the foregoing ownership limitations, or (ii) would have owned shares that resulted in a transfer to a charitable trust, is required to give us immediate written notice or, in the case of a proposed or intended transaction, 15 days’ written notice. In both cases, such persons must provide to us such other information as we may request in order to determine the effect, if any, of such transfer on our status as a REIT. The foregoing restrictions will continue to apply until our board of directors determines it is no longer in our best interest to continue to qualify as a REIT or that compliance is no longer required for REIT qualification.
The ownership limit does not apply to the underwriter in a public offering of shares or to a person or persons so exempted (prospectively or retroactively) from the ownership limit by our board of directors based upon appropriate assurances, including certain representations and undertakings required by our Charter, that our qualification as a REIT is not jeopardized. Any person who owns more than 5% of the outstanding shares during any taxable year will be asked to deliver written notice setting forth the name and address of such owner, the number of shares beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, and a description of the manner in which such shares are held.
Certain Anti-takeover Matters
Our Charter and Bylaws, and the MGCL, contain certain provisions that could make it more difficult to acquire control of the Company by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions are expected to discourage certain types of coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of the Company to negotiate first with our board of directors. We believe that these provisions increase the likelihood that proposals initially will be on more attractive terms than would be the case in their absence and facilitate negotiations that may result in improvement of the terms of an initial offer that might involve a premium price for our Common Stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.
Business Combinations. Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as:
• | any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock; or |
• | an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding stock of the corporation. |
A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which he otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, the board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board of directors.
After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:
• | 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation; and |
• | two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder. |
These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation’s common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.
The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by the board of directors before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Pursuant to the statute, our board of directors has adopted a resolution exempting any business combination with our advisor or any affiliate of our advisor. Consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements will not apply to business combinations between us and our advisor or any affiliate of our advisor. As a result, our advisor or any affiliate of our advisor may be able to enter into business combinations with us that may not be in the best interest of our stockholders, without compliance with the super-majority vote requirements and the other provisions of the statute.
The business combination statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer.
Control Share Acquisitions. Maryland law provides that control shares of a Maryland corporation acquired in a control share acquisition have no voting rights except to the extent approved by a vote of stockholders holding two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding “control shares”:
• | owned by the acquiring person; |
• | owned by our officers; and |
• | owned by our employees who are also directors. |
“Control shares” mean voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquirer in respect of which the acquirer can exercise or direct the exercise of voting power, would entitle the acquiring person to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power:
• | one-tenth or more, but less than one-third of all voting power; |
• | one-third or more, but less than a majority of all voting power; or |
• | a majority or more of all voting power. |
Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A control share acquisition occurs when, subject to some exceptions, a person directly or indirectly acquires ownership or the power to direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy) of issued and outstanding control shares. A person who has made or proposes to make a control share acquisition, upon satisfaction of some specific conditions, including an undertaking to pay expenses, may compel our board of directors to call a special meeting of our stockholders to be held within 50 days of a request to consider the voting rights of the control shares. If no request for a meeting is made, we may present the question at any stockholders’ meeting.
If voting rights are not approved at the meeting or if the acquiring person does not deliver an acquiring person statement on or before the 10th day after the control share acquisition as required by the statute, then, subject to some conditions and limitations, we may acquire any or all of the control shares (except those for which voting rights have been previously approved) for fair value determined, without regard to the absence of voting rights for the control shares, as of the date of the last control share acquisition by the acquiror or of any meeting of stockholders at which the voting rights of such shares are considered and not approved. If voting rights for control shares are approved at a stockholders meeting and the acquiror becomes entitled to vote a majority of the shares entitled to vote, all other stockholders may exercise appraisal rights. The fair value of the shares as determined for purposes of such appraisal rights may not be less than the highest price per share paid by the acquiror in the control share acquisition. The control share acquisition statute does not apply to shares acquired in a merger, consolidation, or share exchange if we are a party to the transaction or to acquisitions approved or exempted by our Charter or Bylaws.
As permitted by the MGCL, our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition statute any and all acquisitions of our stock by any person. There can be no assurance that this provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future.
Subtitle 8. Subtitle 8 of Title 3 of the MGCL permits a Maryland corporation with a class of equity securities registered under the Exchange Act and at least three independent directors to elect to be subject, by provision in its Charter or Bylaws or a resolution of its board of directors and notwithstanding any contrary provision in the Charter or Bylaws, to any or all of five provisions:
• | a classified board, |
• | a two-thirds vote requirement for removing a director, |
• | a requirement that the number of directors be fixed only by vote of the directors, |
• | a requirement that a vacancy on the board of directors be filled only by affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office and for the remainder of the full term of the class of directors in which the vacancy occurred, and |
• | a majority requirement for the calling of a special meeting of stockholders. |
We have elected that, except as may be provided by our board of directors in setting the terms of any class or series of preferred stock, any and all vacancies on the board of directors may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum, and any director elected to fill a vacancy will serve for the remainder of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred. Through provisions in our Charter and Bylaws unrelated to Subtitle 8, we already vest in the board of directors the exclusive power to fix the number of directorships.
Exclusive Forum
Our Bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (a) any Internal Corporate Claim, as such term is defined in Section 1-101(p) of the MGCL, or any successor provision thereof; (b) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company; (c) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed by any director or officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or to the stockholders of the Company; (d) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any director or officer or other employee of the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL, the Charter or the Bylaws; or (e) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any director or officer or other employee of the Company that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, or, if that Court does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division. This exclusive forum provision is intended to apply to claims arising under Maryland state law and would not apply to claims brought pursuant to the Exchange Act or Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Amendment of Our Organizational Documents
Except for those amendments permitted to be made without stockholder approval, our Charter may be amended, after approval by our board, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our Bylaws may be amended in any manner not inconsistent with the Charter by a majority vote of our directors present at the board meeting.