Attached files
| file | filename |
|---|---|
| EX-21.1 - EXHIBIT 21.1 - SPLUNK INC | ex-211013120.htm |
| 10-K - 10-K - SPLUNK INC | a01312010k.htm |
| EX-32.1 - EXHIBIT 32.1 - SPLUNK INC | ex-321013120.htm |
| EX-31.2 - EXHIBIT 31.2 - SPLUNK INC | ex-312013120.htm |
| EX-31.1 - EXHIBIT 31.1 - SPLUNK INC | ex-311013120.htm |
| EX-23.1 - EXHIBIT 23.1 - SPLUNK INC | ex-231013120.htm |
| EX-10.5 - EXHIBIT 10.5 - SPLUNK INC | ex-105013120.htm |
Exhibit 4.6
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following is a summary of information concerning the capital stock of Splunk Inc. (“us,” “our,” or “we”) and certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws. This summary does not purport to be complete and does not contain all the information that may be important to you. This summary is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, each previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K, of which this Exhibit 4.6 is a part, as well as the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporate Law (the “DGCL”). We encourage you to read our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws, and to the applicable provisions of the DGCL carefully.
General
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for one class of common stock and authorizes shares of undesignated preferred stock, the rights, preferences and privileges of which may be designated from time to time by our board of directors.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 1,020,000,000 shares, with a par value of $0.001 per share, of which:
• | 1,000,000,000 shares are designated as common stock; and |
• | 20,000,000 shares are designated as preferred stock. |
Common Stock
Voting Rights
The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders and do not have cumulative voting rights. 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. Our amended and restated bylaws provide for majority voting for directors. Accordingly, only the directors in one class will be subject to election by a majority 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.
Board Classification
Our board of directors is divided into three classes. The directors in each class will serve for a three-year term, one class being elected each year by our stockholders. In addition, directors may only be removed for cause. Any vacancies on our board of directors may be filled only by a majority of directors then in office, even though less than a quorum. This system of electing and removing directors may tend to discourage a third party from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us because it generally makes it more difficult and takes more time for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.
Dividend Rights
Subject to preferences that may be applicable to any preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares of common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by our board of directors out of assets legally available.
No Preemptive or Similar Rights
Holders of common stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock.
Right to Receive Liquidation Distributions
Upon our voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation preference of any then outstanding shares of preferred stock.
Preferred Stock
No shares of preferred stock are outstanding. Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue from time to time up to 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series. Our board of directors may designate the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of the preferred stock, including dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, redemption rights, liquidation preference, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of any series. The issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of restricting dividends on the common stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock, impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock or delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control. Such issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of the common stock. The issuance of preferred stock or even the ability to issue preferred stock could also have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control. We currently have no plans to issue any shares of preferred stock.
Anti-Takeover Effects of Delaware Law and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain certain provisions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us. These provisions and certain provisions of Delaware law, which are summarized below, could discourage takeovers, coercive or otherwise. These provisions 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.
Undesignated Preferred Stock
As discussed above, our board of directors has the ability to designate and issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could deter hostile takeovers or delay changes in our control or management.
Limits on Ability of Stockholders to Act by Written Consent or Call a Special Meeting
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders may not act by written consent. This limit on the ability of stockholders to act by written consent may lengthen the amount of time required to take stockholder actions. As a result, the holders of a majority of our capital stock would not be able to amend bylaws or remove directors without holding a meeting of stockholders called in accordance with the amended and restated bylaws.
In addition, our amended and restated bylaws provide that special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the chairperson of the board, the chief executive officer or our board of directors. A stockholder may not call a special meeting, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to force consideration of a proposal or for holders controlling a majority of our capital stock to take any action, including the removal of directors.
Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations and Proposals
Our amended and restated bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board of directors or a committee of the board of directors. These may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed and may also discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempt to obtain control of our company. These provisions make it procedurally more difficult for a stockholder to nominate a director candidate and therefore may reduce the likelihood that a stockholder will seek to take action to nominate director candidates.
Our amended and restated bylaws allow a stockholder or group of not more than 20 stockholders (or 25 stockholders if our annual revenue is greater than $4 billion for our most recently completed fiscal year) to nominate a director candidate for inclusion in the company’s proxy statement, provided that such stockholder or group of stockholders does not have control intent and has had a net long position of 3% or more of our outstanding capital stock continuously for at least three years.
Amendments to Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
The approval of the holders of a supermajority of our outstanding shares of capital stock is required to amend certain provisions of our bylaws and certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation. These provisions make it procedurally more difficult for stockholders to remove certain requirements that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or discouraging another party from acquiring control of us.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging, under certain circumstances, in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder unless:
• | prior to the date of the transaction, our board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; |
• | upon completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, (1) shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers and (2) 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 |
• | at or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Generally, a business combination includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. An interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, did own 15% or more of a corporation's outstanding voting stock. We expect the existence of this provision to have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions our board of directors does not approve in advance. We also anticipate that Section 203 may discourage attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of common stock held by stockholders.
The provisions of Delaware law and the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could have the effect of discouraging others from attempting hostile takeovers and, as a consequence, they might also inhibit temporary fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that often result from actual or rumored hostile takeover attempts. These provisions might also have the effect of preventing changes in our management. It is also possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish transactions that stockholders might otherwise deem to be in their best interests.
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC. The transfer agent's address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11219.
Market Listing
Our common stock is listed on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “SPLK.”