Exhibit 4.1
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
As of the date of our annual report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit is a part, our only class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended is our common stock, par value $0.01 per share. As used below, the terms “B&G Foods,” “our company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to B&G Foods, Inc. as issuer of our common stock and do not, unless the context otherwise indicates, include our subsidiaries.
Description of Common Stock
Set forth below is a summary description of the material terms of our common stock, which does not purport to be complete. For more information, please see our certificate of incorporation, as amended from time to time, and our by1aws, as amended from time to time, each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to our annual report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit is a part, and the applicable provisions of Delaware General Corporation Law.
General
Under our certificate of incorporation, we are authorized to issue up to 125,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of February 21, 2020, there are 64,044,649 shares of our common stock outstanding.
Voting. The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share with respect to each matter on which the holders of our common stock are entitled to vote.
No Cumulative Voting Rights. The holders of our common stock are not entitled to cumulate their votes in the election of our directors.
Rights to Dividends and on Liquidation, Dissolution or Winding Up. The holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends as they may be lawfully declared from time to time by our board of directors, subject to any preferential rights of holders of any outstanding shares of preferred stock. In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, common stockholders are entitled to share ratably in our assets available for distribution to the stockholders, subject to the prior rights of holders of any outstanding preferred stock.
Preemptive and Other Subscription Rights. Common stockholders do not have preemptive, subscription or redemption rights and are not subject to further calls or assessments.
Additional Issuance of Our Authorized Common Stock. Additional shares of our authorized common stock may be issued, as determined by the board of directors of our company from time to time, without approval of holders of our common stock, except as may be required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or automated quotation system on which our securities may be listed or traded.
Stockholder Action
Stockholders may act by written consent, without a meeting and without notice or a vote. This provision enables stockholders to act on matters subject to a stockholder vote without waiting until the next annual or special meeting of stockholders.
Special Meetings of Stockholders
Our certificate of incorporation provides that special meetings of the stockholders may be called at any time by the board of directors, the chairman of the board of directors or the holders of at least 20% of the outstanding shares of our common stock.
Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law
Our company is subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that this stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes a merger, asset 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, in some cases, within three years prior, did own) 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock. Under Section 203, a business combination between the corporation and an interested stockholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions:
the board of directors must have previously approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
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, for purposes of determining the number of our shares outstanding, shares owned by (a) persons who are directors and also officers and (b) employee stock plans, in some instances); or
the business combination is approved by the board of directors of the corporation and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.
The existence of this provision may have an anti-takeover effect with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our board of directors, including discouraging takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price for the shares of our common stock.
Other Anti-Takeover Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain several provisions, in addition to those pertaining to the issuance of additional shares of our authorized common stock and preferred stock without the approval of the holders of our common stock that could delay or make more difficult the acquisition of our company through a hostile tender offer, open market purchases, proxy contest, merger or other takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in his or her best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the market price of our common stock. Such provisions, which are described below, include advance notice procedures regarding any proposal of stockholder business to be discussed at a stockholders meeting.
Advance Notice Procedure for Director Nominations and Stockholder Proposals. Our bylaws provide that, subject to the rights of holders of any outstanding shares of our preferred stock, a stockholder may nominate one or more persons for election as directors at a meeting only if written notice of the stockholder’s nomination has been given, either by personal delivery or certified mail, to our corporate secretary not less than 120 days nor more than 150 days before the first anniversary of the date of our proxy statement in connection with our last annual meeting of stockholders. Each notice must contain:
the name, age, business address and, if known, residential address of each nominee;
the principal occupation or employment of each nominee;
a statement of the particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills of the proposed nominee;
the class, series and number of our shares beneficially owned by each nominee;
any other information relating to each nominee required by the SEC’s proxy rules; and
the written consent of each nominee to be named in our proxy statement and to serve as director if elected.
Our corporate secretary will deliver all notices to the nominating committee of our board of directors for review. After review, the nominating committee will make its recommendation regarding nominees to our board of directors. Defective nominations will be disregarded.
For business to be properly brought before an annual meeting by a stockholder, the stockholder must have given timely notice of the proposed business in writing to our corporate secretary. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be given, either by personal delivery or by certified mail, to our corporate secretary not less than 120 days nor more than 150 days before the first anniversary of the date of our proxy statement in connection with our last annual meeting of stockholders. Each notice must contain:
a brief description of the business desired to be brought before the annual meeting and the reasons for conducting the business at the annual meeting;
the name and address of the stockholder proposing the business as they appear on our stock transfer books;
a representation that the stockholder is a stockholder of record and intends to appear in person or by proxy at the annual meeting to bring the business proposed in the notice before the meeting;
the class, series and number of our shares beneficially owned by the stockholder; and
any material interest of the stockholder in the business.
Business brought before an annual meeting without complying with these provisions will not be transacted.
Although our bylaws do not give the board the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a special or annual meeting, our bylaws may have the effect of precluding the consideration of some business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or defer a potential acquiror from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
Amendment of Our Certificate of Incorporation
The affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all then-outstanding shares of our capital stock that are entitled to vote generally in the election of our directors, voting together as a single class, is required to amend, alter, change or repeal the provisions of our certificate of incorporation.
Amendment of Our Bylaws
Our certificate of incorporation provides that our bylaws can be amended only by either our board of directors or the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of all then-outstanding shares of our capital stock that are entitled to vote generally in the election of our directors, voting together as a single class.
Limitation of Liability and Indemnification
Our certificate of incorporation provides that, to the full extent from time to time permitted by law, no director shall be personally liable for monetary damages for breach of any duty as a director. As required under current Delaware law, our certificate of incorporation currently provides that this waiver may not apply to liability:
for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;
for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (pertaining to certain prohibited act including unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful purchase or redemption of our capital stock); or
for any transaction from which the director derived any improper personal benefit.
However, in the event the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of our directors will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended. Neither the amendment or repeal of this provision of our certificate of incorporation, nor the adoption of any provision of our certificate of incorporation which is inconsistent with this provision, shall eliminate or reduce the protection afforded by this provision with respect to any matter which occurred, or any suit or claim which, but for this provision would have accrued or arisen, prior to such amendment, repeal or adoption.
Our bylaws also provide that we shall, to the fullest extent from time to time permitted by law, indemnify our directors and officers against all liabilities and expenses in any suit or proceeding, arising out of their status as an officer or director or their activities in these capacities. Our bylaws also require us to indemnify any person who, at our request, is or was serving as a director, officer or trustee of another corporation, joint venture, employee benefit plan trust or other enterprise.
The right to be indemnified includes the right of an officer or a director to be paid expenses in advance of the final disposition of any proceeding, if we receive an undertaking to repay such amount if it shall be determined that he or she is not entitled to be indemnified.
Our board of directors may take such action as it deems necessary to carry out these indemnification provisions, including adopting procedures for determining and enforcing indemnification rights and purchasing insurance policies. Our board of directors may also adopt bylaws, resolutions or contracts implementing indemnification arrangements as may be permitted by law. Neither the amendment or repeal of these indemnification provisions, nor the adoption of any provision of our certificate of incorporation inconsistent with these indemnification provisions, shall eliminate or reduce any rights to indemnification relating to their status or any activities prior to such amendment, repeal or adoption.
We believe these provisions will assist in attracting and retaining qualified individuals to serve as directors.
Listing
Our shares of common stock are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “BGS.”
Transfer Agent and Registrar
The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
