Exhibit 4.2
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following description of the capital stock of Arista Networks, Inc. (“us,” “our,” “we” or the “Company”) is a summary of the rights of our capital stock and summarizes certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws. This summary does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and 2004 Rights Agreement, copies of which have been filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as to the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Our authorized capital stock consists of 1,100,000,000 shares, with a par value of $0.0001 per share, of which:
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| • | | 1,000,000,000 shares are designated as common stock; and |
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| • | | 100,000,000 shares are designated as preferred stock. |
Common Stock
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. Accordingly, holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors may elect all of the directors standing for election. 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. Upon our 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. 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.
Preferred Stock
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 100,000,000 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.
Registration Rights—2004 Rights Agreement
Certain holders of shares of our common stock or their permitted transferees are entitled to rights with respect to the registration of these shares under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). These rights are provided under the terms of a rights agreement dated October 16, 2004 between us and the holders of these shares (the “2004 Rights Agreement”) and include demand registration rights, short-form registration rights and piggyback registration rights.
The registration rights provided for in the 2004 Rights Agreement terminate seven (7) years following the completion of our initial public offering or, with respect to any particular stockholder, at such time that such stockholder can sell all of its registrable securities during any three-month period pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act or the registrable securities of such stockholders represent less than one percent of our outstanding capital stock.
Demand Registration Rights
Certain holders of shares of our common stock or their permitted transferees, are entitled to demand registration rights pursuant to the 2004 Rights Agreement. Under the terms of the 2004 Rights Agreement, we will be required, upon the written request of holders of at least 50% of the shares that are entitled to registration rights under the 2004 Rights Agreement with respect to a registration with an anticipated aggregate offering price, before any underwriting discounts and commissions, in excess of $25.0 million, to register, as soon as practicable, all or a portion of these shares for public resale. We are required to effect only one registration pursuant to this provision of the rights agreement. Depending on certain conditions, however, we may defer such registration for up to 90 days twice in any 12-month period. We are not required to
effect a demand registration earlier than 180 days after the effective date of this offering. If the holders requesting registration intend to distribute their shares by means of an underwriting, the underwriters of such offering will have the right to limit the number of shares to be underwritten for reasons related to the marketing of the shares.
Short-Form Registration Rights
Certain holders of shares of our common stock or their permitted transferees are also entitled to short-form registration rights pursuant to the 2004 Rights Agreement. If we are eligible to file a registration statement on Form S-3, these holders have the right, upon written request from holders of these shares, to have such shares registered by us if the proposed aggregate offering price of the shares to be registered by the holders requesting registration is at least $2.5 million, net of any underwriter’s discounts or commissions, subject to exceptions set forth in the 2004 Rights Agreement.
Piggyback Registration Rights
Certain holders of shares of our common stock or their permitted transferees are entitled to piggyback registration rights pursuant to the 2004 Rights Agreement. If we register any of our securities under the Securities Act, subject to certain exceptions, the holders of these shares will be entitled to notice of the registration and to include their registrable securities in the registration. The underwriters of any underwritten offering have the right to limit the number of shares registered by these holders for marketing reasons, subject to limitations set forth in the 2004 Rights Agreement.
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 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 under “—Preferred Stock,” 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 the amended and restated 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 provides that special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the chairman of the board, the chief executive officer, the president (in the absence of a 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 contain 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 advance notice procedures 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.
Board Classification. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes, one class of which is elected each year by our stockholders. The directors in each class serve for a three-year term. Our classified board of 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 for stockholders to replace a majority of the directors.
Election and Removal of Directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that establish specific procedures for appointing and removing members of our board of directors. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, vacancies and newly created directorships on our board of directors may be filled only by a vote of a majority of the directors then serving on the board of directors. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, directors may be
removed only for cause by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors.
No Cumulative Voting. The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that stockholders are not entitled to the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless our restated certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws do not expressly provide for cumulative voting. Without cumulative voting, a minority stockholder may not be able to gain as many seats on our board of directors as the stockholder would be able to gain if cumulative voting were permitted. The absence of cumulative voting makes it more difficult for a minority stockholder to gain a seat on our board of directors to influence our board of directors’ decision regarding a takeover.
Amendment of Charter Provision. Any amendment of the above provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require approval by holders of at least two-thirds of our then outstanding common stock.
Delaware Anti-Takeover Statute. We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law 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 Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
