Company: ACTG
Filing Date: 2025-03-17
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000934549-25-000004
Chunk: 121

Company: ACACIA RESEARCH CORP
Filing Date: 2025-03-17
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 121
---
 our company that might otherwise result in our stockholders receiving a premium over the market price of their shares.

The provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make the acquisition of our company by means of a tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and the removal of incumbent officers and directors more difficult. These provisions include:

•Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a merger with a 15%-or-greater stockholder, such as a party that has completed a successful tender offer, until three years after that party became a 15%-or-greater stockholder;

•the authorization in our certificate of incorporation of undesignated preferred stock, which could be issued without stockholder approval in a manner designed to prevent or discourage a takeover; and

•the general restriction in our certificate of incorporation on any direct or indirect transfers of our common stock if the effect would be to (i) increase the direct or indirect ownership of our common stock by any person or group from less than 4.899% to 4.899% or more of our common stock; or (ii) increase the percentage of our common stock owned directly or indirectly by a person or group owning or deemed to own 4.899% or more of our common stock.

Together, these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that could otherwise involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock.

In addition, Starboard beneficially owns 61,123,595 shares of our common stock as of March 12, 2025, representing approximately 63.6% of our common stock, based on 96,086,040 shares of common stock issued and outstanding as of such date. As a result, Starboard and its affiliates can determine the outcome of all matters requiring stockholder approval 

43

and are able to cause or prevent a change of control of our Company or a change in the composition of our Board and could preclude any acquisition of our Company.

We do not currently intend to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, and consequently, your ability to achieve a return on your investment will depend on appreciation in the price of our common stock. 

We do not anticipate paying any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. Consequently, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments. There is no guarantee that shares of our