ryi-ex44_12.htm



 

Exhibit 4.4

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES 

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE 

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

The following summary describes the material terms of the securities of Ryerson Holding Corporation (the “Company”) that are registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This description also summarizes relevant provisions of Delaware law. The following summary does not purport to be complete and is subject to, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, applicable law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, copies of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.4 is a part. We encourage you to read our certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and the applicable provisions of Delaware law for additional information.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our authorized capital stock consists of 100 million shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 7 million shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share, that are undesignated as to series. 

The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and are not entitled to cumulative votes with respect to the election of directors. The holders of common stock are entitled to receive dividends as may be declared by our Board of Directors out of legally available funds. Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets that are legally available for distribution after payment of all debts and other liabilities, subject to the prior rights of any holders of preferred stock then outstanding. The holders of common stock have no other preemptive, subscription, redemption, sinking fund or conversion rights. All outstanding shares of our common stock are fully paid and nonassessable. The shares of common stock to be issued upon completion of the offering will also be fully paid and nonassessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be negatively impacted by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock which we may designate and issue in the future. 

Our transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC.

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RYI.”

Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law 

We are 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 period of three years following the date the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder is approved in a prescribed manner. Generally, a business combination includes a merger, asset or stock sale, or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Generally, an interested stockholder is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns or, in the case of affiliates or associates of the corporation, within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, owned 15% or more of a corporation’s voting stock. 

The existence of this provision could have anti-takeover effects with respect to transactions not approved in advance by our Board of Directors, such as discouraging takeover attempts that might result in a premium over the market price of our common stock. For these purposes Platinum Equity, LLC (“Platinum”), does not constitute “interested stockholders.” 

 



 

Stockholders are not entitled to cumulative voting in the election of directors. The authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to effect a change of control of our company. The foregoing provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the Delaware General Corporation Law may have the effect of deterring or discouraging hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control of our company. 

Charter and Bylaws Anti-Takeover Provisions 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws each provide that on and following the date that Platinum no longer beneficially owns a majority of the voting power of all of our capital stock, any action required or permitted to be taken by our stockholders at an annual meeting or special meeting of the stockholders may only be taken at such annual or special meeting, and not by written consent without a meeting, if it is properly brought before such annual or special meeting. 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our Board of Directors will be divided into three classes of directors, with the number of directors in each class to be as nearly equal as possible. Our classified board staggers terms of the three classes and, following the initial public offering of 11 million of our common stock completed on August 13, 2014, was implemented through one, two and three-year terms for the initial three classes, followed in each case by full three-year terms. With a classified board, only one-third of the members of our Board of Directors are elected each year. This classification of directors has the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our Board of Directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws provide that the number of directors will be fixed from time to time exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by our Board of Directors, but must consist of not less than three directors. This provision prevents stockholders from circumventing the provisions of our classified board. 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, on and following the date that Platinum no longer beneficially owns a majority of the voting power of all of our capital stock, the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the voting power of our issued and outstanding capital stock, voting together as a single class, is required for the following: 


	
 
	
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alteration, amendment or repeal of the staggered Board of Directors provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation; and 





	
 
	
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alteration, amendment or repeal of certain provisions of our amended and restated bylaws, including the provisions relating to our stockholders’ ability to call special meetings, notice provisions for stockholder business to be conducted at an annual meeting, requests for stockholder lists and corporate records, nomination and removal of directors and filling of vacancies on our Board of Directors. 




Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for the issuance by the Board of Directors of up to 7 million shares of preferred stock, with voting power, designations, preferences and other special rights. The issuance of preferred stock could decrease the amount of earnings and assets available for distribution to the holders of common stock or could adversely affect the rights and powers, including voting rights, of holders of common stock. In certain circumstances, such issuance could have the effect of decreasing the market price of the common stock. Preferred stockholders could also make it more difficult for a third party to acquire our company. No shares of preferred stock are outstanding and we currently have no plans to issue any shares of preferred stock. 

Our amended and restated bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholders to bring matters before special stockholder meetings, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our Board of Directors. These procedures specify the information stockholders must include in their notice and the timeframe in which they must give us notice. At a special stockholder meeting, stockholders may only consider nominations or proposals specified in the notice of meeting. A special stockholder meeting for any purpose may only be called by our Board of Directors, our Chairman, our Chief Executive Officer or, prior to the date that Platinum no longer beneficially owns a majority of the voting power of all of our capital stock, the holders of a majority of the voting power of our then outstanding voting stock. 

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Our amended and restated bylaws do not give the Board of Directors the power to approve or disapprove stockholder nominations of candidates or proposals regarding other business to be conducted at a meeting. However, our amended and restated bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of that item of business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed. These provisions may discourage or deter a potential third party from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company. 

The foregoing provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and the Delaware General Corporation Law may have the effect of deterring or discouraging hostile takeovers or delaying changes in control of the company. 

Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers 

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws limit our directors’ and officers’ liability to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware corporate law. Specifically, our directors and officers are not liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty by a director or officer, except for liability: 


	
 
	
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for any breach of the director’s or officer’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders; 





	
 
	
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for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law; 





	
 
	
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under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or 





	
 
	
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for any transaction from which a director or officer derives an improper personal benefit. 




If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors or officers, then the liability of a director or officer of the Company shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended. 

The provision regarding indemnification of our directors and officers in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will generally not limit liability under state or federal securities laws. 

Delaware law and our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that we will, in certain situations, indemnify any person made or threatened to be made a party to a proceeding by reason of that person’s former or present official capacity with our company against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses including reasonable attorney’s fees. Any person is also entitled, subject to certain limitations, to payment or reimbursement of reasonable expenses in advance of the final disposition of the proceeding. In addition, Ryerson is party to certain indemnification agreements pursuant to which it has agreed to indemnify the employees who are party thereto. 

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions may also have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against directors and officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. In addition, your investment may be adversely affected to the extent that, in a class action or direct suit, we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions. 

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