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Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES 
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE 
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

The following summary describes the common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the Common Stock”), of Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) which are the only securities of the Company registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

The summary of the general terms and provisions of our Common Stock set forth below does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified by reference to the Company’s Fourth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate”) and Third Amended and Restated By-laws (“By-laws”), as well as the Swift Stockholders Agreement (as defined below) and the Knight Stockholders Agreements (as defined below). For additional information, please read the Certificate, By-laws, the Swift Stockholders Agreement, the Knight Stockholders Agreements and the applicable provisions of the General Corporation Law of Delaware (the “DGCL”).

Authorized Shares of Capital Stock

    Our Certificate authorizes us to issue 500,000,000 shares of Common Stock and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, each par value $0.01 per share.

Common Stock

The holders of the Common Stock have and possess all rights pertaining to the capital stock of the Company, subject to the preferences, qualifications, limitations, voting rights and restrictions with respect to any one or more series of preferred stock of the Company that may be issued with any preference or priority over the Common Stock.

Voting

Except as may be provided for under the terms of any one or more series of preferred stock that may in the future be issued, the holders of our Common Stock have the sole power to vote for the election of directors and for all other purposes.

No holder of our Common Stock has the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors or for any other purpose.

Dividends

Except as otherwise provided by law or under the terms of any one or more series of preferred stock that may in the future be issued, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to receive such dividends and other distributions in cash, stock or property of the Company as from time to time may be declared by our board of directors.

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Exhibit 4.1

Liquidation

In the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company, whether voluntary or involuntary, subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of any one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding, the holders of our Common Stock are entitled to share ratably according to the number of shares held by them in all assets of the Company available for distribution to its stockholders.

Preemptive or Similar Rights

No holder of our Common Stock has any preferential or preemptive rights.

Takeover Defense

Authorized Shares

The authorized but unissued shares of our Common Stock and preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. 

Our board of directors has the sole authority to determine the terms of any one or more series of preferred stock, including voting rights, dividend rates, conversion and redemption rights and liquidation preferences. 

Classified Board of Directors

Our classified board structure will be phased-out over a three-year period beginning at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, as follows:

•The Class I directors whose terms expire at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will continue to serve until the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and any director nominees at the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will stand for election to two-year terms expiring at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders; 

•The Class II directors whose terms expire at the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will continue to serve until the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and any director nominees at the 2022 Annual Meeting will stand for election to one-year terms expiring at the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders; and 

•Beginning with the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, our board of directors will no longer be classified and all director nominees will stand for election annually.
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Exhibit 4.1

Director Removal

Until the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, by virtue of our classified board structure, under the DGCL our directors can only be removed by stockholders for cause and then only by the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of the issued and outstanding Common Stock, subject to the rights, if any, of the holders of any one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding. From and after the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, any director may be removed from office, with or without cause, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority in voting power of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the Company entitled to vote in the election of directors.  

Requirements for Advance Notification of Stockholder Nominations

Our Certificate and By-laws 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 our board of directors.

Stockholder Meetings

Our Certificate and By-laws provide that special meetings of the stockholders may be called for any purpose or purposes at any time by a majority of our board of directors or by the Chairman of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer or our lead independent director, if any. In addition, our Certificate provides that a holder, or a group of holders, holding at least 20% of our outstanding Common Stock may cause the Company to call a special meeting of the stockholders for any purpose or purposes at any time subject to certain restrictions.

Action by Stockholders Without a Meeting

Our Certificate provides that any action required or permitted to be taken at a meeting of the stockholders of the Company may be taken without a meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by all of the stockholders of the Company entitled to vote with respect to the subject matter thereof.

No Cumulative Voting

The DGCL provides that stockholders are not entitled to the right to cumulate votes in the election of directors unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our Certificate and By-Laws do not provide for cumulative voting in the election of directors.

Exclusive Jurisdiction

Our Certificate provides that the Delaware Court of Chancery is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty and any action asserting a claim pursuant to the DGCL, our Certificate or By-laws or under the internal affairs doctrine.
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Exhibit 4.1

Section 203

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:

•before such date, 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 began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) 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

•on or after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

In general, Section 203 defines business combination to include the following:

•any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

•any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder;

•subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;

•any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or

•the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits by or through the corporation.

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Exhibit 4.1

In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.

A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of Section 203 with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its certificate of incorporation or by-laws resulting from amendments approved by holders of at least a majority of the corporation’s outstanding voting shares. The Company has not to elected to “opt out” of Section 203.

Proxy Access Provision of Our By-laws

    Our By-Laws permit a stockholder, or a group of up to 20 stockholders, owning 3% or more of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock continuously for at least three years to nominate and include in the Company’s proxy materials director nominees not to exceed the greater of (i) 20% of our board of directors or (ii) two directors, provided that the stockholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy the procedural and eligibility requirements specified in our By-laws.

Swift Stockholders Agreement

On April 9, 2017, in connection with the execution of the merger agreement between Knight Transportation, Inc. and Swift Transportation Company (renamed Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. in the merger), Jerry Moyes, Vickie Moyes, the Jerry and Vickie Moyes Family Trust Dated 12/11/87, and two of Mr. and Mrs. Moyes’ adult children (collectively, the “Swift Supporting Stockholders”) and Swift Transportation Company entered into a stockholders agreements (the “Swift Stockholders Agreement”).

Pursuant to the terms of the Swift Stockholders Agreement, except as otherwise provided therein, in connection with each annual meeting of stockholders or other meeting of stockholders of the Company at which directors are elected occurring during the period of time between the effective time of the merger and the time that the Swift Supporting Stockholders collective beneficial ownership percentage of the Company (the “Moyes Percentage Interest”) first drops below 5% (the “Designation Period”) (i) Jerry Moyes (or his successor) shall have the right to designate for nomination by the board of directors for election as director(s) up to two individuals selected by Jerry Moyes (or his successor) and approved by the board of directors for election or appointment as a director (each, a “Qualified Designee”), such approval not to be unreasonably withheld or conditioned, (ii) the board of directors shall include any Qualified Designee(s) designated in accordance with clause (i) above in the slate of nominees nominated by the board of directors for election at such meeting and recommend that the Company’s stockholders vote in favor of the election of such Qualified Designee(s) at such meeting and (iii) the Company shall solicit from its stockholders eligible to vote for the election of directors proxies in favor of the election of such Qualified Designee(s) as directors. In accordance with the Swift Stockholders Agreement, one of the Qualified Designees must be independent (as defined in the Swift Stockholders Agreement). The number of Qualified Designees that Jerry Moyes has 
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Exhibit 4.1

the right to designate is reduced to one if the Swift Supporting Stockholders collective beneficial ownership percentage of the Company (the “Moyes Percentage Interest”) drops below 12.5%. In any event, the number of Qualified Designees that Jerry Moyes has the right to designate is reduced by the number of Qualified Designees already serving on the board with a term in office that extends beyond the applicable meeting.

In addition, without the prior written consent of the majority of the directors of the Company (excluding those directors designated by Jerry Moyes), during any period after the closing of the transaction in which the Moyes Percentage Interest is equal to or in excess of 5% (the “Moyes Restricted Period”), each Swift Supporting Stockholder shall not, and shall cause certain entities in which it holds the sole voting power (the “Specified Entities”) and its controlled affiliates and his, her or its or his, her or its controlled affiliates’ or the Specified Entities’ respective advisors, agents and representatives (in each case, acting on such Swift Supporting Stockholder’s or any such affiliate’s or Specified Entity’s behalf) not to, directly or indirectly (including by means of any derivative instrument, through one or more intermediaries or otherwise), acquire, agree to acquire, or make a proposal to acquire beneficial ownership of any outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company if, after giving effect to such acquisition, the Moyes Percentage Interest would exceed by more than two percentage points the Moyes Percentage Interest as of immediately after the effective time of the merger; provided that the foregoing does not prohibit the receipt by any Swift Supporting Stockholder of a grant of equity securities issued to him or her by the Company in his or her capacity as an officer, director or employee of the Company.

Further, the Swift Supporting Stockholders agree that, during the Restricted Period, without the prior written consent of the majority of the directors of the Company (excluding those directors designated by Jerry Moyes), each Swift Supporting Stockholder shall not, and shall cause his, her or its controlled affiliates and the Specified Entities and his, her or its or his, her or its controlled affiliates’ and the Specified Entities’ respective advisors, agents and representatives (in each case, acting on such Swift Supporting Stockholder’s or any such affiliate’s or Specified Entity’s behalf):

•seek, make or take any action to solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage, any offer or proposal for, or any indication of interest in, a merger, consolidation, tender or exchange offer, sale or purchase of assets or securities or other business combination or any dissolution, liquidation, restructuring, recapitalization or similar transaction in each case involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the acquisition of any equity interest in, or a substantial portion of the assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than an acquisition of beneficial ownership permitted by the Swift Stockholders Agreement);

•form or join or in any way participate in a “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act with respect to any outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the 
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Exhibit 4.1

Company (other than a group composed solely of Swift Supporting Stockholders or any Specified Entities);

•make, or direct any person to make or in any way participate in (including announcing its intention to vote with any person), or direct anyone to participate in, directly or indirectly, any “solicitation” of  “proxies” to vote (as such terms are used in the rules of the SEC) any outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company or to take stockholder action by written consent, except as expressly contemplated in Section 2.01 of the Swift Stockholders Agreement;

•call or request the calling of a meeting of the Company’s stockholders, submit any proposal for action by the stockholders of the Company, request the removal of any member of the board of directors or nominate candidates for election to the board of directors;

•make a claim or otherwise commence litigation against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective directors, officers or employees (provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit a Swift Supporting Stockholder or any of its, his or her affiliates from making a claim or otherwise commencing litigation against the Company or any of its subsidiaries to enforce rights (i) under legally binding contracts it, he or she has entered with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (ii) relating to indemnification by the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to their articles of incorporation, certificate of incorporation, bylaws or similar governing document);

•make any public statement that disparages the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or businesses;

•publicly disclose any intention, plan or arrangement inconsistent with the foregoing or make any public statement or disclosure regarding any of the matters set forth in Article III of the Swift Stockholders Agreement; or

•publicly request, propose or otherwise seek an amendment or waiver of the provisions of Article III of the Swift Stockholders Agreement.

Also, the Swift Supporting Stockholders agree that, during the Moyes Restricted Period, any transfer by any Swift Supporting Stockholder or Specified Entity of outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company shall be subject to the following limitations:

•no such shares may be transferred to any person or “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act, if, after giving effect to such transfer such person or “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act would, to the knowledge of any Swift Supporting Stockholder, beneficially own, or have the 
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right to acquire, 7% or more of the voting power of the Company, unless such transfer is to any member of the family of a Swift Supporting Stockholder, but only if such family member agrees to be bound by the terms of the applicable Swift Stockholders Agreement as a stockholder and execute a joinder reasonably satisfactory to the Company at the time of such transfer;

•no such shares may be transferred to any competitor of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (as reasonably determined by the Company); and

•if such transfer is an open market sale, such transfer shall be made in accordance with the volume and manner of sale restrictions under Paragraphs (e)(1) and (f) of Rule 144 under the Securities Act (regardless of whether the volume and manner of sale restrictions therein are otherwise applicable).

The foregoing restrictions on transfer do not apply to (i) sales under the registration rights agreement between Jerry Moyes, Swift Transportation Company, and the other parties thereto dated December 21, 2010, (ii) transfers pursuant to any offer or transaction approved or recommended by a majority of the directors of the Company (excluding those directors designated by Jerry Moyes) or (iii) certain continuations, renewals or replacements of specified hedging and pledging transactions.

In particular, so long as Jerry Moyes is a director of the Company or is otherwise subject to any trading or pledging policy, he will be permitted to (i) maintain existing hedging and pledging arrangements and (ii) to the extent necessary to continue, renew or replace any such agreement, hedge or pledge additional shares in accordance with the terms of such continuation, renewal or replacement agreements so long as the aggregate shares covered by such continuation, renewal or replacement agreement do not exceed the number of shares necessary to continue, renew or replace the existing agreements. Accordingly, as part of these additional transactions, Jerry Moyes may re-allocate pledged or hedged shares among different types or arrangements, such as loans or variable prepaid forward contracts, may enter into alternative hedging and pledging arrangements and may increase the aggregate number of shares subject to these arrangements.

In addition, pursuant to the terms of the Swift Stockholders Agreement, at any meeting of the stockholders of the Company and in connection with any proposed action by the stockholders of the Company, in each case where the record date therefor occurs during the Restricted Period (other than with respect to any stockholder vote taken to approve a sale of the Company), (i) each Swift Supporting Stockholder shall, and shall cause the Specified Entities to, with respect to each such meeting of stockholders of the Company, attend in person or by proxy with respect to all outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company over which such Swift Supporting Stockholder, or any Specified Entity, has voting power for purposes of establishing a quorum, (ii) each Swift Supporting Stockholder shall, and shall cause the Specified Entities to, vote or cause to be voted, or otherwise act or cause an action to be taken with respect to, all such Swift Supporting Stockholder’s Excess Shares (as defined below), if any, in the manner determined by the voting 
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Exhibit 4.1

committee (initially consisting of Jerry Moyes, Kevin Knight and Gary Knight, with each committee member entitled to appoint his respective successor, subject to the approval of certain directors of the Company), so long as the voting committee’s determination is communicated to such Swift Supporting Stockholder at least three (3) business days prior to the applicable meeting or the last day for the taking of the proposed action and (iii) each Swift Supporting Stockholder may vote or otherwise act or cause to be voted or for action to be taken with respect to, all of such Swift Supporting Stockholder’s voting power (other than the voting power represented by the Excess Shares) in such Swift Supporting Stockholder’s discretion. If as of the record date with respect to any meeting of stockholders or other proposed action by stockholders, the Moyes Percentage Interest exceeds 12.5%, the “Excess Shares” of each Swift Supporting Stockholder and Specified Entity shall be, with respect to such meeting or other proposed action, a number of outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company equal to the product of  (i) the number of outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company then beneficially owned by such Swift Supporting Stockholder or Specified Entity, as applicable, and (ii) a fraction the numerator of which shall be the amount by which the Moyes Percentage Interest exceeds 12.5% and the denominator of which shall be the Moyes Percentage Interest; if as of the record date with respect to any meeting of stockholders or other proposed action by stockholders, the Moyes Percentage Interest is equal to or less than 12.5%, the “Excess Shares” shall be zero for all Swift Supporting Stockholders and Specified Entities.

Under the Swift Stockholders Agreement, the Company is required to promptly take any action reasonably requested by any Swift Supporting Stockholder to waive any “corporate opportunity” or similar right or interest of the Company with respect to, and to waive any conflict of interest arising from, such Swift Supporting Stockholder’s relationship with Central Freight Lines, Inc. 

Knight Stockholders Agreements 

On April 9, 2017, in connection with the execution of the merger agreement between Knight Transportation, Inc. and Swift Transportation Company (renamed Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. in the merger), Kevin P. Knight and The Kevin and Sydney Knight Revocable Living Trust dated March 25, 1994, as amended (together, the “Kevin Knight Supporting Stockholders”), Gary J. Knight and The Gary J. Knight Revocable Living Trust dated May 19, 1993, as amended (together, the “Gary Knight Supporting Stockholders” and collectively with the Kevin Knight Supporting Stockholders, the “Knight Supporting Stockholders”) and Swift Transportation Company entered into stockholders agreements (together, the “Knight Stockholders Agreements”).

Pursuant to the terms of the Knight Stockholders Agreements, each of the Gary Knight Supporting Stockholders and the Kevin Knight Supporting Stockholders agrees that, during any period after the completion of the merger in which either the Gary Knight Supporting Stockholders or the Kevin Knight Supporting Stockholders own a percentage interest of the outstanding Company shares equal to or in excess of 5% (referred to as the “Restricted Period”), the Gary Knight Supporting Stockholders or the Kevin Knight Supporting Stockholders, as 
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applicable, shall not, and shall cause their controlled affiliates and their controlled affiliates’ respective advisors, agents and representatives (in each case, acting on such stockholder’s or any such affiliate’s behalf) not to, directly or indirectly (including by means of any derivative instrument, through one or more intermediaries or otherwise), acquire, agree to acquire, or make a proposal to acquire beneficial ownership of any outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company if, after giving effect to such acquisition, the Gary Knight Supporting Stockholders or the Kevin Knight Supporting Stockholders, as applicable, would hold a percentage interest of the outstanding Company shares that would exceed fifteen percent (15%); provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit the receipt by any Knight Supporting Stockholder of a grant of equity securities issued to him or her by the Company in his or her capacity as an officer, director or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries.

    In addition, the Knight Supporting Stockholders agree that, during the Restricted Period, without the prior approval of the board of directors of the Company, each Knight Supporting Stockholder shall not, and shall cause his, her or its controlled affiliates and his, her or its or his, her or its controlled affiliates’ respective advisors, agents and representatives (in each case, acting on such Knight Supporting Stockholder’s or any such affiliate’s behalf):

•seek, make or take any action to solicit, initiate or knowingly encourage, any offer or proposal for, or any indication of interest in, a merger, consolidation, tender or exchange offer, sale or purchase of assets or securities or other business combination or any dissolution, liquidation, restructuring, recapitalization or similar transaction in each case involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries or the acquisition of any equity interest in, or a substantial portion of the assets of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (other than an acquisition of beneficial ownership permitted by the Knight Stockholders Agreements);

•form or join or in any way participate in a “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act with respect to any outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company;

•make, or direct any person to make or in any way participate in (including announcing its intention to vote with any person), or direct anyone to participate in, directly or indirectly, any “solicitation” of  “proxies” to vote (as such terms are used in the rules of the SEC) any outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company or to take stockholder action by written consent;

•call or request the calling of a meeting of the Company’s stockholders, submit any proposal for action by the stockholders of the Company, request the removal of any member of the board of directors or nominate candidates for election to the board of directors;

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Exhibit 4.1

•make a claim or otherwise commence litigation against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective directors, officers or employees (provided that the foregoing shall not prohibit a Knight Supporting Stockholder or any of its, his or her affiliates from making a claim or otherwise commencing litigation against the Company or any of its subsidiaries to enforce rights (i) under legally binding contracts it, he or she has entered with the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (ii) relating to indemnification by the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to their articles of incorporation, certificate of incorporation, bylaws or similar governing document);

•make any public statement that disparages the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective directors, officers, employees or businesses;

•publicly disclose any intention, plan or arrangement inconsistent with the foregoing or make any public statement or disclosure regarding any of the matters set forth in Article II of the Knight Stockholders Agreements; or

•publicly request, propose or otherwise seek an amendment or waiver of the provisions of Article II of the Knight Stockholders Agreements.

Also, the Knight Supporting Stockholders agree that, during the Restricted Period, any transfer by any Knight Supporting Stockholder of outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company having the right to vote generally in the election of directors of the Company shall be subject to the following limitations:

•no such shares may be transferred, to any person or “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act, if, after giving effect to such transfer such person or “group” as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act would, to the knowledge of any Knight Supporting Stockholder, beneficially own, or have the right to acquire, 7% or more of the voting power of the Company, unless such transfer is to any member of the family of a Knight Supporting Stockholder, but only if such family member agrees to be bound by the terms of the applicable Knight Stockholders Agreement as a stockholder and execute a joinder reasonably satisfactory to the Company at the time of such transfer;

•no such shares may be transferred to any competitor of the Company or any of its subsidiaries (as reasonably determined by the Company); and

•if such transfer is an open market sale, such transfer shall be made in accordance with the volume and manner of sale restrictions under Paragraphs (e)(1) and (f) of Rule 144 under the Securities Act (regardless of whether the volume and manner of sale restrictions therein are otherwise applicable).

Other Matters

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Exhibit 4.1

Number of Directors

Our Certificate and By-Laws provide that the size of our board of directors may be determined from time to time by resolution of our board of directors. Subject to the terms of any or more series of preferred stock that may in the future be issued, any vacancy on our board of directors that results from an increase in the number of directors may be filled by a majority of our board of directors then in office, provided that a quorum is present, and any other vacancy occurring on our board of directors may be filled by a majority of our board of directors then in office, even if less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director.  

Limitation on Director’s Liability

Our Certificate provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law, we will indemnify and advance expenses of any director or officer who is made or threatened to be made a party to any proceeding by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or officer of the Company. In addition, no director or officer of the Company is liable to the Company or our stockholders for monetary damages with respect to any transaction, occurrence or course of conduct, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL. Furthermore, the Certificate provides that the Company has the power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was or has agreed to become a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company against any liability asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her or on his or her behalf in such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the Company would have the power to indemnify him or her against such liability.

Listing

    Our Common Stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol “KNX.”
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Exhibit 4.5
Description of Registrant’s Securities

The following is a description of each class of securities of Carvana Co. (“we,” “our,” the “Company”) that is registered under Section 12 of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1034, as amended, and does not purport to be complete. For a complete description of the terms and provisions of such securities, refer to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (our “certificate”) and amended and restated by-laws (our “bylaws”), copies of which have been filed as Exhibit 3.1 and 3.2 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part.

General

Our certificate authorizes capital stock consisting of:

•500,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.001 per share;
•125,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.001 per share; and
•50,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, with a par value per share that may be established by our Board of Directors (our “Board”) in the applicable certificate of designations.

As of February 18, 2022, we had 90,100,981 and 82,900,276.04 shares of our Class A common stock and Class B common stock issued and outstanding, respectively.

Class A Common Stock

Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. The holders of our Class A common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.

Holders of shares of our Class A common stock will vote together with holders of our Class B common stock as a single class on all matters presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except for certain amendments to our certificate described below or as otherwise required by applicable law or the certificate.

Holders of shares of our Class A common stock are entitled to receive dividends when and if declared by our Board out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to any restrictions on the payment of dividends imposed by the terms of any outstanding preferred stock.

Upon our dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors and to the holders of preferred stock having liquidation preferences, if any, the holders of shares of our Class A common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution.

Holders of shares of our Class A common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class A common stock.

Class B Common Stock

Each holder of Class B common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of Class B Common Stock held of record by such holder; provided that each holder that, together with its affiliates (which, in the case of the Garcia Parties, includes each other Garcia Party), (1) beneficially owns 50% or more of the LLC Units of Carvana Group, LLC (“LLC Units”) and (2) as of the applicable record date or other date of determination maintains direct or indirect beneficial ownership of an aggregate of at least 25% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (determined assuming that each Class A Unit held by holders other than the Carvana Co. Sub LLC (“Carvana Sub”) were exchanged for Class A common stock), is entitled to ten votes for each share of Class B common stock held of record by such holder. Each other share of our Class B common stock entitles its holder to one vote on all matters to 

be voted on by stockholders generally. The Garcia Parties holding shares of our Class B common stock will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders when the Garcia Parties’ direct or indirect beneficial ownership of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (determined on an as-exchanged basis assuming that all of the LLC Units were exchanged for Class A common stock) is less than 25%. The holders of our Class B common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.

Holders of shares of our Class B common stock will vote together with holders of our Class A common stock as a single class on all matters presented to our stockholders for their vote or approval, except for certain amendments to our certificate described below or as otherwise required by applicable law or the certificate.

Holders of our Class B common stock do not have any right to receive dividends or to receive a distribution upon dissolution or liquidation or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets. Additionally, holders of shares of our Class B common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the Class B common stock. Any amendment of our certificate that gives holders of our Class B common stock (1) any rights to receive dividends or any other kind of distribution, (2) any right to convert into or be exchanged for Class A common stock or (3) any other economic rights will require, in addition to stockholder approval, the affirmative vote of holders of our Class A common stock voting separately as a class.

Holders of Class A Units own 100% of our outstanding Class B common stock.

Preferred Stock

Under the terms of our certificate, our Board is authorized to direct us to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our Board has the discretion to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock.

The purpose of authorizing our Board to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions, future financings and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or could discourage a third party from seeking to acquire, a majority of our outstanding voting stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of our Class A common stock by restricting dividends on the Class A common stock, diluting the voting power of the Class A common stock or subordinating the liquidation rights of the Class A common stock. As a result of these or other factors, the issuance of preferred stock could have an adverse impact on the market price of our Class A common stock.

Forum Selection

Our certificate provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or, if the Court of Chancery does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware) will be the sole and exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers or other employees to us or our stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim against the company or any director or officer of the company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate or our bylaws or (4) any other action asserting a claim against the company or any director or officer of the company that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Although we believe these provisions benefit us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law for the specified types of actions and proceedings, the provisions may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against us or our directors and officers. 

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Our certificate, bylaws and the DGCL contain provisions, which are summarized in the following paragraphs, that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our Board. These 

provisions are intended to avoid costly takeover battles, reduce our vulnerability to a hostile change of control and enhance the ability of our Board to maximize stockholder value in connection with any unsolicited offer to acquire us. However, these provisions may have an anti-takeover effect and may delay, deter or prevent a merger or acquisition of us by means of a tender offer, a proxy contest or other takeover attempt that a stockholder might consider in its best interest, including those attempts that might result in a premium over the prevailing market price for the shares of Class A common stock held by stockholders.

These provisions include:

Dual Class of Common Stock. As described above in “— Class A Common Stock “ and “— Class B Common Stock,” our certificate provides for a dual class common stock structure pursuant to which the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote for so long as the Garcia Parties maintain, in the aggregate, direct or indirect beneficial ownership of at least 25% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (determined on an as-exchanged basis assuming that all of the Class A Units were exchanged for Class A common stock), thereby giving the Garcia Parties the ability to control the outcome of matters requiring stockholder approval, even if they own significantly less than a majority of the shares of our outstanding Class A and Class B common stock, including the election of directors and significant corporate transactions, such as a merger or other sale of our company or its assets, and current investors, executives and employees with the ability to exercise significant influence over those matters.

Classified Board. Our certificate provides that our Board will be divided into three classes of directors, with the classes as nearly equal in number as possible, and with the directors serving three-year terms. As a result, approximately one-third of our Board will be elected each year. The classification of directors will have the effect of making it more difficult for stockholders to change the composition of our Board. Our certificate will also provide that, subject to any rights of holders of preferred stock to elect additional directors under specified circumstances, the number of directors will be fixed exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by our Board. Our Board currently has five members.

Stockholder Action by Written Consent. Our certificate precludes stockholder action by written consent at any time the Garcia Parties are no longer entitled to ten votes for each share of Class B common stock held of record on all matters submitted to a vote.

Special Meetings of Stockholders. Except as required by law, special meetings of our stockholders shall be called at any time only by or at the direction of our Board or the chairman of our Board; provided, however, (1) at any time when the Garcia Parties beneficially owns any of our Class B common stock, special meetings of our stockholders shall also be called by our Board or the chairman of our Board at the request of the Garcia Parties and (2) at any time when the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, special meetings of our stockholders shall also be called by holders of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote on all matters to be voted on by stockholders generally, voting together as a single class. Our bylaws prohibit the conduct of any business at a special meeting other than as specified in the notice for such meeting. These provisions may have the effect of deferring, delaying or discouraging hostile takeovers, or changes in control or management of us.

Advance Notice Procedures. Our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our Board; provided, however, such advance notice procedure will not apply to the Garcia Parties. Stockholders at an annual meeting will only be able to consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our Board or by a stockholder who was a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has given our Secretary timely written notice, in proper form, of the stockholder’s intention to bring that business before the meeting. Although the bylaws will not give our 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, the bylaws may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the proper procedures are not followed or may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.

Removal of Directors; Vacancies. Directors may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class; provided, however, at any time when the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are no longer entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, directors may only be removed for cause, and only by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class. In addition, our certificate will also provide that, subject to the rights granted to one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding, any newly created directorship on our Board that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancies on our Board will be filled at any time when the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, either (1) upon the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class or (2) if no such appointment has been made by the tenth day following the occurrence of the vacancy, or if such shareholders holding a majority in voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock notify our Board that no appointment shall be made, by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining director. At any time the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are no longer entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, any newly created directorship on our Board that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring on our Board will be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors, even if less than a quorum, or by the sole remaining director.

Supermajority Approval Requirements. Our Board is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend, change, add to, rescind or repeal, in whole or in part, our bylaws without a stockholder vote in any matter not inconsistent with the laws of the State of Delaware and our certificate. For as long as the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our stockholders will require the affirmative vote of a majority in voting power of the outstanding shares of our stock entitled to vote on such amendment, alteration, change, addition, rescission or repeal. When the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are no longer entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, any amendment, alteration, rescission or repeal of our bylaws by our stockholders will require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock of the company entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class.

The DGCL provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class, is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation, unless the certificate requires a greater percentage.

At any time when the Garcia Parties holding our Class B common stock are no longer entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote, the following provisions in our certificate may be amended, altered, repealed or rescinded only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 66 2/3% (as opposed to a majority threshold that would apply when holders of our Class B common stock are entitled to ten votes for each share held of record on all matters submitted to a vote) in voting power of all the then-outstanding shares of stock entitled to vote thereon, voting together as a single class:

•the provision requiring a 66 2/3% supermajority vote for stockholders to amend our bylaws;
•the provisions providing for a classified Board (the election and term of our directors);
•the provisions regarding resignation and removal of directors;
•the provisions regarding entering into business combinations with interested stockholders;
•the provisions regarding stockholder action by written consent;
•the provisions regarding calling special meetings of stockholders;
•the provisions regarding filling vacancies on our Board and newly created directorships;
•the provisions eliminating monetary damages for breaches of fiduciary duty by a director; and
•the amendment provision requiring that the above provisions be amended only with a 66 2/3% supermajority vote.

The combination of the classification of our Board, the lack of cumulative voting and the supermajority voting requirements will make it more difficult for our existing stockholders to replace our Board as well as for another 

party to obtain control of us by replacing our Board. Because our Board has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management.

Authorized but Unissued Shares. Our authorized but unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to stock exchange rules. These additional shares may be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings to raise additional capital, corporate acquisitions and employee benefit plans. One of the effects of the existence of authorized but unissued common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our Board to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of the company by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise, and thereby protect the continuity of our management and possibly deprive our stockholders of opportunities to sell their shares of common stock at prices higher than prevailing market prices.

Business Combinations. We are not subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL. 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 the person becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes, among other things, 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 did own within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock.

Under Section 203, a business combination between a corporation and an interested stockholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions: (1) before the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the Board approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (2) 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 voting stock outstanding, shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and employee stock plans, in some instances; or (3) at or after the time the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the business combination was approved by the Board 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. 

A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its certificate or bylaws resulting from a stockholders’ amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares.

We have opted out of Section 203; however, our certificate contains similar provisions providing that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” with any “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

•prior to such time, our Board approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
•upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding certain shares; or
•at or subsequent to that time, the business combination is approved by our Board and by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 66 2/3% of our outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

      Under certain circumstances, this provision will make it more difficult for a person who would be an “interested stockholder” to effect various business combinations with the company for a three-year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring the company to negotiate in advance with our Board because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if our Board approves either the business combination or the transaction which results in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder. These 

provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our Board and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions which stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Our certificate provides that the Garcia Parties, and any of their direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are a party, do not constitute “interested stockholders” for purposes of this provision.

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

The DGCL authorizes corporations to limit or eliminate the personal liability of directors to corporations and their stockholders for monetary damages for breaches of directors’ fiduciary duties, subject to certain exceptions. Our certificate of incorporation will include a provision that eliminates the personal liability of directors for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of these provisions will be to eliminate the rights of us and our stockholders, through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf, to recover monetary damages from a director for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, including breaches resulting from grossly negligent behavior. However, exculpation will not apply to any director if the director has acted in bad faith, knowingly or intentionally violated the law, authorized illegal dividends or redemptions or derived an improper benefit from his or her actions as a director.

Our bylaws provide that we must indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers to the fullest extent authorized by the DGCL. We also are expressly authorized to carry directors’ and officers’ liability insurance providing indemnification for our directors, officers and certain employees for some liabilities. We believe that these indemnification and advancement provisions and insurance will be useful to attract and retain qualified directors and officers.

The limitation of liability, indemnification and advancement provisions that will be included in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breaches of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may 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 we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

There is currently no pending material litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees for which indemnification is sought.

Corporate Opportunity Doctrine

Delaware law permits corporations to adopt provisions renouncing any interest or expectancy in certain opportunities that are presented to the corporation or its officers, directors or stockholders. Our certificate, to the maximum extent permitted from time to time by Delaware law, renounces any interest or expectancy that we have in, or right to be offered an opportunity to participate in, specified business opportunities that are from time to time presented to certain of our officers, directors or stockholders or their respective affiliates, other than those officers, directors, stockholders or affiliates acting in their capacity as our employee or director. Our certificate provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any director or stockholder who is not employed by us or our affiliates will not have any duty to refrain from (1) engaging in a corporate opportunity in the same or similar lines of business in which we or our affiliates now engage or propose to engage or (2) otherwise competing with us or our affiliates. In addition, to the fullest extent permitted by law, in the event that any director or stockholder, other than directors or stockholders acting in their capacity as our director or as a stockholder, acquires knowledge of a potential transaction or other business opportunity which may be a corporate opportunity for itself or himself or its or his affiliates or for us or our affiliates, such person will have no duty to communicate or offer such transaction or business opportunity to us or any of our affiliates and they may take any such opportunity for themselves or offer it to another person or entity. Our certificate will not renounce our interest in any business opportunity that is expressly offered to an employee director or employee in his or her capacity as a director or employee of Carvana Co. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no business opportunity will be deemed to be a potential corporate opportunity for us unless we would be permitted to undertake the opportunity under our certificate, we have sufficient financial resources to undertake the opportunity and the opportunity would be in line with our business.

Dissenters’ Rights of Appraisal and Payment

Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders will have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of Carvana Co. Pursuant to the DGCL, stockholders who properly request and perfect appraisal rights in connection with such merger or consolidation will have the right to receive payment of the fair value of their shares as determined by the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Stockholders’ Derivative Actions

Under the DGCL, any of our stockholders may bring an action in our name to procure a judgment in our favor, also known as a derivative action, provided that the stockholder bringing the action is a holder of our shares at the time of the transaction to which the action relates or such stockholder’s stock thereafter devolved by operation of law.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our Class A common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC. Its address is 6201 15th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11219.

Listing

Our Class A common stock is listed on the NYSE under the trading symbol “CVNA.”

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