EX-4.3 2 gden-ex43_162.htm EX-4.3

Exhibit 4.3

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Golden Entertainment, Inc. (“Golden,” “we,” “our” and “us”) has one class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock.

Description of Common Stock

General

The following summary of the terms of our common stock does not purport to be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation (the “articles of incorporation”), and our Fifth Amended and Restated Bylaws (the “bylaws”), which are filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated by reference herein. We encourage you to read our articles of incorporation and our bylaws for additional information.

Our articles of incorporation authorize us to issue 100,000,000 shares of capital stock, par value $0.01 per share, of which 7,500,000 have been designated as Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share.

Common Stock

Voting Rights

Each holder of record of our common stock is entitled to one vote for each share held on every matter properly submitted to the shareholders for their vote. Holders of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights.

Dividends

After satisfaction of the dividend rights of holders of preferred stock, holders of common stock are entitled ratably to any dividend declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available for this purpose.

Liquidation

Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, the holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably our net assets available, if any, after the payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any outstanding preferred stock.

Holder Rights and Preferences

Holders of our common stock have no redemption or conversion rights, no sinking fund provisions and no preemptive right to subscribe for or purchase additional shares of any class of our capital stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Fully P aid and N onassessable

All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable.

Certain Rights to Redeem our Securities

Our articles of incorporation require our shareholders to provide information that is requested by authorities that regulate our current or proposed gaming operations. Our articles of incorporation also permit us to redeem the securities held by persons whose status as a security holder, in the opinion of our board of directors, jeopardizes existing gaming licenses or approvals of Golden or its subsidiaries. The price paid for these securities is, in general, the average closing price for the 30 trading days prior to giving notice of redemption.

Anti-Takeover Effects of Certain Provisions of Minnesota Law and Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws

Certain provisions of Minnesota law and our articles of incorporation and bylaws described below could have an anti-takeover effect. These provisions are intended to provide management flexibility, to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors and in the policies formulated by our board of directors and to discourage an unsolicited takeover if our board of directors determines that such a takeover is not in our best interests or the best interests of our shareholders. However, these provisions could have the effect of discouraging certain attempts to acquire us that could deprive our shareholders of opportunities to sell their shares of our stock at higher values. These provisions are designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors. We believe that the benefits of the increased protection of our potential ability to negotiate with the proponent of an unfriendly or unsolicited proposal to acquire or restructure us outweigh the disadvantages of discouraging these proposals because negotiation of these proposals could result in an improvement of their terms.

Minnesota Anti-Takeover Provisions

Although we have amended our bylaws to provide that Section 302A.671 (Control Share Acquisitions) of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act does not apply to or govern us, we remain subject to Section 302A.673 (Business Combinations) of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act. Section 302A.673 of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act generally prohibits any business combination by us, or any of our subsidiaries, with an interested shareholder, which means any shareholder that purchases 10% or more of our voting shares within four years following such interested shareholder’s share acquisition date, unless the business combination is approved by a committee of disinterested members of our board of directors before the interested shareholder’s share acquisition date.

Section 302A.675 of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act generally prohibits an offeror from acquiring our shares within two years following the offeror’s last purchase of our shares pursuant to a takeover offer with respect to that class, unless our shareholders are able to sell their shares to the offeror upon substantially equivalent terms as those provided in the earlier takeover offer. This statute will not apply if the acquisition of shares is approved by a committee of disinterested members of our board of directors before the purchase of any shares by the offeror pursuant to the earlier takeover offer.

Preferred Stock

Although none of the 7,500,000 shares of our capital stock designated as Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are outstanding or issuable, our board of directors has the authority, without action by our shareholders, to designate and issue shares of capital stock in one or more class or series. The board of directors may also designate the rights, preferences and privileges of each series or class of capital stock; any or all of which may be greater than the rights of the common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock upon the rights of holders of the common stock until the board of directors determines the specific rights of the holders of the preferred stock. However, these effects might include:

| • | restricting dividends on the common stock;

| • | diluting the voting power of the common stock;

| • | impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock; and

| • | delaying or preventing a change in control of our company without further action by the shareholders.

Our ability to issue preferred stock, or rights to purchase such shares, could discourage an unsolicited acquisition proposal. For example, we could impede a business combination by issuing a series of preferred stock containing, among other rights and preferences, class voting rights that would enable the holders of such preferred stock to block a business combination transaction. Alternatively, we could facilitate a business combination transaction by issuing a series of preferred stock having sufficient voting rights to provide a required percentage vote of the shareholders. Additionally, under certain circumstances, our issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock. Although our board of directors is required to make any determination to issue any preferred stock based on its judgment as to the best interests of our shareholders, our board of directors could act in a manner that would discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction that some, or a majority, of our shareholders might believe to be in their best interests or in which shareholders might receive a premium for their stock over prevailing market prices of such stock. Our board of directors does not at present intend to seek shareholder approval prior to any issuance of currently authorized stock, unless otherwise required by law or applicable stock exchange requirements.

Shareholder Meetings

Our bylaws provide that a special meeting of shareholders may be called only by our Chief Executive Officer, by a Vice-President in the absence of our Chief Executive Officer, by our Chief Financial Officer, by the Board of Directors or any two or more members thereof, or by one or more shareholders holding ten percent (10%) or more of our issued and outstanding voting shares.

Requirements for Advance Notification of Shareholder Nominations and Proposals

Our bylaws establish advance notice procedures with respect to shareholder proposals to be brought before a shareholder meeting and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of the board of directors or a committee designated by the board of directors.

Share holders Not Entitled to Cumulative Voting

Our articles of incorporation do not permit shareholders to cumulate their votes in the election of directors. Accordingly, the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they choose, other than any directors that holders of our preferred stock may be entitled to elect.

Choice of Forum

Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Minnesota Business Corporation Act, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine, shall be a state or federal court located within the state of Minnesota, in all cases subject to the court’s having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants. This exclusive forum provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. To the extent that any such claims may be based upon federal law claims, Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. Furthermore, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. It is possible that a court of law could rule that the choice of forum provision contained in our bylaws is inapplicable or unenforceable if it is challenged in a proceeding or otherwise.

Listing

Our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “GDEN.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Broadridge Corporate Issuer Solutions, Inc.