EX-2.1 3 e6355_ex2-1.htm EXHIBIT 2.1

 

 

Exhibit 2.1

 

DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES

 

A summary of the material provisions governing our securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is provided below. This summary is not complete and should be read together with our memorandum and articles of association (the “Memorandum and Articles of Association”), a copy of which is filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange and Commission (the “SEC”). References herein to “we,” “us,” “our,” “WF” and the “Company” are to WF International Limited.

 

We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs are governed by our Articles and the Companies Act of the Cayman Islands, which we refer to as the Companies Act below (each as amended or modified from time to time). We had the following series of securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:

 

Title of Each Class   Trading symbol   Name of Each Exchange On Which Registered
Ordinary shares, par value $0.000001 per share*   WXM   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

 

*The Registrant has applied to list its ordinary shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “WXM” and the application is pending approval.

 

As provided in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, our authorized share capital consists of 49,000,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.000001 per share, and 1,000,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.000001 per share.

 

Ordinary Shares

 

General

 

All of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are fully paid and non-assessable. Certificates representing the ordinary shares are issued in registered form. We may not issue shares to bearer. Our shareholders who are non-residents of the Cayman Islands may freely hold and transfer their ordinary shares.

 

Dividends

 

The holders of our ordinary shares are entitled to such dividends as may be declared by our board of directors subject to the Companies Act. In addition, our shareholders may by ordinary resolution declare a dividend, but no dividend may exceed the amount recommended by our directors.

 

Voting Rights

 

Subject to any rights and restrictions for the time being attached to any shares, every shareholder present at a general meeting of our shareholders shall have (a) on a show of hands, one vote, and (b) on a poll, one vote for each share held by such shareholder. A resolution put to the vote of a general meeting shall be decided on a show of hands unless before, or on the declaration of the result of the show of hands, a poll is duly demanded. A poll may be demanded by (a) the chairman of such meeting or (b) any shareholder or shareholders present who, individually or collectively, hold at least 10% of the voting rights of all those who have a right to vote on the resolution.

 

 

 

A quorum required for a meeting of shareholders is two shareholders provided that if our company has only one shareholder the quorum should be that one shareholder present in person or by proxy. As a Cayman Islands exempted company, we are not obliged by the Companies Act to call shareholders’ annual general meetings. A general meeting of our shareholders may be called by our directors at any time or upon a requisition of shareholders holding at least 10% of the rights to vote at such general meeting, in which case the directors are obliged to call such meeting. Advance notice of at least five clear days is required for the convening of our general meetings unless such notice is waived in accordance with our Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

An ordinary resolution to be passed by the shareholders requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast in a general meeting, while a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds of the votes attaching to the ordinary shares cast in a general meeting. A special resolution is required for matters such as a change of name or amending the memorandum and articles of association. Holders of our ordinary shares may by ordinary resolution, among other things, make changes in the amount of our authorized share capital and consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of larger amount than our existing share capital and cancel any authorized but unissued shares.

 

Transfer of Ordinary Shares

 

Subject to the restrictions in our Memorandum and Articles of Association as set out below, any of our shareholders may transfer all or any of his or her ordinary shares by an instrument of transfer in the common form or any other form approved by our directors.

 

Our directors may, in their absolute discretion, refuse to register any transfer of any ordinary share without giving any reason for their refusal, and irrespective of whether the ordinary share is fully paid or our company has no lien over it.

 

If our directors refuse to register a transfer they shall, within two month after the date on which the transfer was lodged with our company, to the existing shareholder.

 

Our directors may suspend registration of the transfer of shares at such times and for such periods, not exceeding 30 days in any calendar year, as they determine.

 

Liquidation

 

Our company may be wound up voluntarily by a special resolution of our company (or, if our company is unable to pay its debts, by an ordinary resolution). If our company is wound up, the liquidator may, with the sanction of a special resolution of our company and any other sanction required by the Companies Act, divide amongst our shareholders in specie the whole or any part of the assets of our company and, for that purpose, value any assets and determine how the division should be carried out as between the shareholders or different classes of shareholders. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees for the benefit of the shareholders and those liable to contribute to the winding up.

 

Redemption, Repurchase and Surrender of Ordinary Shares

 

We may issue shares on terms that such shares are to be redeemed or liable to be redeemed, at our option or at the option of the shareholder holding those redeemable shares, on the terms and in the manner as our directors determine before the issue of those shares. Our company may also repurchase all or any of our shares including any redeemable shares on the terms and in the manner which our directors determine at the time of such repurchase. Under the Companies Act, the redemption or repurchase of any share may be paid out of our company’s profits or share premium account or out of the proceeds of a fresh issue of shares made for the purpose of such redemption or repurchase, or out of capital if our company will, immediately following such payment, be able to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. In addition, under the Companies Act, no such share may be redeemed or repurchased (a) unless it is fully paid up, (b) if such redemption or repurchase would result in there being no shares outstanding, or (c) our company has commenced liquidation. In addition, our company may accept the surrender of any fully paid share for no consideration.

 

 

 

Variation of Rights of Shares

 

If our share capital is divided into different classes of shares, unless the terms on which a class of shares was issued state otherwise, the rights attaching to a class of shares may only be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of the relevant class, or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of such class.

 

Issuance of Additional Shares

 

Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that, subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and subject to the provisions in our Memorandum and Articles of Association about the redemption and repurchase of shares, our directors have general and unconditional authority to allot, grant options over or otherwise deal with any unissued shares of the Company to such persons, at such times and on such terms and conditions as they may decide. No share may be issued at a discount except in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act.

 

Our directors may so deal with the unissued shares of the Company:

 

(a) either at a premium or at par;

 

(b) without or without preferred, deferred or other special rights or restrictions whether in regard to dividend, voting, return of capital or otherwise.

 

Anti-Takeover Provisions.

 

Some provisions of our Memorandum and Articles of Association may discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our company or management that shareholders may consider favorable, including provisions that authorize our board of directors to issue shares at such times and on such terms and conditions as they may decide and to designate the price, rights, preferences and restrictions of such shares without any further vote or action by our shareholders.

 

However, under Cayman Islands law, our directors may only exercise the rights and powers granted to them under our Memorandum and Articles of Association for a proper purpose and for what they believe in good faith to be in the best interests of our company.

 

Exempted Company

 

We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except that an exempted company:

 

  does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands;

 

  is not required to open its register of members for inspection;

 

  does not have to hold an annual general meeting;

 

  may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance);

 

 

 

  may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands;

 

  may register as a limited duration company; and

 

  may register as a segregated portfolio company.

 

“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on that shareholder’s shares of the company, except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil.

 

Comparison of Cayman Islands Corporate Law and U.S. Corporate Law

 

The Companies Act is derived, to a large extent, from the older Companies Acts of England but does not follow recent English statutory enactments, and accordingly there are significant differences between the Companies Act and the current Companies Act of England. In addition, the Companies Act differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of certain significant differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the comparable provisions of the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.

 

Mergers and Similar Arrangements. The Companies Act permits mergers and consolidations between Cayman Islands companies and between Cayman Islands companies and non-Cayman Islands companies. For these purposes, (i) “merger” means the merging of two or more constituent companies and the vesting of their undertaking, property and liabilities in one of such companies as the surviving company and (ii) a “consolidation” means the combination of two or more constituent companies into a consolidated company and the vesting of the undertaking, property and liabilities of such companies to the consolidated company. In order to effect such a merger or consolidation, the directors of each constituent company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation, which must then be authorized by (i) a special resolution of the shareholders of each constituent company, and (ii) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. The written plan of merger or consolidation must be filed with the Registrar of Companies together with a declaration as to the solvency of the consolidated or surviving company, a declaration as to the assets and liabilities of each constituent company and an undertaking that a copy of the certificate of merger or consolidation will be given to the members and creditors of each constituent company and that notification of the merger or consolidation will be published in the Cayman Islands Gazette. Dissenting shareholders have the right to be paid the fair value of their shares (which, if not agreed between the parties, will be determined by the Cayman Islands court) if they follow the required procedures set out in the Companies Act, subject to certain exceptions. The exercise of dissenter rights will preclude the exercise by the dissenting shareholder of any other rights to which he or she might otherwise be entitled by virtue of holding shares, save for the right to seek relief on the grounds that the merger or consolidation is void or unlawful. Court approval is not required for a merger or consolidation which is effected in compliance with these statutory procedures.

 

A merger between a Cayman parent company and its Cayman subsidiary or subsidiaries does not require authorization by a resolution of shareholders of that Cayman subsidiary if a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of that Cayman subsidiary to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. For this purpose, a company is a “parent” of a subsidiary if it holds issued shares that together represent at least ninety percent (90%) of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary.

 

The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest over a constituent company is required unless this requirement is waived by a court in the Cayman Islands.

 

 

 

Separate from the statutory provisions relating to mergers and consolidations, the Companies Act also contains provisions that facilitate the reconstruction and amalgamation of companies by way of schemes of arrangement, provided that the arrangement is approved by (a) 75% in value of the shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, or (b) a majority in number representing 75% in value of the creditors or each class of creditors, as the case may be, with whom the arrangement is to be made, that are, in each case, present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meetings, convened for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder has the right to express to the court the view that the transaction ought not to be approved, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands can be expected to approve the arrangement if it determines that:

 

  the statutory provisions as to the required majority vote have been met;

 

  the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question and the statutory majority are acting bona fide without coercion of the minority to promote interests adverse to those of the class;

 

  the arrangement is such that may be reasonably approved by an intelligent and honest man of that class acting in respect of his interest; and

 

  the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act.

 

The Companies Act also contains a statutory power of compulsory acquisition which may facilitate the “squeeze out” of dissentient minority shareholder upon a tender offer. When a tender offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares affected within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period commencing on the expiration of such four-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares to the offeror on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands but this is unlikely to succeed in the case of an offer which has been so approved unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith or collusion.

 

If an arrangement and reconstruction by way of scheme of arrangement is thus approved and sanctioned, or if a tender offer is made and accepted, in accordance with the foregoing statutory procedures, a dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights, save that objectors to a takeover offer may apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for various orders that the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has a broad discretion to make, which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of Delaware corporations, providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares.

 

Shareholders’ Suits. In principle, we will normally be the proper plaintiff to sue for a wrong done to us as a company, and as a general rule, a derivative action may ordinarily not be brought by a minority shareholder. However, based on English authority, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority in the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands courts can be expected (and have had occasion) to follow and apply the common law principles (namely the rule in Foss v. Harbottle and the exceptions thereto) so that a minority shareholder may be permitted to commence a class action against, or derivative actions in the name of, our company to challenge:

 

  an act which is ultra vires or illegal and is therefore incapable of ratification by the shareholders,

 

  act which constitutes a fraud against the minority where the wrongdoers are themselves in control of the company, and

 

  an act which requires a resolution with a qualified (or special) majority (i.e., more than a simple majority) which has not been obtained.

 

 

 

Indemnification of Directors and Executive Officers and Limitation of Liability. Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that we shall indemnify each of our existing or former secretary, directors (including alternate director), and other officer (including any investment adviser or an administrator or liquidator) and their personal representative against: (a) all actions, proceedings, costs, charges, expenses, losses, damages or liabilities incurred or sustained by the existing or former secretary or officer in or about the conduct of our company’s business or affairs or in the execution or discharge of the existing or former secretary’s or officer’s duties, powers, authorities or discretions; and (b) without limitation to paragraph (a), all costs, expenses, losses or liabilities incurred by the existing or former secretary or officer in defending (whether successfully or otherwise) any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings (whether threatened, pending or completed) concerning our company or its affairs in any court or tribunal, whether in the Cayman Islands or elsewhere. This standard of conduct is generally the same as permitted under the Delaware General Corporation Law for a Delaware corporation.

 

In addition, we have agreed to indemnify our independent directors, providing them with additional indemnification beyond that provided in our memorandum and articles of association.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers or persons controlling us under the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

 

Directors’ Fiduciary Duties. Under Delaware corporate law, a director of a Delaware corporation has a fiduciary duty to the corporation and its shareholders. This duty has two components: the duty of care and the duty of loyalty. The duty of care requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of, and disclose to shareholders, all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director acts in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. This duty prohibits self-dealing by a director and mandates that the best interest of the corporation and its shareholders take precedence over any interest possessed by a director, officer or controlling shareholder and not shared by the shareholders generally. In general, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Should such evidence be presented concerning a transaction by a director, the director must prove the procedural fairness of the transaction, and that the transaction was of fair value to the corporation.

 

As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a director of a Cayman Islands company is in the position of a fiduciary with respect to the company and therefore it is considered that he owes the following duties to the company—a duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the company, a duty not to make a personal profit based on his position as director (unless the company permits him to do so), a duty not to put himself in a position where the interests of the company conflict with his personal interest or his duty to a third party and a duty to exercise powers for the purpose for which such powers were intended. A director of a Cayman Islands company owes to the company a duty to act with skill and care. It was previously considered that a director need not exhibit in the performance of his duties a greater degree of skill than may reasonably be expected from a person of his knowledge and experience. However, English and Commonwealth courts have moved towards an objective standard with regard to the required skill and care and these authorities are likely to be followed in the Cayman Islands.

 

Shareholder Action by Written Consent. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may eliminate the right of shareholders to act by written consent by amendment to its certificate of incorporation. Cayman Islands law and our Memorandum and Articles of Association provide that shareholders may approve corporate matters by way of a unanimous written resolution signed by or on behalf of each shareholder who would have been entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting without a meeting being held.

 

 

 

Shareholder Proposals. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a shareholder has the right to put any proposal before the annual meeting of shareholders, provided it complies with the notice provisions in the governing documents. A special meeting may be called by the board of directors or any other person authorized to do so in the governing documents, but shareholders may be precluded from calling special meetings.

 

Cayman Islands law provides shareholders with only limited rights to requisition a general meeting, and does not provide shareholders with any right to put any proposal before a general meeting. However, these rights may be provided in a company’s articles of association. Our Memorandum and Articles of Association allow our shareholders holding at least 10% of the rights to vote at such shareholder’s meeting to requisition a shareholder’s meeting, in which case our directors should convene such meeting. Other than this right to requisition a shareholders’ meeting, our Memorandum and Articles of association do not provide our shareholders with any other right to put a proposal before any general meetings not called by such shareholders. As an exempted Cayman Islands company, we are not obliged by law to call shareholders’ annual general meetings.

 

Cumulative Voting. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, cumulative voting for elections of directors is not permitted unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation specifically provides for it. Cumulative voting potentially facilitates the representation of minority shareholders on a board of directors since it permits the minority shareholder to cast all the votes to which the shareholder is entitled on a single director, which increases the shareholder’s voting power with respect to electing such director. There are no prohibitions in relation to cumulative voting under the laws of the Cayman Islands but our Memorandum and Articles of Association do not provide for cumulative voting. As a result, our shareholders are not afforded any less protections or rights on this issue than shareholders of a Delaware corporation.

 

Removal of Directors. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a director of a corporation with a classified board may be removed only for cause with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our Memorandum and Articles of Association, a director may be removed by ordinary resolution of our shareholders. A director’s office will be terminated forthwith if (i) he gives notice to us that he resigns the office of director, (ii) he is prohibited by the law of the Islands from acting as a director, (iii) he is made bankrupt or makes an arrangement or composition with his creditors generally, (iv) in the opinion of a registered medical practitioner by whom he is being treated he becomes physically or mentally incapable of acting as a director, (v) he is made subject to any law relating to mental health or incompetence, whether by court order or otherwise, or (vi) without the consent of the other directors, he is absent from meetings of directors for a continuous period of six months. Subject to the foregoing sentence, each director will hold office until the expiration of his term and until his successor has been elected and qualified in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association.

 

Transactions with Interested Shareholders. The Delaware General Corporation Law contains a business combination statute applicable to Delaware corporations whereby, unless the corporation has specifically elected not to be governed by such statute by amendment to its certificate of incorporation, it is prohibited from engaging in certain business combinations with an “interested shareholder” for three years following the date that such person becomes an interested shareholder. An interested shareholder generally is a person or a group who or which owns or owned 15% or more of the target’s outstanding voting share within the past three years. This has the effect of limiting the ability of a potential acquirer to make a two-tiered bid for the target in which all shareholders would not be treated equally. The statute does not apply if, among other things, prior to the date on which such shareholder becomes an interested shareholder, the board of directors approves either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the person becoming an interested shareholder. This encourages any potential acquirer of a Delaware corporation to negotiate the terms of any acquisition transaction with the target’s board of directors.

 

Cayman Islands law has no comparable statute. As a result, we cannot avail ourselves of the types of protections afforded by the Delaware business combination statute. However, although Cayman Islands law does not regulate transactions between a company and its significant shareholders, the directors of our company are required to comply with the fiduciary duties which they owe to our company under Cayman Islands law, including the duty to ensure that, in their opinion, any such transactions are bona fide in the best interests of our company and are entered into for a proper purpose and not with the effect of constituting a fraud on the minority shareholders.

 

 

 

Restructuring. A company may present a petition to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for the appointment of a restructuring officer on the grounds that the company:

 

  is or is likely to become unable to pay its debts; and

 

  intends to present a compromise or arrangement to its creditors (or classes thereof) either pursuant to the Companies Act, the law of a foreign country or by way of a consensual restructuring.

 

The Grand Court may, among other things, make an order appointing a restructuring officer upon hearing of such petition, with such powers and to carry out such functions as the court may order. At any time (i) after the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer but before an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer has been made, and (ii) when an order for the appointment of a restructuring officer is made, until such order has been discharged, no suit, action or other proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) should be proceeded with or commenced against the company, no resolution to wind up the company should be passed, and no winding up petition may be presented against the company, except with the leave of the court. However, notwithstanding the presentation of a petition for the appointment of a restructuring officer or the appointment of a restructuring officer, a creditor who has security over the whole or part of the assets of the company is entitled to enforce the security without the leave of the court and without reference to the restructuring officer appointed.

 

Dissolution; Winding up. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, unless the board of directors approves the proposal to dissolve, dissolution must be approved by shareholders holding 100% of the total voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporation’s outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board.

 

Under Cayman Islands law, a company may be wound up by either an order of the courts of the Cayman Islands or by a special resolution of its members or, if the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due, by an ordinary resolution of its members. The court has authority to order winding up in a number of specified circumstances including where it is, in the opinion of the court, just and equitable to do so.

 

Variation of Rights of Shares. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under our Memorandum and Articles of Association, if our share capital is divided into different classes of shares, unless the terms on which a class of shares was issued state otherwise, the rights attaching to a class of shares may only be varied with the consent in writing of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the issued shares of the relevant class, or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of such class.

 

Amendment of Governing Documents. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, a corporation’s governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Under the Companies Act, our Memorandum and Articles of Association may only be amended by a special resolution of our shareholders.

 

Rights of Non-Resident or Foreign Shareholders. There are no limitations imposed by our Memorandum and Articles of Association on the rights of non-resident or foreign shareholders to hold or exercise voting rights on our shares.

 

Inspection of Books and Records. Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, any shareholder of a corporation may for any proper purpose inspect or make copies of the corporation’s stock ledger, list of shareholders and other books and records.

 

Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like us have no general right under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records (other than the memorandum and articles of association, the register of mortgages and charges and any special resolutions passed by our shareholders) or obtain copies of the list of shareholders of these companies.