Registration and Transfer of Limited Partner Interests (a) The General Partner shall maintain, or cause to be maintained by the Transfer Agent in whole or in part, the Partnership Register on behalf of the Partnership.
(b) The General Partner shall not recognize any transfer of Limited Partner Interests evidenced by Certificates until the Certificates evidencing such Limited Partner Interests are duly endorsed and surrendered for registration of transfer. No charge shall be imposed by the General Partner for such transfer; provided, however, that as a condition to the issuance of any new Certificate under this Section 4.5, the General Partner may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed with respect thereto. Upon surrender of a Certificate for registration of transfer of any Limited Partner Interests evidenced by a Certificate, and subject to the provisions of this Section 4.5(b), the appropriate officers of the General Partner on behalf of the Partnership shall execute and deliver, and in the case of Certificates evidencing Limited Partner Interests for which a Transfer Agent has been appointed, the Transfer Agent shall countersign and deliver, in the name of the holder or the designated transferee or transferees, as required pursuant to the holder’s instructions, one or more new Certificates evidencing the same aggregate number and type of Limited Partner Interests as was evidenced by the Certificate so surrendered. Upon the proper surrender of a Certificate, such transfer shall be recorded in the Partnership Register.
(c) Upon the receipt of proper transfer instructions from the Record Holder of uncertificated Partnership Interests, such transfer shall be recorded in the Partnership Register.
(d) Except as provided in Section 4.9, by acceptance of any Limited Partner Interests pursuant to a transfer in accordance with this Article IV, each transferee of a Limited Partner Interest (including any nominee, or agent or representative acquiring such Limited Partner Interests for the account of another Person or Group) (i) shall be admitted to the Partnership as a Limited Partner with respect to the Limited Partner Interests so transferred to such Person when any such transfer or admission is reflected in the Partnership Register and such Person becomes the Record Holder of the Limited Partner Interests so transferred, (ii) shall become bound, and shall be deemed to have agreed to be bound, by the terms of this Agreement, (iii) represents that the transferee has the capacity, power and authority to enter into this Agreement, (iv) makes the consents, acknowledgements and waivers contained in this Agreement, all with or without execution of this Agreement by such Person and (v) shall be deemed to certify that the transferee is not an Ineligible Holder. The transfer of any Limited Partner Interests and the admission of any new Limited Partner shall not constitute an amendment to this Agreement.
(e) Subject to (i) the foregoing provisions of this Section 4.5, (ii) Section 4.3, (iii) Section 4.8, (iv) with respect to any class or series of Limited Partner Interests, the provisions of any statement of designations or an amendment to this Agreement establishing such class or series, (v) any contractual provisions binding on any Limited Partner and (vi) provisions of applicable law including the Securities Act, Limited Partner Interests shall be freely transferable.
(f) The General Partner and its Affiliates shall have the right at any time to transfer their Common Units to one or more Persons.
Right to Acquire Limited Partner Interests (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, if at any time the General Partner and its Affiliates hold more than 80% of the total Limited Partner Interests of any class then Outstanding, the General Partner shall then have the right, which right it may assign and transfer in whole or in part to the Partnership or any Affiliate of the General Partner, exercisable at its option, to purchase all, but not less than all, of such Limited Partner Interests of such class then Outstanding held by Persons other than the General Partner and its Affiliates, at the greater of (x) the Current Market Price as of the date three days prior to the date that the notice described in Section 15.1(b) is mailed and (y) the highest price paid by the General Partner or any of its Affiliates for any such Limited Partner Interest of such class purchased during the 90-day period preceding the date that the notice described in Section 15.1(b) is mailed. As used in this Agreement, (i) “Current Market Price” as of any date of any class of Limited Partner Interests means the average of the daily Closing Prices (as hereinafter defined) per Limited Partner Interest of such class for the 20 consecutive Trading Days (as hereinafter defined) immediately prior to such date; (ii) “Closing Price” for any day means the last sale price on such day, regular way, or in case no such sale takes place on such day, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day, regular way, as reported in the principal consolidated transaction reporting system with respect to securities listed on the principal National Securities Exchange (other than the Nasdaq Stock Market) on which such Limited Partner Interests are listed or admitted to trading or, if such Limited Partner Interests of such class are not listed or admitted to trading on any National Securities Exchange (other than the Nasdaq Stock Market), the last quoted price on such day or, if not so quoted, the average of the high bid and low asked prices on such day in the over-the-counter market, as reported by the Nasdaq Stock Market or such other system then in use, or, if on any such day such Limited Partner Interests of such class are not quoted by any such organization, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on such day as furnished by a professional market maker making a market in such Limited Partner Interests of such class selected by the General Partner, or if on any such day no market maker is making a market in such Limited Partner Interests of such class, the fair value of such Limited Partner Interests on such day as determined by the General Partner; and (iii) “Trading Day” means a day on which the principal National Securities Exchange on which such Limited Partner Interests of any class are listed or admitted for trading is open for the transaction of business or, if Limited Partner Interests of a class are not listed or admitted for trading on any National Securities Exchange, a day on which banking institutions in New York City generally are open.
Registration and Transfer of Shares (a) Any Transfer of any Shares shall only be completed subject to the compliance by the Member and the proposed transferee with all applicable laws; and furthermore may only be completed in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
(b) Other than (i) any Transfer of Shares which is an Involuntary Transfer or (ii) any Transfer that occurs on an alternative trading system that has been approved by the Company in writing, and Transfer of Shares shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Company, which the Company may give or withhold in its sole discretion.
(c) The Company shall keep or cause to be kept on behalf of the Company a register (which may be in electronic form) that will provide for the registration and Transfer of Shares. The Company may appoint a Transfer Agent to act as registrar and transfer agent for the purpose of registering any class of Shares and Transfers of such class of Shares as herein provided. For Shares represented by Certificates, upon surrender of a Certificate for registration of Transfer of any Shares evidenced by a Certificate, the appropriate Officers of the Company shall execute and deliver, and in the case of Shares for which a Transfer Agent has been appointed, the Transfer Agent shall countersign and deliver, in the name of the holder or the designated transferee or transferees, as required pursuant to the Record Holder’s instructions, one or more new Certificates evidencing the same aggregate number and type of Shares as were evidenced by the Certificate so surrendered, provided that a transferor shall provide the address and facsimile number for each such transferee as set forth on Exhibit A at any time.
(d) The Company shall not recognize any Transfer of Shares evidenced by Certificates until the Certificates evidencing such Shares are surrendered for registration of Transfer. No charge shall be imposed by the Company for such Transfer; provided, that as a condition to the issuance of Shares, whether or not such Shares are evidenced by Certificates, the Company may require the payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge that may be imposed with respect thereto. The Company’s transfer agent may require a transferring shareholder to pay reasonable and customary fees in connection with any voluntary transfer of Class A shares.
(e) By acceptance of the Transfer of any Share, each transferee of a Share (including any nominee holder or an agent or representative acquiring such Shares for the account of another Person) (i) shall be admitted to the Company as a Substitute Member with respect to the Shares so Transferred to such transferee when any such Transfer or admission is reflected in the books and records of the Company or the Transfer Agent, as applicable, (ii) shall be deemed to agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement, (iii) shall become the Record Holder of the Shares so transferred, (iv) grants powers of attorney to the Officers of the Company and any Liquidating Trustee, as specified herein, and (v) makes the consents and waivers contained in this Agreement. The Transfer of any Shares and the admission of any new Member shall not constitute an amendment to this Agreement.
(f) Nothing contained in this Agreement shall preclude electronic book-entry only Transfer of Shares or the settlement of any transactions involving Shares entered into through electronic systems maintained by the Administrator on behalf of the Company, facilities of the Depository or any National Securities Exchange on which such Shares are listed for trading.
(g) The Initial Member and its Affiliates shall not be permitted to Transfer any Shares that are Beneficially Owned by them prior to the one-year anniversary of the final closing of the Offering, except to a Masterworks Affiliate or as required by law or in bankruptcy or similar proceeding, and shall not be permitted to Transfer any unvested ASA Shares at any time, provided, however, notwithstanding the definition of the term “Transfer,” the Initial Member and its Affiliates shall be permitted, during such one-year period, to pledge any or all of such Shares to unaffiliated third-party lenders and, for the avoidance of doubt, such lenders shall not be subject to the provisions of this Section 2.7(g) if they obtain Beneficial Ownership of such Shares in connection with a default by the Initial Member and its Affiliates pursuant to the transactions in which such third-party lenders obtained such Shares.
(h) Any Class A shares held by a Member that beneficially owns greater than 10% of the outstanding Class A shares, whether or not any of such shares constitute Voting Shares for purposes of this Agreement, shall bear a customary “restricted” legend, which may be a virtual legend, evidencing the restricted nature thereof. Such Member shall not be entitled to execute a voluntarily transfer of such shares through the Templum ATS (or any similar system or market that permits transfers of unrestricted securities) or request removal of such restrictive legend on such shares, unless the Company and its Transfer Agent are satisfied, in their sole and absolute discretion, that such proposed de-legending and/or transfer complies with applicable federal securities laws and the Company and/or its Transfer Agent shall be entitled to require the requesting Member to furnish the Company with an opinion from counsel of national recognition in support of such request.
(i) The Class C Ordinary Share, once issued, can only be transferred between Masterworks affiliated entities, including from one Masterworks Investor to another.
(j) Any Transfer or attempted Transfer of any Share(s) in contravention of this Agreement shall be absolutely null and void ab initio and of no force or effect, on or against the Company, any Member, any creditor of the Company or any claimant against the Company and may be enjoined, and shall not be recorded on the books and records of the Company. No distributions of cash or property of the Company shall be made to any transferee of any Share(s) which is/are Transferred in violation hereof, nor shall any such Transfer be registered on the books of the Company. The Transfer or attempted Transfer of any Share(s) in violation hereof shall not affect the Beneficial Ownership of such Share(s), and, notwithstanding such Transfer or attempted Transfer, the Member making such prohibited Transfer or attempted Transfer shall retain the right to vote, if any, and the right to receive liquidation proceeds and any other distributions with respect to the Shares.
Shares; Membership Interests (a) The total of the membership interests in the Company shall be divided into (i) Class A Ordinary Shares having the rights and preferences as set forth herein (the “Class A Ordinary Shares”), (ii) Class A Preferred Shares having the rights and preferences as set forth herein (the “Class A Preferred Shares” and, together with the Class A Ordinary Shares, the “Class A Shares”), (iii) Class B Ordinary Shares having the rights and preferences as set forth herein (the “Class B Ordinary Shares”), and (iv) Class C Ordinary Share having the rights and preferences as set forth herein (the “Class C Ordinary Share” and, together with the Class A Ordinary Shares, the Class A Preferred Shares and the Class B Ordinary Shares, the “Shares” and each a “Share”). Class A Ordinary Shares, Class A Preferred Shares and Class B Ordinary Shares shall have the same rights, powers and duties, except as otherwise set forth in this Agreement. The number of Class A Ordinary Shares shall be limited to the maximum number of Class A Ordinary shares offered in the Offering, plus (i) the number of Class A Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon conversion of the Class A Preferred Shares, plus (ii) the number of Class A Ordinary Shares which may be issued upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares. The number of Class A Preferred Shares shall be limited to the number of Class A Preferred Shares which may be issued pursuant to the Management Services Agreement. The number of Class B Ordinary Shares shall be limited to up to 1,000. The number of Class C Ordinary Shares shall be limited to one. Class A Preferred Shares issued pursuant to the Management Services Agreement (“ASA Shares”) may be subject to vesting provisions as set forth in the Management Services Agreement. The Shares of the Members shall be as set forth on Exhibit A attached hereto, which may be updated as set forth herein. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that all of the Class A Ordinary Shares are not sold pursuant to the Offering, the Board shall, upon the final closing of the Offering, issue a number of Class A Ordinary Shares to the Initial Member equal to the aggregate number of Class A Ordinary Shares that remain unsold in the Offering, as repayment in full of any and all obligations owing to the Initial Member in respect of advances made to acquire the Artwork and true-up fees payable to the Initial Member. The name and mailing address of each Member or such Member’s representative shall be listed on the books and records of the Company maintained for such purpose by the Company or the Transfer Agent.
(b) Prior to the date hereof and as set forth in the Original Agreement, the Initial Member has been issued 100% of the membership interests in the Company in return for a capital contribution of $100 (the “Prior Interests”). Upon execution of this Agreement, the Prior Interests shall be automatically converted into 1,000 Class B Ordinary Shares. As of the date of such conversion, the Class B Ordinary Shares shall constitute all of the membership interests of the Company and, prior to the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares, Class A Preferred Shares and Class C Ordinary Share, shall have all of the rights and privileges of 100% of the membership interests in the Company afforded pursuant to this Agreement and applicable law.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in this Agreement, the Board shall have full power and authority to schedule one or more closings to issue Class A Ordinary Shares and admit Members to the Company in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. Any Person that acquires Class A Ordinary Shares and is admitted as a Member of the Company after the date hereof, shall, in connection with such Member’s acquisition of such Class A Ordinary Shares, be deemed to pay to the Company such Member’s pro rata share of any amounts used to acquire the Artwork, including any true-up fees and any other amounts paid to the Company by the previously admitted Members.
(d) The Class A Members may elect to convert their Class A Preferred Shares into Class A Ordinary Shares, in whole or in part, at any time prior to the consummation of the Sale of the Artwork, subject to the terms and conditions herein, for no additional consideration. Each Class A Preferred Shares will automatically convert to one Class A Ordinary Share upon any Transfer of such Class A Preferred Shares to an entity that is not an Affiliate of the Administrator.
(e) The Class B Members may elect to convert their Class B Ordinary Shares into Class A Ordinary Shares, in whole or in part, at any time prior to the consummation of the Sale of the Artwork, subject to the terms and conditions herein, for no additional consideration pursuant and to the following conversion formula: The number of Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of Class B Ordinary Shares shall equal (A) the Value Increase, multiplied by (B) the Conversion Percentage, multiplied by (C) 20%, divided by (D) the Class A Ordinary Share Value. For purposes herein:
Limitations on Rights Associated with Units The Participant shall have no rights as a stockholder of the Corporation, no dividend rights (except as expressly provided in Section 5(b) with respect to Dividend Equivalent Rights) and no voting rights, with respect to the Stock Units and any shares of Common Stock underlying or issuable in respect of such Stock Units until such shares of Common Stock are actually issued to and held of record by the Participant. No adjustments will be made for dividends or other rights of a holder for which the record date is prior to the date of issuance of the stock certificate.
Restrictions on Transfer of Limited Partnership Interests (a) Subject to the provisions of 9.2(b), (c) and (d), no Limited Partner may offer, sell, assign, hypothecate, pledge or otherwise transfer all or any portion of its Limited Partnership Interest, or any of such Limited Partner’s economic rights as a Limited Partner, whether voluntarily or by operation of law or at judicial sale or otherwise (collectively, a “Transfer”) without the consent of the General Partner, which consent may be granted or withheld in its sole and absolute discretion. Any such purported transfer undertaken without such consent shall be considered to be null and void ab initio and shall not be given effect. The General Partner may require, as a condition of any Transfer to which it consents, that the transferor assume all costs incurred by the Partnership in connection therewith.
(b) No Limited Partner may withdraw from the Partnership other than as a result of a permitted Transfer (i.e., a Transfer consented to as contemplated by clause (a) above or clause (c) below or a Transfer pursuant to Section 9.5 below) of all of its Partnership Units pursuant to this Article 9 or pursuant to an exchange of all of its Partnership Units pursuant to Section 8.4. Upon the permitted Transfer or redemption of all of a Limited Partner’s Partnership Interest, such Limited Partner shall cease to be a Limited Partner.
(c) Subject to 9.2(d), (e) and (f) below, a Limited Partner may Transfer, with the consent of the General Partner, all or a portion of its Partnership Units to (i) a parent or parent’s spouse, natural or adopted descendant or descendants, spouse of such descendant, or brother or sister, or a trust created by such Limited Partner for the benefit of such Limited Partner and/or any such Person(s), of which trust such Limited Partner or any such Person(s) is a trustee, (ii) a corporation controlled by a Person or Persons named in (i) above, or (iii) if the Limited Partner is an entity, its beneficial owners.
(d) No Limited Partner may effect a Transfer of its Limited Partnership Interest, in whole or in part, if, in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, such proposed Transfer would otherwise violate any applicable federal or state securities or blue sky law (including investment suitability standards).
(e) No Transfer by a Limited Partner of its Partnership Units, in whole or in part, may be made to any Person if (i) in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, the transfer would result in the Partnership’s being treated as an association taxable as a corporation (other than a qualified REIT subsidiary within the meaning of Section 856(i) of the Code), (ii) in the opinion of legal counsel for the Partnership, it would adversely affect the ability of the General Partner to continue to qualify as a REIT or subject the General Partner to any additional taxes under Section 857 or Section 4981 of the Code, or (iii) such transfer is effectuated through an “established securities market” or a “secondary market (or the substantial equivalent thereof)” within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Code.
(f) No transfer of any Partnership Units may be made to a lender to the Partnership or any Person who is related (within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.752-4(b)) to any lender to the Partnership whose loan constitutes a nonrecourse liability (within the meaning of Regulations Section 1.752-1(a)(2)), without the consent of the General Partner, which may be withheld in its sole and absolute discretion, provided that as a condition to such consent the lender will be required to enter into an arrangement with the Partnership and the General Partner to exchange or redeem for the Cash Amount any Partnership Units in which a security interest is held simultaneously with the time at which such lender would be deemed to be a partner in the Partnership for purposes of allocating liabilities to such lender under Section 752 of the Code.
(g) Any Transfer in contravention of any of the provisions of this Article 9 shall be void and ineffectual and shall not be binding upon, or recognized by, the Partnership.
(h) Prior to the consummation of any Transfer under this Article 9, the transferor and/or the transferee shall deliver to the General Partner such opinions, certificates and other documents as the General Partner shall request in connection with such Transfer.
Rights as Shareholder; Dividend Equivalents 6.1 The Participant shall not have any rights of a shareholder with respect to the Common Shares underlying the Restricted Stock Units unless and until the Restricted Stock Units vest and are settled by the issuance of such Common Shares. Upon and following the settlement of the Restricted Stock Units, the Participant shall be the record owner of the Common Shares underlying the Restricted Stock Units unless and until such shares are sold or otherwise disposed of, and as record owner shall be entitled to all rights of a shareholder of the Company (including voting rights).
6.2 In the event that the Company pays any cash dividends on its Common Shares between the Grant Date and the date when the Restricted Stock Units are settled in accordance with Section 7 hereof or are forfeited, the Participant’s Account shall be credited on the date such dividend is paid to shareholders with an amount equal to all cash dividends that would have been paid to the Participant if one Common Share had been issued on the Grant Date for each Restricted Stock Unit granted to the Participant (“Dividend Equivalents”). Dividend Equivalents shall be credited to the Participant’s Account and interest may be credited on the amount of cash Dividend Equivalents credited to the Participant’s Account at a rate and subject to such terms as determined by the Committee. Dividend Equivalents credited to the Participant’s Account shall be subject to the same vesting and other restrictions as the Restricted Stock Units to which they are attributable and shall be paid on the same date that the Restricted Stock Units to which they are attributable are settled in accordance with Section 7 hereof. Dividend Equivalents credited to the Participant’s Account shall be distributed in cash or, at the discretion of the Committee, in Common Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to the amount of the Dividend Equivalents and interest, if any. Any accumulated and unpaid Dividend Equivalents attributable to Restricted Stock Units that are cancelled will not be paid and will be immediately forfeited upon cancellation of the Restricted Stock Units.
Founder Shares In July 2023 and September 2023, Hercules Capital Management Corp (the “Sponsor”) acquired an aggregate of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Founder Shares”), for an aggregate consideration of $25,000 to. No underwriting discounts, commissions, or placement fees have been or will be payable in connection with the purchase of Founder Shares. Except as described in the Registration Statement, none of the Founder Shares may be sold, assigned or transferred by the Sponsor or any of its transferees prior to the date hereof (collectively, the “Initial Shareholders”) until the earlier of: (i) six months following the consummation of the Business Combination; or (ii) subsequent to the consummation of a Business Combination, the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination, that results in all of the Company’s public shareholders having the right to exchange their Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the last sale price of the Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period after the initial Business Combination, 50% of the Founder Shares will be released from such transfer restrictions. The holders of Founder Shares shall have no right to any liquidating distributions with respect to any portion of the Founder Shares in the event the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination within the period of time as provided in its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. The holders of the Founder Shares shall not have redemption rights with respect to the Founder Shares. In the event that the Over-allotment Option is not exercised in full, the Sponsor will be required to forfeit such number of Founder Shares (up to 187,500 Founder Shares) such that the Founder Shares then outstanding will comprise approximately 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company (excluding the Placement Shares (as defined below) and the Representative Shares (as defined below)) after giving effect to the Offering and exercise, if any, of the Over-allotment Option.
Dividends; Rights as Stockholder Cash dividends on shares of Common Stock issuable hereunder shall be credited to a dividend book entry account on behalf of the Participant with respect to each RSU granted to the Participant, provided that such cash dividends shall not be deemed to be reinvested in shares of Common Stock and shall be held uninvested and without interest and paid in cash at the same time that the shares of Common Stock underlying the RSUs are delivered to the Participant in accordance with the provisions hereof. Stock dividends on shares of Common Stock shall be credited to a dividend book entry account on behalf of the Participant with respect to each RSU granted to the Participant, provided that such stock dividends shall be paid in shares of Common Stock at the same time that the shares of Common Stock underlying the RSUs are delivered to the Participant in accordance with the provisions hereof. Except as otherwise provided herein, the Participant shall have no rights as a stockholder with respect to any shares of Common Stock covered by any RSU unless and until the Participant has become the holder of record of such shares.
Ownership and Transfer of Shares The Trust or a transfer or similar agent for the Trust shall maintain a register containing the names and addresses of the Shareholders of each Series and Class thereof, the number of Shares of each Series and Class held by such Shareholders, and a record of all Share transfers. The register shall be conclusive as to the identity of Shareholders of record and the number of Shares held by them from time to time. The Trustees may authorize the issuance of certificates representing Shares and adopt rules governing their use. The Trustees may make rules governing the transfer of Shares, whether or not represented by certificates. Except as otherwise provided by the Trustees, Shares shall be transferable on the books of the Trust only by the record holder thereof or by his duly authorized agent upon delivery to the Trustees or the Trust's transfer agent of a duly executed instrument of transfer, together with a Share certificate if one is outstanding, and such evidence or the genuineness of each such execution and authorization and of such other matters as may be required by the Trustees. Upon such delivery, and subject to any further requirements specified by the Trustees or contained in the By-laws, the transfer shall be recorded on the books of the Trust. Until a transfer is so recorded, the Shareholder of record of Shares shall be deemed to be the holder of such Shares for all purposes hereunder and neither the Trustees nor the Trust, nor any transfer agent or registrar or any officer, employee or agent of the Trust, shall be affected by any notice of a proposed transfer.
