Document

TransUnion (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) has one class of securities registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), our common stock, par value $0.01 per share. The following is a description of the material terms of, and is qualified in its entirety by, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, each of which are filed as exhibits to our Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit is a part. We encourage you to read our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws, and the applicable provisions of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”) for more information.

Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up and 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 our common stock will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution. Holders of our common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. Our common stock is not subject to calls or assessment by us. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All outstanding shares of our common stock are fully paid and non-assessable. The rights, powers, preferences and privileges of holders of our common stock will be subject to those of the holders of any shares of our preferred stock we may authorize and issue in the future.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes our Board of Directors to establish one or more series of preferred stock (including convertible preferred stock). Unless required by law or by the NYSE, the authorized shares of preferred stock will be available for issuance without further action by our stockholders. Our Board of Directors is able to determine, with respect to any series of preferred stock, the powers (including voting powers), preferences and relative participations, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of that series, including, without limitation:


			•						the designation of the series;
			•						the number of shares of the series, which our Board of Directors may, except where otherwise provided in the preferred stock designation, increase (but not above the total number of authorized shares of the class) or decrease (but not below the number of shares then outstanding);
			•						whether dividends, if any, will be cumulative or non-cumulative and the dividend rate of the series;
			•						the dates at which dividends, if any, will be payable;
			•						the redemption rights and price or prices, if any, for shares of the series;
			•						the terms and amounts of any sinking fund provided for the purchase or redemption of shares of the series;
			•						the amounts payable on shares of the series in the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the affairs of our Company;
			•						whether the shares of the series will be convertible into shares of any other class or series, or any other security, of our Company or any other corporation, and, if so, the specification of the other class or series or other security, the conversion price or prices or rate or rates, any rate adjustments, the date or dates as of which the shares will be convertible and all other terms and conditions upon which the conversion may be made;
			•						restrictions on the issuance of shares of the same series or of any other class or series; and
			•						the voting rights, if any, of the holders of the series.

We could issue a series of preferred stock that could, depending on the terms of the series, impede or discourage an acquisition attempt or other transaction that some, or a majority, of our stockholders might believe to be in their best interests or in which they might receive a premium for their common stock over the market price of the common stock. Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may adversely affect the holders of our common stock by restricting dividends on the common stock, diluting the voting power of the common stock or subordinating the liquidation rights of the 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 common stock.

The DGCL permits a corporation to declare and pay dividends out of “surplus” or, if there is no “surplus,” out of its net profits for the fiscal year in which the dividend is declared and/or the preceding fiscal year. “Surplus” is defined as the excess of the net assets of the corporation over the amount determined to be the capital of the corporation by the Board of Directors. The capital of the corporation is typically calculated to be (and cannot be less than) the aggregate par value of all issued shares of capital stock. Net assets equals the fair value of the total assets minus total liabilities. The DGCL also provides that dividends may not be paid out of net profits if, after the payment of the dividend, capital is less than the capital represented by the outstanding stock of all classes having a preference upon the distribution of assets.

Declaration and payment of any dividend is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. The time and amount of dividends are dependent upon our financial condition, operations, cash requirements and availability, debt repayment obligations, capital expenditure needs and restrictions in our debt instruments, industry trends, the provisions of Delaware law affecting the payment of distributions to stockholders and any other factors our Board of Directors may consider relevant.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and the DGCL, which are summarized in the following paragraphs, contain provisions that are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our Board of Directors. 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 of Directors 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 our Company 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 common stock held by stockholders.

Delaware law does not require stockholder approval for any issuance of authorized shares. However, the listing requirements of the NYSE, which apply so long as our common stock remains listed on the NYSE, require stockholder approval of certain issuances equal to or exceeding 20% of the then outstanding voting power or then outstanding number of shares of common stock. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate purposes, including future public offerings, to raise additional capital or to facilitate acquisitions.

Our Board of Directors may generally issue preferred shares on terms calculated to discourage, delay or prevent a change of control of our Company or the removal of our management. Moreover, our authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock will be available for future issuances without stockholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans.

One of the effects of the existence of unissued and unreserved common stock or preferred stock may be to enable our Board of Directors to issue shares to persons friendly to current management, which issuance could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of our 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.

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL, which provides that we may not engage in certain “business combinations” (as defined in the DGCL) with any “interested stockholder” (as defined in the DGCL) for a three-year period following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:


			•						prior to such time, our Board of Directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
			•						upon consummation of the transaction which 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 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
			•						at or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by our Board of Directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of holders of at least 662/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Generally, a “business combination” includes a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder. Subject to certain exceptions as set forth in the DGCL, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with that person’s affiliates and associates, owns, or within the previous three years owned, 15% or more of our voting stock. For purposes of this section only, “voting stock” has the meaning given to it in Section 203 of the DGCL.

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 a corporation for a three-year period. This provision may encourage companies interested in acquiring our Company to negotiate in advance with our Board of Directors because the stockholder approval requirement would be avoided if our Board of Directors 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 of Directors and may make it more difficult to accomplish transactions which stockholders may otherwise deem to be in their best interests.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for the declassification of our Board of Directors over a three-year period that began at the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2020 Annual Meeting”). Previously, the Board of Directors was divided into three classes (Class I, Class II and Class III), each elected to hold office for a three-year term, or until their successors were duly elected and qualified. The terms of the classes were staggered, so that only one of the three classes stood for election for a three-year term at each annual meeting of stockholders. As a result of the phased declassification of our Board of Directors, (i) at the 2020 Annual Meeting, each of the Class II director nominees elected by our stockholders was elected to hold office for a term of one year, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified, (ii) at the 2021 annual meeting of stockholders, each of the Class II and Class III director nominees elected by our stockholders will be elected to hold office for a term of one year, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified, and (iii) at the 2022 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2022 Annual Meeting”), each of the Class I, Class II and Class III director nominees elected by our stockholders will be elected to hold office for a term of one year, or until their successors are duly elected and qualified, and thereafter the classification of the Board of Directors will terminate in its entirety.

of a majority 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 amended and restated certificate of incorporation also provides that, subject to the rights granted to one or more series of preferred stock then outstanding, any newly created directorship on the Board of Directors that results from an increase in the number of directors and any vacancy occurring in the Board of Directors may only be filled by a majority of the directors then in office, although less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director (and not by the stockholders).

Under Delaware law, the right to vote cumulatively does not exist unless the certificate of incorporation specifically authorizes cumulative voting. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not authorize cumulative voting. Therefore, stockholders holding a majority in voting power of the shares of our stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors will be able to elect all our directors.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that special meetings of our stockholders may be called at any time only by or at the direction of the Board of Directors or the chairperson of the Board of Directors. Our amended and restated 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 our Company.

Our amended and restated bylaws 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 the Board of Directors or a committee of the Board of Directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. Our amended and restated bylaws allow the chairperson of the meeting at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings that may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of our Company.

Pursuant to Section 228 of the DGCL, any action required to be taken at any annual or special meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, is signed by the holders of outstanding stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our stock entitled to vote thereon were present and voted, unless our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation precludes stockholder action by written consent.

Under the DGCL, with certain exceptions, our stockholders will have appraisal rights in connection with a merger or consolidation of us. 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.

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.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that unless we consent to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (i) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our Company, (ii) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director or officer of our Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, creditors or other constituents, (iii) action asserting a claim against the Company or any director or officer of the Company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or (iv) action asserting a claim against the Company or any director or officer of the Company governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each such case subject to said Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein. An action against or on behalf of any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of our company shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum selection provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, the enforceability of similar forum selection provisions in other companies’ certificates of incorporation and bylaws, respectively, has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be unenforceable.

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 amended and restated certificate of incorporation includes 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 is 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 does 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 amended and restated bylaws provide that we must generally 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 are useful to attract and retain qualified directors and executive officers.

The limitation of liability, indemnification and advancement provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against directors for breach 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.