EXHIBIT 4.3
[FORM OF SERIES B
WARRANT]
NEITHER THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF
THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE NOR THE SECURITIES
INTO WHICH THESE SECURITIES ARE EXERCISABLE HAVE BEEN REGISTERED
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR APPLICABLE STATE
SECURITIES LAWS. THE SECURITIES MAY NOT BE OFFERED FOR SALE, SOLD,
TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED (I) IN THE ABSENCE OF (A) AN EFFECTIVE
REGISTRATION STATEMENT FOR THE SECURITIES UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT
OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR (B) AN OPINION OF COUNSEL TO THE HOLDER (IF
REQUESTED BY THE COMPANY), IN A FORM REASONABLY ACCEPTABLE TO THE
COMPANY, THAT REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED UNDER SAID ACT OR (II)
UNLESS SOLD OR ELIGIBLE TO BE SOLD PURSUANT TO RULE 144 OR RULE
144A UNDER SAID ACT. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THE SECURITIES
MAY BE PLEDGED IN CONNECTION WITH A BONA FIDE MARGIN ACCOUNT OR
OTHER LOAN OR FINANCING ARRANGEMENT SECURED BY THE
SECURITIES.
ROYALE ENERGY, INC.
WARRANT
TO PURCHASE COMMON STOCK
Series B Warrant No.:
_____________
Date of Issuance: August ___, 2009
(“ Issuance Date ”)
Royale Energy, Inc., a California
corporation (the “ Company ”), hereby certifies
that, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and
sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, CRANSHIRE CAPITAL,
L.P., the registered holder hereof or its permitted assigns (the
“ Holder ”), is entitled, subject to the terms
set forth below, to purchase from the Company, at the Exercise
Price (as defined below) then in effect, upon exercise of this
Warrant to Purchase Common Stock (including any Warrants to
Purchase Common Stock issued in exchange, transfer or replacement
hereof, the “ Warrant ”), at any time or times
on or after the Issuance Date, but not after 11:59 p.m., New York
time, on the Expiration Date (as defined below), 511,628 (subject
to adjustment as provided herein) fully paid and nonassessable
shares of Common Stock (as defined below)(the “ Warrant
Shares ”). Except as otherwise defined herein,
capitalized terms in this Warrant shall have the meanings set forth
in Section 0. This Warrant is one of the Warrants to purchase
Common Stock (the “ SPA Warrants ”) issued
pursuant to Section 1 of that certain Securities Purchase
Agreement, dated as of August 4, 2009, by and among the Company and
the investors (the “ Buyers ”) referred to
therein (the “ Securities Purchase Agreement
”).
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(a)
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Mechanics of
Exercise
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. Subject to the terms and
conditions hereof (including, without limitation, the limitations
set forth in Section 00), this Warrant may be exercised by the
Holder on any day on or after the Issuance Date, in whole or in
part, by delivery (whether via facsimile or otherwise) of a written
notice, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A
(the “ Exercise Notice
”), of the Holder’s election to exercise this Warrant.
On the first (1 st ) Trading Day following an exercise
of this Warrant as aforesaid, the Holder shall deliver payment to
the Company of an amount equal to the Exercise Price in effect on
the date of such exercise multiplied by the number of Warrant
Shares as to which this Warrant was so exercised (the “
Aggregate Exercise Price ”) in cash or via wire
transfer of immediately available funds if the Holder did not
notify the Company in such Exercise Notice that such exercise was
made pursuant to a Cashless Exercise (as defined in Section 00).
The Holder shall not be required to deliver the original of this
Warrant in order to effect an exercise hereunder. Execution and
delivery of an Exercise Notice with respect to less than all of the
Warrant Shares shall have the same effect as cancellation of the
original of this Warrant and issuance of a new Warrant evidencing
the right to purchase the remaining number of Warrant Shares.
Execution and delivery of an Exercise Notice for all of the
then-remaining Warrant Shares shall have the same effect as
cancellation of the original of this Warrant after delivery of the
Warrant Shares in accordance with the terms hereof. On or before
the first (1 st ) Trading Day following the date on
which the Company has received an Exercise Notice, the Company
shall transmit by facsimile an acknowledgment of confirmation of
receipt of such Exercise Notice to the Holder and the
Company’s transfer agent (the “ Transfer Agent
”). On or before the third (3 rd ) Trading Day
following the date on which the Company has received such Exercise
Notice (provided that the Company has also received the Aggregate
Exercise Price specified therein on or before such third (3
rd ) Trading Day if such Exercise Notice specified a
“Cash Exercise”), the Company shall (X) provided that
the Transfer Agent is participating in The Depository Trust Company
(“ DTC ”) Fast Automated Securities Transfer
Program, upon the request of the Holder, credit such aggregate
number of shares of Common Stock to which the Holder is entitled
pursuant to such exercise to the Holder’s or its
designee’s balance account with DTC through its Deposit/
Withdrawal at Custodian system, or (Y) if the Transfer Agent is not
participating in the DTC Fast Automated Securities Transfer
Program, issue and deliver to the Holder or, at the Holder’s
instruction pursuant to the Exercise Notice, the Holder’s
agent or designee, in each case, sent by reputable overnight
courier to the address as specified in the applicable Exercise
Notice, a certificate, registered in the Company’s share
register in the name of the Holder or its designee (as indicated in
the applicable Exercise Notice), for the number of shares of Common
Stock to which the Holder is entitled pursuant to such exercise.
Upon delivery of an Exercise Notice, the Holder shall be deemed for
all corporate purposes to have become the holder of record of the
Warrant Shares with respect to which this Warrant has been
exercised, irrespective of the date such Warrant Shares are
credited to the Holder’s DTC account or the date of delivery
of the certificates evidencing such Warrant Shares (as the case may
be). If this Warrant is submitted in connection with any exercise
pursuant to this Section 00 and the number of Warrant Shares
represented by this Warrant submitted for exercise is greater than
the number of Warrant Shares being acquired upon an exercise, then,
at the request of the Holder. the Company shall as soon as
practicable and in no event later than three (3) Business Days
after any exercise and at its own expense, issue and deliver to the
Holder (or its designee) a new Warrant (in accordance with Section
0) representing the right to purchase the number of Warrant Shares
purchasable immediately prior to such exercise under this Warrant,
less the number of Warrant Shares with respect to which this
Warrant is exercised. No fractional shares of Common
Stock are to be issued upon the
exercise of this Warrant, but rather the number of shares of Common
Stock to be issued shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number.
The Company shall pay any and all taxes which may be payable with
respect to the issuance and delivery of Warrant Shares upon
exercise of this Warrant.
. For purposes of this Warrant,
“ Exercise Price ” means $2.15, subject to
adjustment as provided herein.
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(c)
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Company’s Failure to Timely
Deliver Securities
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. If the Company shall fail, for any
reason or for no reason, to issue to the Holder within three (3)
Trading Days after receipt of the applicable Exercise Notice, a
certificate for the number of shares of Common Stock to which the
Holder is entitled and register such shares of Common Stock on the
Company’s share register or to credit the Holder’s
balance account with DTC for such number of shares of Common Stock
to which the Holder is entitled upon the Holder’s exercise of
this Warrant (as the case may be), then, in addition to all other
remedies available to the Holder, the Company shall pay in cash to
the Holder on each day after such third (3 rd ) Trading
Day that the issuance of such shares of Common Stock is not timely
effected an amount equal to 1% of the product of (A) the aggregate
number of shares of Common Stock not issued to the Holder on a
timely basis and to which the Holder is entitled and (B) the
Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day
immediately preceding the last possible date on which the Company
could have issued such shares of Common Stock to the Holder without
violating Section 00. In addition to the foregoing, if within three
(3) Trading Days after the Company’s receipt of the
applicable Exercise Notice , the Company shall fail to issue and
deliver a certificate to the Holder and register such shares of
Common Stock on the Company’s share register or credit the
Holder’s balance account with DTC for the number of shares of
Common Stock to which the Holder is entitled upon the
Holder’s exercise hereunder (as the case may be), and if on
or after such third (3 rd ) Trading Day the Holder
purchases (in an open market transaction or otherwise) shares of
Common Stock to deliver in satisfaction of a sale by the Holder of
shares of Common Stock issuable upon such exercise that the Holder
anticipated receiving from the Company (a “ Buy-In
”), then, in addition to all other remedies available to the
Holder, the Company shall, within three (3) Business Days after the
Holder’s request and in the Holder’s discretion, either
(i) pay cash to the Holder in an amount equal to the Holder’s
total purchase price (including brokerage commissions, if any) for
the shares of Common Stock so purchased (the “ Buy-In
Price ”), at which point the Company’s obligation
to deliver such certificate or credit the Holder’s balance
account with DTC for the number of shares of Common Stock to which
the Holder is entitled upon the Holder’s exercise hereunder
(as the case may be) (and to issue such shares of Common Stock)
shall terminate, or (ii) promptly honor its obligation to deliver
to the Holder a certificate or certificates representing such
shares of Common Stock or credit the Holder’s balance account
with DTC for the number of shares of Common Stock to which the
Holder is entitled upon the Holder’s exercise hereunder (as
the case may be) and pay cash to the Holder in an amount equal to
the excess (if any) of the Buy-In Price over the product of (A)
such number of shares of Common Stock times (B) the Closing Sale
Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day immediately preceding
the date of the applicable Exercise Notice.
. Notwithstanding anything contained
herein to the contrary (other than Section 00 below), if at any
time on or after the six (6) month anniversary of the Closing Date
a Registration Statement (as defined in the Registration Rights
Agreement (as defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement)) is not
effective (or the prospectus contained therein is not available for
use) for the resale by the Holder of all of the Warrant Shares,
then the Holder may, in its sole discretion, exercise this Warrant
in whole or in part and, in lieu of making the cash payment
otherwise contemplated to be made to the Company upon such exercise
in payment of the Aggregate Exercise Price, elect instead to
receive upon such exercise the “Net Number” of shares
of Common Stock determined according to the following formula (a
“ Cashless Exercise ”):
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Net Number = (A x B) - (A x
C)
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For purposes of the foregoing
formula:
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A= the total number of shares with
respect to which this Warrant is then being exercised.
B= as applicable: (i) the Closing
Sale Price of the Common Stock on the Trading Day immediately
preceding the date of the applicable Exercise Notice if such
Exercise Notice is (1) both executed and delivered pursuant to
Section 00 hereof on a day that is not a Trading Day or (2) both
executed and delivered pursuant to Section 00 hereof on a Trading
Day prior to the opening of regular trading hours (as defined in
Rule 600(b)(64) of Regulation NMS promulgated under the federal
securities laws) on such Trading Day, (ii) the Bid Price of the
Common Stock as of the time of the Holder’s execution of the
applicable Exercise Notice if such Exercise Notice is executed
during regular trading hours on a Trading Day and is delivered
within two (2) hours thereafter pursuant to Section 00 hereof and
(iii) the Closing Sale Price of the Common Stock on the date of the
applicable Exercise Notice if the date of such Exercise Notice is a
Trading Day and such Exercise Notice is both executed and delivered
pursuant to Section 00 hereof after the close of regular trading
hours on such Trading Day.
C= the Exercise Price then in effect
for the applicable Warrant Shares at the time of such
exercise.
. In the case of a dispute as to the
determination of the Exercise Price or the arithmetic calculation
of the number of Warrant Shares to be issued pursuant to the terms
hereof, the Company shall promptly issue to the Holder the number
of Warrant Shares that are not disputed and resolve such dispute in
accordance with Section 0.
(f)
Limitations on Exercises . Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary contained in this Warrant (but subject to Section 00),
this Warrant shall not be exercisable by the Holder hereof to the
extent (but only to the extent) that the Holder or any of its
affiliates would beneficially own in excess of 9.9% (the “
Maximum Percentage ”) of the Common Stock. To the
extent the above limitation applies, the determination of whether
this Warrant shall be exercisable (vis-à-vis other
convertible, exercisable or exchangeable securities owned by the
Holder) and of which such securities shall be exercisable (as among
all such securities owned by the Holder) shall, subject to such
Maximum Percentage limitation, be determined on the basis of the
first submission to the Company for conversion, exercise or
exchange (as the case may be). No prior inability to exercise this
Warrant pursuant to this paragraph shall have any effect on the
applicability of the provisions of this paragraph with respect
to any subsequent determination of exercisability. For the purposes
of this paragraph, beneficial ownership and all determinations and
calculations (including, without limitation, with respect to
calculations of percentage ownership) shall be determined in
accordance with Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act (as defined in the
Securities Purchase Agreement) and the rules and regulations
promulgated thereunder. The provisions of this paragraph shall be
implemented in a manner otherwise than in strict conformity with
the terms of this paragraph to correct this paragraph (or any
portion hereof) which may be defective or inconsistent with the
intended Maximum Percentage beneficial ownership limitation herein
contained or to make changes or supplements necessary or desirable
to properly give effect to such Maximum Percentage limitation. The
limitations contained in this paragraph shall apply to a successor
Holder of this Warrant. The holders of Common Stock shall be third
party beneficiaries of this paragraph and the Company may not waive
this paragraph without the consent of holders of a majority of its
Common Stock. For any reason at any time, upon the written or oral
request of the Holder, the Company shall within one (1) Business
Day confirm orally and in writing to the Holder the number of
shares of Common Stock then outstanding, including by virtue of any
prior conversion or exercise of convertible or exercisable
securities into Common Stock, including, without limitation,
pursuant to this Warrant or securities issued pursuant to the
Securities Purchase Agreement.
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(g)
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Insufficient Authorized
Shares
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. The Company shall at all times
keep reserved for issuance under this Warrant a number of shares of
Common Stock as shall be necessary to satisfy the Company’s
obligation to issue shares of Common Stock hereunder (without
regard to any limitation otherwise contained herein with respect to
the number of shares of Common Stock that may be acquirable upon
exercise of this Warrant). If, notwithstanding the foregoing, and
not in limitation thereof, at any time while any of the SPA
Warrants remain outstanding the Company does not have a sufficient
number of authorized and unreserved shares of Common Stock to
satisfy its obligation to reserve for issuance upon exercise of the
SPA Warrants at least a number of shares of Common Stock equal to
the number of shares of Common Stock as shall from time to time be
necessary to effect the exercise of all of the SPA Warrants then
outstanding (the “ Required Reserve Amount ”)
(an “ Authorized Share Failure ”), then the
Company shall immediately take all action necessary to increase the
Company’s authorized shares of Common Stock to an amount
sufficient to allow the Company to reserve the Required Reserve
Amount for all the SPA Warrants then outstanding. Without limiting
the generality of the foregoing sentence, as soon as practicable
after the date of the occurrence of an Authorized Share Failure,
but in no event later than sixty (60) days after the occurrence of
such Authorized Share Failure, the Company shall hold a meeting of
its
stockholders for the approval of an
increase in the number of authorized shares of Common Stock. In
connection with such meeting, the Company shall provide each
stockholder with a proxy statement and shall use its best efforts
to solicit its stockholders’ approval of such increase in
authorized shares of Common Stock and to cause its board of
directors to recommend to the stockholders that they approve such
proposal.
(h)
Issuance Limit . Notwithstanding anything to the contrary
contained in this Warrant, this Warrant shall cease to be
exercisable by the Holder and shall automatically expire
immediately following such time as the sum of all Aggregate
Exercise Prices paid by the Holder (whether paid in cash or
pursuant to a Cashless Exercise) in connection with exercises of
this Warrant equals $1,100,000.20 (the “ Dollar Limit
”) (subject to adjustment for adjustments to the exercise
price contained herein) even if this Warrant has not been exercised
for all of the Warrant Shares for which this Warrant was initially
exercisable. By way of example, if the Exercise Price was
adjusted to $1.075 pursuant to Section 0, then the Dollar Limit
would be adjusted to be equal to $550,000.10.
2.
ADJUSTMENT OF EXERCISE PRICE AND NUMBER OF WARRANT SHARES .
The Exercise Price and number of Warrant Shares issuable upon
exercise of this Warrant are subject to adjustment from time to
time as set forth in this Section 0.
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(a)
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Stock Dividends and
Splits
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. If the Company, at any time on or
after the date of the Securities Purchase Agreement, (i) pays a
stock dividend on one or more classes of its then outstanding
shares of Common Stock or otherwise makes a distribution on any
class of capital stock that is payable in shares of Common Stock,
(ii) subdivides (by any stock split, stock dividend,
recapitalization or otherwise) one or more classes of its then
outstanding shares of Common Stock into a larger number of shares
or (iii) combines (by combination, reverse stock split or
otherwise) one or more classes of its then outstanding shares of
Common Stock into a smaller number of shares, then in each such
case the Exercise Price shall be multiplied by a fraction of which
the numerator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock
outstanding immediately before such event and of which the
denominator shall be the number of shares of Common Stock
outstanding immediately after such event. Any adjustment made
pursuant to clause (i) of this paragraph shall become effective
immediately after the record date for the determination of
stockholders entitled to receive such dividend or distribution, and
any adjustment pursuant to clause (ii) or (iii) of this paragraph
shall become effective immediately after the effective date of such
subdivision or combination. If any event requiring an adjustment
under this paragraph occurs during the period that an Exercise
Price is calculated hereunder, then the calculation of such
Exercise Price shall be adjusted appropriately to reflect such
event.
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(b)
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Adjustment Upon Issuance of
Shares of Common Stock
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. If and whenever on or after the
date of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company issues or
sells, or in accordance with this Section 0 is deemed to have
issued or sold, any shares of Common Stock (including the issuance
or sale of shares of Common Stock owned or held by or for the
account of the Company, but excluding any Excluded Securities (as
defined in the Securities Purchase Agreement) issued or sold or
deemed to have been issued or sold) for a
consideration per share (the “
New Issuance Price ”) less than a price equal to the
Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such issue or sale or
deemed issuance or sale (such Exercise Price then in effect is
referred to as the “ Applicable Price ”) (the
foregoing a “ Dilutive Issuance ”), then
immediately after such Dilutive Issuance, the Exercise Price then
in effect shall be reduced to an amount equal to the product of (A)
the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such Dilutive
Issuance and (B) the quotient determined by dividing (1) the sum of
(I) the product derived by multiplying the Exercise Price in effect
immediately prior to such Dilutive Issuance and the number of
shares of Common Stock Outstanding immediately prior to such
Dilutive Issuance plus (II) the consideration, if any, received by
the Company upon such Dilutive Issuance, by (2) the product derived
by multiplying (I) the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior
to such Dilutive Issuance by (II) the number of shares of Common
Stock Outstanding immediately after such Dilutive Issuance. For
purposes of determining the adjusted Exercise Price under this
Section 00, the following shall be applicable:
(i)
Issuance of Options . If the Company in any manner grants or
sells any Options and the lowest price per share for which one
share of Common Stock is issuable upon the exercise of any such
Option or upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Convertible
Securities issuable upon exercise of any such Option is less than
the Applicable Price, then such share of Common Stock shall be
deemed to be outstanding and to have been issued and sold by the
Company at the time of the granting or sale of such Option for such
price per share. For purposes of this Section 000, the
“lowest price per share for which one share of Common Stock
is issuable upon the exercise of any such Options or upon
conversion, exercise or exchange of any Convertible Securities
issuable upon exercise of any such Option” shall be equal to
the sum of the lowest amounts of consideration (if any) received or
receivable by the Company with respect to any one share of Common
Stock upon the granting or sale of the Option, upon exercise of the
Option and upon conversion, exercise or exchange of any Convertible
Security issuable upon exercise of such Option. Except as
contemplated below, no further adjustment of the Exercise Price
shall be made upon the actual issuance of such shares of Common
Stock or of such Convertible Securities upon the exercise of such
Options or upon the actual issuance of such shares of Common Stock
upon conversion, exercise or exchange of such Convertible
Securities.
(ii)
Issuance of Convertible Securities . If the Company in any
manner issues or sells any Convertible Securities and the lowest
price per share for which one share of Common Stock is issuable
upon the conversion, exercise or exchange thereof is less than the
Applicable Price, then such share of Common Stock shall be deemed
to be outstanding and to have been issued and sold by the Company
at the time of the issuance or sale of such Convertible Securities
for such price per share. For the purposes of this Section 000, the
“lowest price per share for which one share of Common Stock
is issuable upon the conversion, exercise or exchange
thereof” shall be equal to the sum of the lowest amounts of
consideration (if any) received or receivable by the Company with
respect to one share of Common Stock upon the issuance or sale of
the Convertible Security and upon conversion, exercise or exchange
of such Convertible Security. Except as contemplated below, no
further adjustment of the Exercise Price shall be made upon the
actual issuance of such shares of Common Stock upon conversion,
exercise or exchange of such Convertible Securities, and if any
such issue or sale of such Convertible
Securities is made upon exercise of
any Options for which adjustment of this Warrant has been or is to
be made pursuant to other provisions of this Section 00, except as
contemplated below, no further adjustment of the Exercise Price
shall be made by reason of such issue or sale.
(iii)
Change in Option Price or Rate of Conversion . If the
purchase or exercise price provided for in any Options, the
additional consideration, if any, payable upon the issue,
conversion, exercise or exchange of any Convertible Securities, or
the rate at which any Convertible Securities are convertible into
or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock increases
or decreases at any time, the Exercise Price in effect at the time
of such increase or decrease shall be adjusted to the Exercise
Price which would have been in effect at such time had such Options
or Convertible Securities provided for such increased or decreased
purchase price, additional consideration or increased or decreased
conversion rate, as the case may be, at the time initially granted,
issued or sold. For purposes of this Section 000, if the terms of
any Option or Convertible Security that was outstanding as of the
date of issuance of this Warrant are increased or decreased in the
manner described in the immediately preceding sentence, then such
Option or Convertible Security and the shares of Common Stock
deemed issuable upon exercise, conversion or exchange thereof shall
be deemed to have been issued as of the date of such increase or
decrease. No adjustment pursuant to this Section 00 shall be made
if such adjustment would result in an increase of the Exercise
Price then in effect.
(iv)
Calculation of Consideration Received . In case any Option
is issued in connection with the issue or sale of other securities
of the Company, together comprising one integrated transaction in
which no specific consideration is allocated to such Options by the
parties thereto, the Options will be deemed to have been issued for
a consideration of $0.01. If any shares of Common Stock, Options or
Convertible Securities are issued or sold or deemed to have been
issued or sold for cash, the consideration received therefor will
be deemed to be the net amount of consideration received by the
Company therefor. If any shares of Common Stock, Options or
Convertible Securities are issued or sold for a consideration other
than cash, the amount of such consideration received by the Company
will be the fair value of such consideration, except where such
consideration consists of publicly traded securities, in which case
the amount of consideration received by the Company for such
securities will be the arithmetic average of the VWAPs of such
security for each of the five (5) Trading Days immediately
preceding the date o